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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34530-8.txt b/34530-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..25741b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/34530-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6817 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Infidel, Vol. II., by Robert Montgomery Bird + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Infidel, Vol. II. + or, the Fall of Mexico + +Author: Robert Montgomery Bird + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34530] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. II. *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + THE INFIDEL; + + OR, THE FALL OF MEXICO. + + A ROMANCE. + + BY THE AUTHOR OF "CALAVAR." + + + SECOND EDITION. + + IN TWO VOLUMES. + + VOL. II. + + Philadelphia: + CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD. + 1835. + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year + 1835, by CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD, in the Clerk's office + of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. + + PHILADELPHIA + C. SHERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, NO. 19 ST. JAMES STREET. + + --Un esforcado soldado, que se dezia _Lerma_--Se fue entre los Indios + como aburrido de temor del mismo Cortes, a quien avia ayudado a salvar + la vida, por ciertas cosas de enojo que Cortes contra čl tuvo, que + aqui no declaro por su honor: nunca mas supimos del vivo, ni muerto, + mala suspecha tuvimos. + + BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO--_Hist. Verd. de la Conqista_. + + No hay mal que por bien no venga, + Dicen adagios vulgares. + + CALPERON--_La Dama Duende_. + + + + +THE INFIDEL. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Before sunrise on the following morning, many a feathered band of allies +from distant tribes was pouring into Tezcuco; for this was the day on +which the Captain-General had appointed to review his whole force, +assign the several divisions to the command of his favourite officers, +and expound the system of warfare, by which he expected to reduce the +doomed Tenochtitlan. The multitudes that were collected by midday would +be beyond our belief, did we not know that the royal valley, and every +neighbouring nook of Anahuac capable of cultivation, were covered by a +population almost as dense as that which makes an ant-heap of the +'Celestial Empire,' at this day. + +While they were thus congregating together, marshalled under their +native chiefs, emulously expressing their attachment to the Spaniard, +and their enthusiasm in his cause, by the horrible clamour of drums and +conches, Cortes was receiving, in the great Hall of Audience, the +compliments and reverence of those cavaliers, distinguished soldiers, +and valiant infidel princes, whom he had invited to the feast, with +which he marked the close of his mighty preparations and the beginning +of his not less arduous campaign. + +A table crossed the room immediately in front of the platform, on which +the noblest and most honoured guests had already taken their stations. +Two others, running from pillar to pillar, extended the whole length of +the apartment, leaving in the intermediate space, as well as betwixt +them and the walls, sufficient room for the passage of revellers and +attendants, of which latter there were many present, bustling to and +fro, in the persons of Indian boys and girls, all branded with the +scarry badge of servitude. The walls, pillars, and ceiling, were +ornamented with green branches of trees and viny festoons, among which +breathed and glittered a multitude of the gayest and most odoriferous +flowers; and besides these, there were deposited and suspended, in many +places, Indian banners and standards as well as spears, bucklers, and +battle-axes, the trophies of many a field of victory. The tables were +covered with brilliant cotton-cloths, and loaded not only with all the +dainties of Mexico, but with some of the luxuries of Europe, among which +were conspicuous divers flagons of wine, on which many a veteran gazed +with looks of anxious and affectionate expectation. + +The peculiarity of the scene, animated as it was by a densely moving +throng of guests in their most gallant attire, was greatly heightened by +a circumstance, for which but few were able to account. Although full +noon-day, the light of heaven was carefully excluded, and the apartment +illuminated only by torches and lamps. This, though it gave +picturesqueness to every object in view, was, to say the least, +remarkable; and those who were most interested to watch the workings of +the commander's mind, beheld in it a subject for many disturbing +reflections. But, to such persons, there was another phenomenon still +more unsatisfactory, in the spectacle of a line of veteran soldiers, +original followers of Cortes, extending round the whole apartment, who +stood against the walls, each with a spear in his hand and a +_machete_,--a heavy, straight sword,--on his thigh, surveying the +revellers more with the air of sentinels than companions in festivity. + +While the inferior guests stood or lounged about, speculating on these +curious particulars, and expecting the signal to begin the feast, which +seemed to be delayed by the absence of some important guest, Cortes +occupied himself conversing with Alvarado, De Olid, Guzman, De Ircio, +and other hidalgos, who stood with him on the platform, occasionally +extending his notice to the young king of Tezcuco, his brother Suchel, +the Tlascalan chief Chichimecatl, and other noble barbarians, who made +part of the distinguished group. Many curious, and not a few anxious, +eyes were turned upon them from different parts of the hall; and it was +soon observed, and remarked with whispers, that Sandoval, the valiant +and beloved, and Xicotencal, the gloomy, were absent from the party. + +By and by, however, conjectures were put to rest by the sudden +appearance of the cavalier in question, who entered with his garments in +some disorder, his countenance heated and troubled, and his whole +appearance that of a man just released from some exciting and laborious +duty. + +As soon as Cortes perceived him approaching, he commanded room to be +made for him on the platform, welcomed him with a smiling face and a +cordial grasp of hand, and then signed to the guests to take their +places at the tables. + +In the bustle of festivity that followed the command, the revellers +forgot to wonder at the torchlight around them and the presence of the +armed guards. If a few still bent their eyes uneasily on the +commander-in-chief, striving to catch the low accents with which he +conversed with his immediate friends, and particularly with Sandoval, +their efforts were unnoticed by the others; and, in a short time, the +hum of whispers waxed into murmurs of joyous hilarity, so that the +conversation on the platform could only be guessed at by the expressive +visages and gestures of the cavaliers. + +By and by, the feast became still more unrestrained and noisy. Wine was +poured and drunk, jests were uttered, songs almost sung, and care +banished from all but a few, who still turned their looks to the +platform, exchanged glances occasionally with each other, and at every +bustle attending the entrance of any one at the great door, cast their +eyes in that direction with much meaning anxiety. + +Still, however, the feast went on, and enjoyment was becoming revelry, +when the voice of Cortes was suddenly heard. The murmurs of all were +instantly hushed, and all turning their eyes to the platform, they +beheld the Captain-General standing erect, and eyeing them with extreme +gravity of countenance, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a golden +bowl of wine. + +"My brothers and fellow-soldiers," he said, as soon as all were +composed, "it becomes us, as true and loyal Castilians, to remember our +duty to the king our master, whom God preserve for a thousand years! We +are here afar from his sight, but not beyond the reach of his authority, +nor the constraint of our true allegiance. Let it not be thought that +the cavaliers of Madrid will drink his health with more zeal and +humility at the palace-door, than we, his true subjects, in the deserts +of Mexico. A bowl, then, to his majesty our master, Don Carlos of Spain, +Austria, and this New World!" + +As he spoke, he knelt upon one knee, and all present, even the barbaric +king at his side, doing the same thing, allegiance was pledged in the +cup,--which is undoubtedly the best way to make it agreeable. + +From this exhibition of humility, all rose up, shouting lusty _vivas_. + +"It gratifies me," said Cortes, when this customary ebullition of +loyalty was over, "to perceive that I have about me men so truly +faithful to my very noble and loyal master. For in this, I perceive I +shall be no more afflicted with the painful necessity of exerting those +powers with which his majesty has so bountifully endowed me, even to the +shedding of blood and the taking of life." + +A sudden damper fell upon the spirits of many present, and all who were +not apprized of the secret of Villafana's fate, looked upon Cortes with +surprise. + +"Know, my truly faithful and loyal friends," he went on, speaking with +an appearance of solemn indignation, "that we have had among us a +TRAITOR,--a Christian man and a Spaniard, yet a traitor to the king our +master! Yet, in the band of the holy apostles, there was one Judas; and +it does not become us to believe that we, sinful creatures as we are, +and much more numerous, should be without _our_ Iscariot, who would have +sold our lives for silver, and sunk into perdition the interest of his +majesty in this opulent kingdom. It rejoices me to know that we have had +but _one_. The pain with which I have been filled to discover there were +other knaves for his accomplices, is assuaged by the knowledge that they +were not Castilians, but infidel Indians; to whom perfidy is so natural, +that it is wholly superfluous to lament its occurrence. Know therefore, +my friends, and grieve not to know it, for the evil is past, that +Xicotencal, General-in-chief of the Tlascalan forces, besides secretly +treating with our foes, his own enemies, the men of Tenochtitlan, did, +last night, traitorously abandon our standard, and set out, to throw +himself, as I doubt not, into the arms of the Mexicans." + +"A villain! a very vile traitor! death to the dog of an unbeliever!" +were the expressions with which the revellers protested their +indignation. + +"Think not," said the Captain-General, in continuation, "that the +villain who doth seriously pursue a scheme of disloyalty, shall escape a +just retribution. The toils and sufferings which we have endured in this +land, in his majesty's service, are such that I can readily excuse the +murmurs with which some have occasionally indulged a peevish discontent. +I will never account it much against a brave soldier that he has +sometimes grumbled a little; but he who meditates, or practises, a +treason, shall die. I have said, that among us all there was but _one_ +villain. Perhaps there were two; but of that we will inquire hereafter. +He of whom I speak, was one to whom I had forgiven much semblance of +discontent, and whom I had raised into no little favour. Yet did he +conceive a foul conspiracy, having for its object no less a thing than +the destruction of this enterprise against a rich pagan kingdom, and the +murder of all those who would not become the enemies of Spain. The man +of whom I speak you know. It was--" + +"Villafana!" muttered many, with eager, yet fearful voices; while those +who had hitherto betrayed anxiety at the ominous lights and guards, +turned pale in secret. + +"It was indeed the Alguazil, Villafana," said Cortes, sternly; "and you +shall know his villany. First, the Mexican ambassadors, last night +committed to his charge, he permitted to escape, that they might be no +hinderance to the ambushed infidels, then lying on the lake, ready to +burn my brigantines. Secondly, being the captain of the prison, he +permitted the same to be approached and sacked by other infidels, +whereby a prisoner, convicted of a heavy crime and condemned to die, was +snatched out of our hands, and given into those of the enemy, whom he +will doubtless aid and abet in all the sanguinary resistance which they +are inclined to make. Thirdly, by his persuasions, Xicotencal was +induced to throw off his allegiance, at the very moment when the fleet +and the prison were beset, and desert from the post. And fourthly, the +consummation of the whole villany was to be effected at this very hour, +and on this very floor, in the blood of myself, my officers, and as I +may say of yourselves also; since none were to be spared who were not +his sworn colleagues; and, certainly, there are none here so base and +criminal?" + +The answer to this address mingled a thousand protestations of loyalty +with as many fierce calls for punishment on the traitor. In the midst of +the tumult, Cortes gave a sign to two Indian slaves, who stood behind +the platform; and the heavy curtain being rapidly pulled aside, the +lustre of the noontide sun streamed through the pellucid wall, until +lamp and torch seemed to smoulder into darkness, under the diviner ray; +and the revellers looking up, beheld the ghastly spectacle of +Villafana's body, hanging motionless and stiff in the midst of the +light. + +At this unexpected sight, the guests, inflamed as they were with wine, +anger, and enthusiasm, were struck with horror; and if traitors were +among them, as none but Cortes and themselves could say, it was not +possible to detect them by their countenances, all being equally pale +and affrighted. + +"Thus perish all who plot treason against the king and the king's +officers!" cried the Captain-General, with a loud voice. "The rebel +Xicotencal swings upon an oak-tree, on the wayside as you go to Chalco; +the mutineer Lerma hath fled to the pagans, to become a renegade and +perhaps apostate; and Villafana, the traitor, hangs as you see, upon the +window of our banqueting-room, to teach all who may have meditated a +like villany, the fate that shall most certainly await them.--Hide the +carrion!" he exclaimed to the slaves, and in an instant the frightful +spectacle was excluded, along with the cheerful light of day. The return +to that of the torches was like a lapse into darkness, and for a few +moments, it was scarce possible for the guests to distinguish the +features of those nearest to them. In the gloom, however, the voice of +the Captain-General was heard, concluding his oration: + +"Let no one of this true and loyal company be in fear," he said, with +his accustomed craft. "The paper, on which the villain had recorded the +names of such madmen as would have joined him in his crime, he was +artful enough to destroy. But let the disaffected tremble. There has +been one dog among us, and there may others prove so, hereafter. But I +am now awake; and the treason that may be planted, shall be discovered, +and nipped before it come to the budding.--God save his majesty! Another +bowl to his greatness! And let all fall to feasting again; for, by and +by, the signal gun will be fired for the review, and this is the last +feast ye must think of sharing together, till ye can spread it again in +the halls of Montezuma." + +Whatever relief might have been carried by these words to the bosoms of +the guilty, the spectacle of their murdered associate had sunk too +deeply in their spirits, to allow any festive exertions. The innocent +were equally shocked, and gloom and uneasiness oppressed the hearts of +all. + +It was felt therefore as a relief, when the signal for breaking up the +feast was given by the sound of a gun from the temple-top; and all +rushed out, to forget in the bustle of parade, the sickening event which +had marred their enjoyment. + +On this day, the whole army of Cortes, of which the thousand Christians +made scarcely the three-hundredth part, was marched out upon the meadows +of Tezcuco, and there, with ceremonies of great state and ostentation, +was reviewed, divided, and each division appointed to its respective +duties. + +The first division was assigned to the command of Sandoval, and was +ordered to march southward to the city of Iztapalapan, which commanded +the principal causeway, or approach to Mexico. The second was given to +the ferocious De Olid, whose destination was to Cojohuacan, a city +southwest of Mexico, the dike from which led to that betwixt the +metropolis and Iztapalapan. The third was appointed to the Capitan del +Salto, or Alvarado, who was to take possession of Tacuba, which +commanded the shortest of the causeways. The two last divisions were +ordered to proceed in company, around the northern borders of the lake, +destroying the towns on the route, and separating at Tacuba. + +The fleet Cortes reserved in his own hands, intending, besides +commanding the whole lake, so to act with it, as to give assistance to +each division, as it might be needed. The royal city of Tezcuco was to +be entrusted to the government of the young king Ixtlilxochitl, the +cavalier Don Francisco de Guzman remaining, though somewhat reluctantly, +to guide and control his actions, under the appearance of adding to his +state and security. + +These preliminaries arranged, the remainder of the day was devoted to +festivities. The great work of conquest was to begin on the morrow. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +The extraordinary and exciting events which took place in the prison, +that night which Juan Lerma esteemed the last he should spend upon +earth, had reduced to exhaustion a body already enfeebled by inaction, +and a mind almost consumed by care. Hence, when, having struggled for a +time with the restlessness and delirium which, in such cases, usher in +sleep with a thousand phantasms--apparitions both of sight and +sound,--he at last fell asleep, his slumbers were profound and +dreamless. The loud alarms, which drove the executioners of Villafana +from the Hall of Audience, made no impression on his ear; and even the +yells, that accompanied the attack on his dreary abode, were equally +unheard. The guards were routed, the doors were forced, and he was +lifted to his feet by unknown hands, almost before he had opened his +eyes; and even voices, that, at another time, would have attracted his +attention, and words that would have inspired him with the joy of +deliverance, were all lost upon him. Nay, such was the stupor which +oppressed his mind, that he was dragged from the dungeon, and hurried +rapidly along through a host of infidels to the water-side, before he +was convinced that all was not really a dream. Then, indeed, the bustle, +the din of shrieks and Indian drums, mingled with the sounds of trumpets +and fire-arms, the howl of winds and the plash of waves, though they +recalled him to his wits, yet left him confounded, and, for a while, +incapable of understanding and appreciating his situation. In this +condition, he was deposited in a canoe of some magnitude, which +instantly putting off from the shore, under the impulse of thirty +paddles, he soon found himself darting over the lake at a speed which +promised soon to remove from his eyes, and perhaps for ever, the scene +of his late humiliation and suffering. + +The darkness of the night was almost palpable, and, save the few torches +that could be seen hurrying through the alarmed city, no other light +illuminated the scene, until the moment when the four brigantines, fired +by the assailants, burst up in a ruddy blaze. At this sight, a shout of +triumph burst from his capturers, and altering the course of the canoe, +it seemed as if they were about to rush into the thick of the conflict. + +As they approached the burning ships, Juan was able in the increasing +glare, to examine the figures of his companions, and beheld the dark +visages and half-naked bodies of thirty or more barbarians, each, +besides his paddle, having a weighty battle-axe dangling from his wrist, +and a broad buckler of some unknown material hung over his back. Two men +sat by him, one on each side, and he soon discovered that these, whom he +had thought mere guards for his safe-keeping, were no other than the +Ottomi Techeechee and the young prince of Mexico, the latter now freed +from his disguise. + +"Guatimozin," said he, no longer doubting the purpose for which he had +been snatched from the prison, and resolved at once to express his +disapprobation, "dost thou think to make me a renegade to my countrymen? +I swear to thee--" + +"Peace, and fear not," replied the royal chief. "Thou shalt have very +sweet vengeance." + +"I ask it not, I seek it not; and surely I will not accept it, when it +makes me the traitor I have been so falsely called. Am I thy prisoner?" + +"My friend," replied Guatimozin, quickly, starting up, seizing a paddle +from the hands of the nearest rower, and himself urging the canoe +towards the nearest vessel, which was, by this time, so close at hand, +that Juan could clearly perceive the figures, and almost the faces, of +the Spaniards on board, contending, and, as it seemed, not +unsuccessfully, both with the flames and the assailants. A great herd of +Mexicans was seen fighting hand to hand with the Christians; but it was +manifest, from the cheery cries, with which the latter responded to the +yells of the former, and from the frequent plunges in the water, as of +men leaping or cast overboard, that, in this brigantine at least, the +battle went not with the pagans. This Guatimozin remarked as clearly as +Juan, and as he struck the water more impetuously with his paddle, he +shouted aloud, "Be strong, men of Mexico, be strong!" + +All this passed in the space of an instant. A loud cry, the rush of +other canoes against the ship, and the frantic exertions of the +combatants already on board to maintain their places, made it apparent +that the voice of the prince was not unknown or unregarded. Still, the +Spaniards fought well and fiercely, and their cries of "God and St. +James! Honour and Spain!" kindled its natural enthusiasm in the breast +of the young islander. Forgetting his late wrongs and oppressions, and +the mournful truth, that, at this moment, the Christians were more his +enemies than the Mexicans, he determined, if possible, to make his +escape. Watching his opportunity, and perceiving that many ropes, +sundered by the flames, were hanging over the sides of the vessel in the +water, he chose a moment, when the canoe was within but ten or twelve +fathoms of her, and but few of those savages who had leaped overboard +were swimming near, he rose to his feet, and shouting aloud, "Help for +an escaping captive! and good courage to all!" he plunged boldly into +the lake. + +To one, who, like Juan, had rolled in his childhood among the breakers +on the northern coast of Cuba, and to whom it was as easy a diversion to +dive for conches in such depths as would have tried the wind of a +pearl-diver, as to gather limpets and periwinkles from the beach, it was +no great exploit to leap among the puny billows of Tezcuco, and swim to +an anchored vessel, even when the path was obstructed by enemies, +themselves not unfamiliar with the water. His escape was so sudden and +unexpected, and the prince, Techeechee, and the rowers, were so occupied +with the scene of combat into which they were hurrying, that it is +possible it would not have been noticed, had it not been for his +exclamation. Then, perceiving him in the water, all were seized with +confusion and fury, some striking at him with their paddles, some +leaping over in pursuit, and all so confounded and divided in action, +that the canoe was on the very point of being overset. In this period of +confusion, they soon lost sight of him; for it was not possible to +distinguish him among the mass of infidels that were swimming about in +all directions. + +The cry of Juan was perhaps not heard by his fellow-Christians in the +brigantine; but there was one friend aboard, and that a brute one, whose +ears were far quicker to detect his call, and whose heart was much +prompter to obey. This was the dog Befo, who, having been taken from the +prison on the day of the trial, and afterwards been refused admission, +he so annoyed the guards by his whining and howling, and indeed all in +the palace, likewise, that they were glad to send him aboard a vessel, +to have him out of the way, until after the time of execution, when, it +was apprehended, from his remarkable affection for the prisoner, he +might give additional trouble. His services were turned to good account +by the sailors, during the attack; for, being instantly loosed, he +sprang upon barbarian after barbarian, tumbling them into the water, or +among the Spaniards, who despatched them. His appearance, fiercer than +that of the largest beasts of prey in Mexico, and his savage bark, not +less frightful than the yell of the jaguar or the puma, were perhaps +still more effectual than his fangs; for at the sight and sound, the +Mexicans, climbing over the bulwarks, recoiled, and with screams of +dismay, jumped into the water, and swam again to the nearest canoes. + +In the midst of the conflict, Befo heard the cry of his master, and +loosing a barbarian whom he had caught by the throat, he sprang to the +side of the vessel, thrust his paws and nose over the gunwale, and +looked eagerly into the lake, whining all the time, and barking, as if +to attract Juan's notice. He then ran to the after-deck, where were +several sailors busily engaged in knotting a rope that seemed to pass to +the shore, or to another brigantine nearer to the lake-side; and +flinging himself over the railing here as before, he looked out and +whined loudly again. As he peered thus into the darkness, a faint groan, +as of one strangling in the water, came to his cars; and the next +moment, he sprang, with a wild howl, into the flood. + +That groan came from Juan Lerma, who, that instant, was struck a violent +blow, he knew not by whom or with what, which, for a time, deprived him +of all sensation, and left him drowning in the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +When Juan recovered his senses, he found himself lying in the bottom of +a little canoe, urged by a single boatman, and already far from the +conflict. The blow, inflicted by some blunt weapon, perhaps a club or +paddle, had stunned him, yet had not wounded; and he became soon aware +that he was not seriously injured. As he raised himself a little on his +arm, his companion, pausing an instant from his toil, exclaimed, in the +well remembered tones of the Ottomi, + +"Izquauhtzin knows his friend: there are none to do him harm." + +"Techeechee!" cried the youth: "What is this? where are we going? Have +they killed Guatimozin, the king? If thou art the friend thou hast so +often proved, row me to the shore. Methinks we are in the middle of the +lake!" + +"Guatimozin is the Great Eagle's friend," said Techeechee, again plying +his paddle; "he says the Great Eagle is his brother; and because of his +fear of the armed people, he says, 'Let the Great Eagle sail alone with +Techeechee, the old man, who has no weapons, and loves the Great Eagle +very much.'" + +"I am then again a prisoner?" said Juan, sadly. "Perhaps it is +better,--certainly I cannot control my destiny, and very surely I +perceive that Guatimozin is friendly to me. But how is this, Techeechee? +I sprang from the prince's boat,--I was knocked on the head--How comes +it that I am in this canoe?" + +"The king picked his brother from the water," replied the Indian; +"saying, 'Why should my brother drown, when he has escaped Malintzin, +him who eats blood?' 'Therefore,' said the king, 'take him to my house, +for did he not carry me to his? Put upon him the robe of a king's son, +with the red crown of a Teuctli, as one who is great among the nobles +and fighting men; and the people shall call him the king's brother.'" + +To this revealment of a fortune so magnificent, Juan answered only by a +deep sigh, muttering within the recesses of his breast, 'The noble's +gown or the victim's shirt,--but I will live and die both a Christian +and Spaniard.' + +Then, contenting himself with this resolve, for he no longer perceived +any hope of escape, unless by killing the old man, and perhaps began to +be aware how useless would be freedom, he cast his eyes about him, and +endeavoured to learn his situation. The sounds of battle came but +faintly to his ears, and the burning ships, which were still visible, +seemed to be left far behind. Yet in the estimate he was thus enabled to +make of his distance from the fleet, there was no little deception; for +the flames were expiring, and the wind, blowing from the west, conspired +with the plashing of the water to deaden the sounds of combat. In every +other quarter, all was silence and gloom. An impenetrable darkness lay +upon the lake. The sky was concealed by a dense canopy of clouds, and he +began to wonder at the precision and understanding with which Techeechee +impelled the canoe towards a point indicated by no beacon on earth or in +heaven, until he perceived, immediately over the prow, what seemed a +little star, as red as blood, glimmering on the very edge of the +horizon. But this, he became soon convinced, was no heavenly luminary. +Faint as it was, it shone steadily, and, once seen, there was no +difficulty in preserving it always in the eye. He even began to be +sensible, after a little time, that it increased in magnitude as he +approached it; and, by and by, he was at no loss to believe it was a +beacon-light, kindled upon some eminence in the pagan city, to guide the +fleet of canoes on its return from the battle. + +While he was arriving at this just conclusion, the sounds of contention +dying further away in the background, he was struck by a wailing note +behind, like the cry of some animal, swimming in the lake. He listened, +distinguished it a second time, and commanded the Ottomi to cease +paddling. + +"If I know the voice of a friend, that is the whine of Befo!" he +exclaimed, looking eagerly, but vainly back. "I remember me now, that I +heard him bark on board the ship. Put back, Techeechee, put back! The +dog is following me, and to his destruction, if we take him not up. Put +back, put back!" + +"'Tis the big tiger," said the Indian, very seriously. "We found him +eating you in the water--he had you by the head; and now he is +following, like a wolf, who never leaves the deer, after having once +tasted of his blood." + +"Good heavens, eating me!" said Juan. "It was he, then, that held me up, +when I was strangling? I remember to have felt some one pull me by the +hair, before I was utterly senseless. Faithful Befo! faithful Befo! +there is no friend like him! And I leave him drowning, who saved me from +the same death, and now follows me with affection? Put back, put +back!--Nay, thou art sluggish,--old and sluggish:--I will paddle myself. +What, Befo! Befo!" + +Thus exclaiming, and using the paddle, which he had snatched from +Techeechee, with no little skill, it was soon clear that he was drawing +nigh to the animal, which, hearing his voice, replied with loud +whinings, that were both piteous and joyful. + +"Alas, poor dog, thou art weary enough. Hast thou not another paddle, +Techeechee? the dog is drowning." + +"Techeechee fears not the ocelotl," replied the savage, with a voice +somewhat quavering; "he killed one with his spear, and the great king +Montezuma said, 'The Ottomi is brave: he is Ocelotzin.' The Spanish +tiger eats poor Ottomies. Techeechee has only his arrows and a macana." + +"Use them not, and fear not," said Juan, already catching a sight of the +struggling beast. "What, Befo! Befo! true Befo! courage, Befo!" + +The dog was evidently wholly exhausted; yet at the cheery cry of the +youth, and especially at the sight of him, he yelped loudly, and raised +himself half out of the water, while Juan, making one more sweep of the +paddle to his side, caught him by the leathern collar, and strove to +drag him into the boat. But Befo's great weight and his own feebleness +rendered that impossible; and it was some time before he could prevail +upon Techeechee to give him assistance, and actually lay his hand on the +dreaded monster. + +"Dost thou not see that he loves me?" cried Juan by way of argument; "He +loves me because I have done him good deeds, and treated him kindly. He +is like a man, not a tiger: he remembers a benefit as long as an injury. +Give him this help, and he will love thee also." + +Thus persuaded, the Ottomi timorously extended his hand, and greatly +emboldened to find it was not immediately snapped off, plied his +strength, which, notwithstanding his age, was yet considerable, until +Befo was safely lodged in the boat. The poor dog had scarce strength +left to raise his head to his master's knee, but devoured his hand with +caresses, while he sank trembling, panting, and powerless, into the +bottom of the skiff. + +"Thus it is with the dog, whom you call a tiger," said Juan, in a +moralizing mood, as he surveyed his faithful friend: "Black or white, +red or olive-hued, whom he once loves, he loves well. Happy or wretched, +proud or lowly, it is all one: he asks not if his master be a villain. A +tiger in courage, in strength, and vindictiveness, he is yet a +lamb,--the fawn of a doe,--in the hands of his master. Feed him, he +loves you--starve him, he loves you--beat him, still does he love you. +Once gain his affection, and you cannot cast it off: the rich man cannot +bribe his love with gold, and bread will not seduce him away;--nay, he +will sometimes pine away on your grave. His name has been made a by-word +for all that is base and villanous--I know not why, unless it is +because, being the fondest and most confiding of living creatures, he is +therefore the worst used: but the word is a satire upon our own +injustice. Look at him, Techeechee, and at me: I have been ever poor and +well nigh friendless--I gave him to one who is as a prince among men: +yet when he--his then master,--struck at me with his sword, this dog +seized the weapon with his teeth; he came to me when I lay in prison, he +sprang to me when I was dying in the lake, and he perilled his life, as +thou hast seen, that he might have the poor privilege to follow me. I am +a beggar and an outcast, a man degraded and, it may be, soon +outlawed:--yet does this poor creature love me none the less. Ay, Befo! +it is all one to thee, what I am, and whither I go!" + +To this eulogium, which the desolate youth pronounced with much feeling, +Techeechee answered not a word; for though the expressions were Mexican, +their purport was beyond his comprehension. + +He merely stared with much admiration upon the good understanding which +seemed to exist between his companion and a creature that was in his +eyes so terrific. But the endearments mutually shared by two creatures +of a race so different, and yet in heart so much alike, had the good +effect to deprive him of many of his fears, so that he plied his paddle +with good-will, and, the wind abating, rapidly shortened the distance +that still divided them from the island city. + +He had already put a wide sheet of water between him and the battle, and +when the Indian fleet, beaten off, or satisfied with the mischief done, +began to retreat, followed by such of the brigantines as were in plight +to pursue, it was easy to preserve so much of the distance gained as to +be beyond the reach of danger. The flash of a falconet occasionally +burst dimly behind, its heavy roar startling back the breeze; and +sometimes a cannon ball came skipping over the surges close by. But, the +wind being against the Spaniards, it was soon seen that there were left +no Indians upon whom to exercise their arms, unless such as had, in +their consternation, lost sight of the dim beacon, and remained paddling +about the lake at random. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +When morning broke over the lake, the voyagers were still at a league's +distance from the city. The wind had died away, the clouds parted in the +heaven, and long before the sunlight trembled on the snows of +Iztaccihuatl, the morning-star was seen peeping over its summit. It bade +fair for a goodly day, and Juan, despite his situation, which, rightly +considered, was in every point of view, wretched enough, began to feel a +sensation of pleasure, as he breathed the fresh air at liberty, and +looked around him on the fair prospects, disengaging themselves each +moment from the rolling mists. Though the tops of the higher mountains +of the east were visible, the lower borders of the lake in that quarter, +as well as to the north and south, were yet concealed under vapours. In +the west, however, the view was but little obstructed, and he could +behold, distinctly enough, the dense masses of edifices, which covered +the whole island of Mexico and many a broad acre of water around it. The +huge pyramids, with their tower-like sanctuaries, rose proudly, as of +yore, high above the surrounding buildings; the turrets and pinnacles, +that crowned the royal palaces and the houses of nobles, still gleamed +in the morning air; and, as he drew nigh, he could see the gardens of +shrubs and flowers on the terraces, which gave to the whole city a look +of verdure strange and beautiful to behold. + +As soon as objects became distinct, Techeechee, observing that Juan's +garments were yet dripping with wet, took from the prow of the canoe a +little bundle, from which he drew a broad, richly ornamented tilmaltli, +or cloak, a _maxtlatl_, or cloth to wrap round the loins, sandals for +the feet, fillets for the hair, and a fan of feathers to protect the +eyes from sunshine. These he proffered to Juan, giving him to understand +that he should forthwith doff his Christian weeds, and appear in the +guise of a Mexican noble; telling him, at the same time, that they had +been provided by Guatimozin, in anticipation of his deliverance. Yet +neither remonstrance nor entreaty could prevail upon him to do more than +throw off his reeking surcoat, and supply its place by the Indian cloak, +which was of sufficient capacity, when folded about his person, almost +to conceal his under attire, now in a great measure dried by the warmth +of his body. This being accomplished to his satisfaction, Techeechee +resumed his paddle, and fixing his eyes upon the imperial city, began to +mumble, in an under voice, certain snatches of native airs, which, both +in quality and pitch, bore no little resemblance to the suppressed +growlings, or rather the groaning of an imprisoned lion, and which, had +Juan required any such testimony, would have proved how little his +commerce with the Conquerors and his personal affection for himself, had +withdrawn his heart from the people and the faith of Montezuma. As he +advanced still nearer to the city, his air grew more confident, his +tones more resolute and animated; and, by and by, without seeming to +regard the presence of the young Spaniard, he launched boldly into a +sort of national anthem, in which the military pride of the Mexicans was +mingled with the gloom of their ferocious superstitions. The melody was +rude and savage,--or rather it was no melody at all, but a chant or +recitative, which was relieved from monotony only by the variations of +emphasis, which became stronger and stronger, as the distance waxed less +and less to the city. To express the words employed in any of the +metrical modes of civilized song, would be to rob the roundelay of its +identity; for rhythm and melody were equally set at defiance;--at least, +so it would have seemed to an ear accustomed only to the natural music +of iambics and dactyls. We will therefore express them in unambitious +prose, only premising that before the barbarian had proceeded far in the +chant, the song was caught up and continued by the warriors in the fleet +of canoes, now paddling out of the mists behind, and by many infidels +who watched its approach from the shore, and from an island crag, +strongly fortified, that lay a little to the east of the city. + +"Mexitli Tetzauhteotl,[1] o-ah! o-ah!" thus sang the pagan,--"the son of +the woman[2] of Tula. 'Mother, I will protect you.'[3] The green plume +is on his head, the wing of the eagle is on his leg, his forehead is +blue like the firmament; he carries a spear and buckler, and with the +fir-tree of Colhuacan,[4] he crushes the mountains. 'Mother, I will +protect you.' Am not I the son of Mexico? and is not Mexico the daughter +of Mexitli? O-ah, o-ah! Mexitli Tetzauhteotl! + +[Footnote 1: Mexitli, the Terrible God.] + +[Footnote 2: Coatlicue, or Coatliquay, a religieuse, and sort of +lady-abbess, of a mythic era. She was deified as the Goddess of +Flowers.--A strange mother for such a son. But the Mexicans carried a +sword in one hand, and a flower in the other.] + +[Footnote 3: The words of the god, yet unborn, when the life of +Coatlicue was threatened by her _human_ children.] + +[Footnote 4: The Hunchbacked Mountain, on the sides of which the +Mexicans won their first recorded victory.] + +"My father ate the heart of Xochimilco! Where was Painalton, the god of +the swift foot, when the Miztecas ran to the mountains? 'Fast, warrior, +fast!' said Painalton, brother of Mexitli. His footprint is on the snows +of Iztaccihuatl, and on the roof of Orizaba.[5] Tochtepec and Chinantla, +Matlatzinco and Oaxaca, they shook under his feet, as the hills shake, +when Mictlanteuctli, king of hell, groans in the caverns. So my father +killed the men of the south, the men of the east and west, and Mexitli +shook the fir-tree with joy, and Painalton danced by night among the +stars. + +[Footnote 5: _Pojautecatl_, in Mexican.] + +"Where is the end of Mexico? It begins in Huehuetapallan in the north, +and who knows the place of Huehuetapallan?[6] In the south, it sees the +lands of crocodiles and vultures,--the bog and the rock, where man +cannot live. The sea washes it on the east, the sea washes it on the +west, and that is the end--Who has looked to the end of the waters? +It is the land of blossoms,--the land of the tiger-flower, +and the cactus-bud that opens at night like a star,--of the +flower-of-the-dead,[7] that ghosts come to snuff at, and of the +hand-flower,[8] which our gods planted among the hills. It is a land +dear to Mexitli. + +[Footnote 6: Huehuetapallan, was the name of the unknown land, from +which came all the hordes of Toltecs and Aztecs. One remarkable +circumstance connected with the famous ruined city near to Palenque in +Guatemala, seems to have escaped the theorists. It is said that the +Indians call this city by the name of Huehuetapallan. It is far to the +_south_ of Mexico.] + +[Footnote 7: The Dahlia.] + +[Footnote 8: _Arbol de las Manitas_--the marvellous tree, of which, +besides that in the present Botanic Garden, there are supposed to be but +two more specimens in the land, unless known only to the Indians.] + +"Who were the enemies of Mexico? Their heads are in the walls of the +House of Skulls, and the little child strikes them, as he goes by, with +a twig. Once, Mexico was a bog of reeds, and Mexitli slept on a couch of +bulrushes: our god sits now on a world of gold, and the world is Mexico. +Will any one fight me? I am a Mexican.--Mexitli is the god of the brave. +Our city is fair on the island, and Mexitli sleeps with us. When he +calls me in the morning, I grasp the quiver,--the quiver and the axe; +and I am not afraid. When he winds his horn from the temple, I know that +he is my father, and that he looks at me, while I fight. Sound the horn +of battle, for I see the spear of a foe! Mexitli Tetzauteotl, we are the +men of Mexico!" + +With such roundelays as these, echoed at a distance by the rowers in the +fleet and by many barbarians from the buildings that projected into the +lake, Techeechee urged the light canoe through a sluice in the northern +dike, and approached that long neck or peninsula, once the island of +Tlatelolco, but long since united to that of Tenochtitlan, which gave +its name to the fifth quarter of the city, and, as it afterwards +appeared, was the site of the noblest of the many palaces, built at +different periods, by the kings of Mexico. A large portion of the +peninsula, midway between its extremity and the ancient bank of the +island of Tenochtitlan, was occupied by a garden, divided from the lake +by a wall lofty enough to secure it against the assault of a foe, and +yet sufficiently low to expose to the eye of a spectator on the lake, +the rich luxuriance of groves, among whose waving boughs could be traced +the outlines of a spacious edifice, profusely decorated with turrets and +observatories, some of which were of great height and singular +structure. + +Against this wall, through a fleet of fishing canoes, now paddling out +into the lake, Techeechee seemed to direct the little skiff, much to +Juan's surprise, until, having drawn nigher, he perceived that it was +perforated by several gateways or sally-ports, very low, and evidently +designed to give entrance only to the humble vessels which composed the +Mexican navy. The largest was wide enough to admit two or three of the +largest piraguas abreast, and the smaller ones seemed intended only for +the private gondolas of the royal family. All were defended by stout +wickets, which, as Juan soon perceived, were raised and let fall from +within, somewhat in the manner of a portcullis. + +The tranquillity that seemed to reign within this sanctified recess, +betrayed at once its royal character. In every other quarter of the +city, as he passed it, Juan could hear a roaring hum, as if proceeding +from a vast multitude pent within the narrow island,--as was indeed the +case, the whole military strength of the empire being concentrated +within the limits of the island and the shore-cities that commanded the +causeways. But here all was a profound calm, broken only by the songs of +birds, and, occasionally, by what seemed the cry of some tamed and +domesticated beast of prey. + +As Techeechee urged the canoe towards one of the smaller gateways, Juan +beheld the wicket ascend from the water, but without seeing by whom or +in what manner, it was raised. An instant after, he was on the very +point of entering the narrow chasm, perhaps never more to repass it. He +turned his eye back again to the lake, and strove to discover the dim +lines and masses of shore and city, palace and pyramid, among which he +had so lately dwelt in sorrow and confinement. The mists were nearly +dispersed, and the sky was clear; but the fiery track of the rising sun +over the lake, dazzled his eyes, and, with a veil of radiance, hid the +towers of Tezcuco. He caught an indistinct view of two or three +brigantines, becalmed at a distance from the shore, which they were +endeavouring to regain by the force of oars; but the city of the +Acolhuacanese was no longer visible; and by and by, the whole prospect +of the lake was shut out by the garden wall, under which he had passed. +He had scarce turned away his eyes, when the wicket sunk, with a plunge, +into the water. He looked back: but those who had loosed it, were +already hidden among the shrubbery. It seemed as if the falling of that +portal had shut him out for ever from the society of his countrymen. His +companions were now to be found among the uncivilized and the godless. + +A narrow canal, bordered with banks of flowers, conducted the canoe from +the gateway to a little stone basin, planted round with trees, at the +roots of which were placed carved blocks of stone, as if designed for +seats. Here Techeechee sprang ashore, followed by Juan and Befo, the +latter now completely refreshed, and, though evidently somewhat +surprised, and even daunted, by the novelty of his situation, without +showing any symptoms of having repented his change of masters. + +"The Great Eagle is in the house of the king, his brother," said the +Ottomi, "and his enemies cannot reach him,--no, not even if they were +the Tlatoani of the great city. Sit down then, and be at peace; for +presently the king will come from the lake, and speak to his brother. +Techeechee will go to the wall and look out. The big tiger,--the +dog,--Pepo."--He had already acquired the dog's name, or as near an +approach to it as his organs could overmaster, and was not a little +pleased, when the animal, raising his head at the sound, stalked +amicably towards him, rubbing his nose against him in token of +good-will. "Pepo! amigo, friend, good rascal!" he said, affectionately, +but not without some nervousness--"very pretty Pepo, Techeechee's +brother. Guatimozin is the Young Eagle's brother; Techeechee will be +Pepo's!" Then, Befo having returned to Juan, he continued, "Let not Pepo +roam through the garden; the watchmen on the walls would think him a +tiger escaped from his cage, and shoot him with arrows. This is the Pool +of the Full Moon: here the king will come to his brother." + +So saying, Techeechee glided away through the shrubbery, and was +presently seen ascending the wall, by certain steep steps constructed +for the purpose, up to a ledge, undoubtedly prepared to give footing to +defenders, from which he could overlook the outer parapet, and enjoy an +extensive view of the lake. + +And now the outcast Juan, after giving way, for a few moments, to a +grief that was the stronger perhaps, from the opportunity thus offered +of indulging it in secret, began gradually to be moved by other +feelings, in which curiosity soon became predominant; and looking about +him, he beheld with his own eyes an example of the strange and barbaric +magnificence which characterized the royal gardens of Anahuac. + +The sun was already high in the east, and the last rain-drop was +exhaling from the leaf. The sky was cloudless, the waters were at rest. +It was such a day as lent beauty to objects not in themselves fair; and +to the green brilliance of foliage and the harmonious hues of flowers it +imparted a loveliness as dear to the imagination as the senses. It was +the spring time, too,--the season of Nature's triumph and rejoicing. + +The Pool of the Full Moon, as Techeechee had called it, doubtless, from +its circular shape, and its diminutive size, was surrounded by a wall of +trees as dense as that which enclosed the memorable pond in the garden +of Tezcuco. But besides the addition of the stone seats and basin, it +was ornamented with banks of the richest flowers, behind which rose a +thick setting of shrubbery; and from the branches of the trees hung rich +tufts and festoons of that gray moss--the Barba de Espańa, which gives +an air of such indescribable solemnity to the forests of the lower +Mississippi. A few little birds warbled among the boughs, and the +field-cricket chirped in the bushes. In other respects the place was +silent and wholly solitary; and as its green walls shut out almost +altogether the spectacles disclosed from other places, Juan left it, +after seeing that Techeechee maintained his stand on the wall, as if the +fleet were still at a distance. + +He now perceived that the garden, though very beautiful, was a +labyrinth, or rather, as it seemed, a wilderness of groves, glades, and +fountains, some of which last burst from mounds of stone, that were the +pedestals of rude and fantastic statues, perhaps idols, and some spouted +up into the air, from the mouths of porphyry serpents and dragons, as if +the science of hydraulics had already begun to dawn upon the minds of +the Mexican artisans. The noblest cypresses rose over the humblest vine, +and many a convolvulus rolled its cataract of flowers over the tops of +lesser trees, and many an aloe, from a vast pyramid of leaves, reared up +its lofty pillar, crowned with a yellow canopy of blossoms. All the +splendour of the vegetable world known to Anahuac, found its place in +this magnificent retreat: and the plants of the lower zones, and even +the palms of the coast, had been made to thrive side by side with those +productions which were natural to the elevated valley. + +Besides these ornaments and a thousand similar, the animal kingdom was +made to add a charm, and, as it soon appeared, a horror to the royal +garden; for Juan had no sooner left the pool, than he beheld, besides a +thousand birds of every dye among the trees, some half dozen deer +frisking over the glades, and heard at but a little distance, the roar +of fiercer animals, such as came to his ears, while he was yet on the +lake. + +At a sound so hostile, Befo bristled and uttered a low bark, as if to +apprize his master of the presence of danger; but Juan knew enough of +the habits of the Mexican kings to understand that their gardens, +besides enclosing all that was beautiful among plants, contained also +aviaries and menageries, in which were collected the birds and beasts of +their empire;--in other words, they were Zoological Gardens, such as the +advance of science is now establishing in the countries of Europe. A +little fawn, feeding hard by, started with more terror at this unusual +cry of Befo, than at any of the howls to which it had been long +accustomed, and ran timidly away. As it fled, Juan remarked that its +neck was encircled by a chaplet of flowers, as if lately put on by some +caressing hand. + +At this sight a new impulse seemed to seize the youth. He faltered, +hesitated, cast his eye to the wall, on which Techeechee was yet +standing, and then marking the quarter whither the little animal had +fled, he beckoned to Befo to take post at his heels, and immediately +followed. + +He soon found himself among a maze of copses, among which were scattered +divers cages or baskets, of great strength, secured to the trunks of +trees, and little paddocks equally strong, each containing some +ferocious or untameable beast, many of them brought from the most +distant provinces. Thus he beheld,--besides an abundant display of pumas +or mitzlis, (the maneless lion,) jaguars, wolves, ounces, and wild +dogs,--the bison of Chihuahua staggering in his pen, the antelope or +prong-horn of the north, and even the great bear from the ridges of the +Oregon or Rocky Mountains. The tapir of Guatemala rolled by his fenny +pool, and the peccary herded hard by. Here were apes, ant-eaters, +porcupines, and a thousand other animals; and among them, imprisoned +with the same jealous care, in suitable cages, were the reptiles of the +country,--lizards and adders, and all the family of the Crotalus, from +the common rattlesnake of America to that frightful one of Mexico and +South America, which has been distinguished as especially the Horrid. +Here was the phosphorescent _cencoatl_, whose path through the bushes +and grass by night is said to be indicated by the gleaming light of his +body; the _tlilcoa_, or great black serpent of the mountains, and the +still more formidable and gigantic _canauhcoatl_, or Boa-Constrictor, +which, like his neighbour, the cayman or crocodile, from the same +boiling fens of the coast, made his prey upon the largest stags, and +even human beings. With these were many smaller snakes, distinguished +for their beauty, and sometimes their docility, some of which latter, +entirely harmless, were allowed to crawl about at liberty. + +It would require a book by itself, to particularize and describe all the +members of this fearful convocation of monsters; of which it was +afterwards written by Bernal Diaz, that when the beasts and reptiles +were provoked and irritated, so as to howl and hiss together, 'the +palace seemed like hell itself.' It is very certain that Befo lost much +of his dignity of carriage at the mere sight of such assembled terrors, +creeping along reluctantly and with draggling tail; and Juan himself was +not without some sensations of alarm, as he found himself now startled +by the growl of an angry mitzli, now perturbed by the sudden rustling of +a boa among the dried reeds of his couch. The rattlesnakes shook their +castanets at his approach, the cayman tumbled, with a sudden plunge, +into his muddy pool, the wolf showed his sharp teeth, and the ape darted +towards him from the tree, with a wild, chattering, and half hostile +scream. But he had remarked that the little fawn directed its course +immediately through the thickest of the assemblage; and if that +circumstance did not convince him of the safety of the path, he was +certainly ashamed to show less courage than the young of a doe. He +therefore trudged onwards, and, in a few moments, exchanged the scene +for one less frightful, though not less striking. + +He was now among the birds of Mexico. A grove,--it might have seemed a +forest,--of lofty trees, was covered over with a curious contrivance of +nets, some of which were confined to their tops, while others were made +to surround the shrubbery at their roots, in all which were confined the +noisy prisoners. Other nets were flung over little pools, whose banks +and surface were enlivened by the presence of water-fowl. In some places +cages were hung upon the trees, containing the more precious or +unmanageable captives. Through this grove one might penetrate in all +conceivable directions, and seem to be confined along with its feathered +inhabitants, and yet be really separated from them by the nets. + +The outer portion or border of the grove, was devoted to the endless +tribe of parrots, whose magnificent colours gave a beauty to the +treetops, not to be lessened even by the horrid clamour of their voices. +The singing birds were confined within the silent recesses of its +centre. + +If curiosity and a mere love of barbarous display, without other motive, +had collected together in the gardens of Mexico her beasts and reptiles, +utility had some little influence in the selection of her birds. Their +feathers were devoted to a thousand purposes of ornament, and among +others, to the construction of those very singular Mosaic works, or +pictures, which have won the admiration even of European painters and +virtuosos. But while thus providing for the supply of one of the most +elegant of wants, the Mexican kings secured to themselves the means of +adding the loveliest and most natural feature to their gardens. It would +be impossible to convey any just idea of the splendid creatures that +went wandering and leaping, like sunbeams, among the leaves and over the +grass. Eagles and kites sat on the trees, and storks, herons, and +flamingos stalked through the pools. Here the macaw flashed, screaming, +through the boughs; there the wood-pigeon sat cooing by his mate. The +little _madrugador_, or early-riser, the happiest of his species, who +chirps up his companions, when the morning-star peeps from the horizon, +repeated his jovial note; the white-sparrow, the calandra, the cardinal, +the sable-and-golden orible, and the little spotted tiger-bird, added +their charming voices; and the Centzontli, or mocking-bird, as it is +trivially called, for it is worthy of a name much more poetical and +dignified, whistled and sang with such a power and variety of +melody, as left all other songsters in the background. The little +_chupa-rosas_,--rose-pickers, or humming-birds,--darted about from +blossom to blossom, needing and acknowledging no bonds save those of +attachment to their favourite flowers. + +Through this delightful grove Juan stepped, enchanted with its music; +and following a pleasant path, over which there echoed no notes louder +than those of the little wood-pigeon, such as the traveller yet hears +cooing in the copse that surmounts the mouldered pyramid of Cholula, he +was soon introduced to a spectacle more striking, more lovely, and to +him far more captivating, than any he had yet beheld. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +In a green nook, exceedingly sequestered, and peculiarly beautified by +banks of the richest flowers, were five Indian maidens, three of whom +danced under the trees on the smooth grass, to the sound of a little +pipe or flute, that was played by a fourth. The other, half kneeling, +reclined hard by, fastening a chaplet of flowers round the neck of a +fawn, younger and tamer than that which had fled from Befo, and which +was now seen frisking uneasily, or perhaps jealously, about its +companion. + +Young, pretty, and robed with such simplicity as might have become the +Hamadryads of Thessaly, revelling around the green oaks with which their +fate was so inseparably connected, the dancers might indeed have been +esteemed nymphs of the wood, as they moved gracefully and a-tiptoe over +the velvet grass, all unconscious of the presence of any person or +anything to make them afraid. Their naked feet and arms glimmered with +ornaments of gold and native rubies; and the white _cueitl_, or cymar, +with a peculiar vest or jacket of brilliant colours, while allowing +unrestrained motion to their limbs, gave almost a classic and statuary +beauty to their figures. The youthful musician leaned against a tree, +pleasantly absorbed in the melody she was drawing from the pipe; while +the fifth maiden, for whose amusement the diversion was obviously +continued, was too much occupied with the pet animal, whose ambition +seemed rather to be to browse upon the chaplet than to wear it,--to give +much attention to either the dance or the roundelay. + +The whole scene was one of enchanting innocence and repose; and even +Befo, who was wont to indicate the presence of a stranger with a growl, +betrayed no token of dissatisfaction, so that Juan stood for a little +time gazing on, entirely unseen. His looks were fastened upon her to +whom the musician and the dancers were but attendants, and who, from +other circumstances, had a stronger claim on his regard. + +In her he beheld the young infidel, whose influence over his mind, +operating upon it only for good, had altered the whole current of his +fortunes, and changed what had once seemed a destiny of aggrandisement +and renown, into a career of suffering and contumely. He was now in the +presence of one, for whom he had incurred the hatred of a vindictive +rival, (for all his miseries were dated from the period of his quarrel +with Guzman;) for whose sake he had refused the intercession, and +spurned the affection, of the still more unhappy Magdalena; and for whom +he now thought that even the last and greatest of his griefs, his exile +from Christian companionship, was a happiness, since it promised her the +inestimable gift of a faith, which he would have gladly purchased her +with his life. How far a barbarian and the daughter of a barbarian was +worthy of, and capable of inspiring, an affection so romantic and so +noble, we must inquire of our hearts, rather than our reason. + +She was of that age, which, in our northern climes would have +constituted her a girl, but which, in a tropical region, entitled her to +the name of woman. Her figure was neither mean nor low, but of such +exquisite proportions as, in these days of voluntary degeneration, are +seldom found except among the children of nature. Her skin was, for her +race, wonderfully fair; and yet there were, even among the men of +Mexico, skins much lighter than those of some of the Spaniards, of which +Guatimozin was a famous example. Her dress was similar in fashion to +that of the other damsels, but consisted of many more garments, +according to the mode of the very wealthy and noble maidens, who were +accustomed to wear one cueitl over another, each successive one being +shorter than the preceding, so that the borders of each could be +distinguished. Thus, when they were of different colours, as was often +the case, the whole figure, from the ankles to the waist, seemed +enveloped in one voluminous garment, distinguished by broad horizontal +stripes, exceedingly gay and brilliant. The colours upon the garments of +this maiden were of a more modest character, and richness was given to +them rather by borders singularly embroidered in gold and gems, than by +any splendour of tints. A little vest or bodice of very peculiar fancy +was worn over the shoulders and bosom, secured by a girdle that might +have been called a chain, since it was composed of links of gold. Her +arms were bare like the others', and her feet, not entirely naked, as +was the case with the rest, were protected by a sort of pretty shoes, +too complete to be called sandals, and yet too low to be moccasins. With +this graceful figure, was a face, singularly sweet and even beautiful, +with eyes so broad, so large, so dark, so lustrously mild and saintlike +in expression, that they rivalled those of the young fawn she was +caressing, and perhaps, more than the trivial circumstance presently to +be mentioned, had contributed to obtain for her a name, by which her +countrymen seemed to compare her to the lights of heaven. Among the gold +ornaments and gems of emerald and ruby, with which her hair was +interwoven in braids, was a large jewel of pearls, the rarest, and +therefore the most precious, of trinkets in Tenochtitlan. It was in the +form of a star, to which it bore as much resemblance among the sable +midnight of her hair, as does the snowy blossom of the great Magnolia +amid the dusky obscurity of its evergreen boughs. + +Upon this vision Juan could have gazed for hours; but the fawn which he +had followed to the retreat, perceiving the formidable Befo so close at +hand, bleated out a hasty alarm, and thus directed upon him the eyes of +the whole party. The dance and the music ceased; the maidens screamed, +and would have fled, but for the sense of duty which constrained them to +await the bidding of their mistress. She, though much alarmed at the +sight of neighbours so unexpected, yet mingled with her terror feelings +which kept her chained to the spot, while the attendants clustered +around her, confused, and anxious to fly. + +As soon as Juan perceived the alarm of the party, and saw the eyes of +the princess directed upon him, he bent a knee half to the earth, as if +in the presence of a princess of Christendom, saying gently, + +"I am Juan Lerma, a Castilian--an exile from the Spanish camp, +entreating welcome from my enemies, and yet am no enemy. Fear me not, +daughter of Montezuma; and fear not this animal, who shall be to thee as +harmless as the young fawns." + +At these words, pronounced in their own tongue, and with a voice so mild +and conciliating, the maidens recovered somewhat from their fright, and +assuming at once an air characteristically sedate, cast their eyes upon +the earth, while the young princess stood regarding Juan, with a +countenance indicative of many changing emotions. Seeing, when he had +finished, that he preserved an attitude of submissive respect and +expectation, she stepped timidly forward, and presenting him the garland +which she had failed to secure around the neck of the favourite, said +artlessly, and yet with both dignity and decision, + +"The king is the Great Eagle's friend; the daughter of Montezuma is his +bondmaid--he is welcome to Mexico. I remember the friend of Montezuma my +father,--I remember the good acts of the Christian.--He is welcome." + +Then putting the chaplet into his hand, and taking this into her own, +with a confidence that was perhaps as much the result of unsophisticated +feelings as of peculiar customs, she touched it with her +forehead,--indicating by her words, her gift, and her act of ceremonious +salutation, that, with her welcome, she confessed the obligation of +friendship and gratitude for acts of past kindness. + +"I will wear the garland upon my breast," said Juan, with a look of +purer satisfaction than he had shown for many long days; "and if heaven +grant me fulfilment of the hope that is nearest to my heart, I will wear +it there for ever. Noble and lovely maiden, I am here by the will of +Guatimozin,--I know not well for what purpose, nor how long I shall be +suffered to remain in your presence. This, at least, is certain: the +dark day of war has arisen, and this happy garden may soon become a +theatre of fierce contention, in which the fairest and the best may +perish at the same hour with the worst. Let not that day find Zelahualla +without the Christian's cross on her bosom." + +"Guatimozin will drive the wicked from the land," said Zelahualla, +mildly. "Has my lord the Great Eagle forsaken his wicked people, and +will he yet cling to their gods? After a time, Centeotl, the mother of +heaven and the earth, will prevail over Mexitli, and redeem men from +sorrow: then will men bleed no more on the pyramids, but flowers and +fruits will be the only sacrifices demanded by heaven. How is it with +the gods of Spain? do they not call for victims for ever? The gods of +our land are more just and merciful." + +"Alas," said Juan, "this is a delusion brought upon you by our sinful +acts, not by any defects of our holy religion. Know, Zelahualla, that +there are no gods but ONE, and He is both just and merciful,--the god +alike of the heathen and the Christian. But of this I will not speak to +you now; though perhaps I may never have opportunity to speak again. If +death should come upon you suddenly, call then, in that grievous hour, +upon the name of the Christian's God, and he will not refuse to hear +you, who are in ignorance, and therefore sinless. And wear upon your +neck this cross, given to me by one who was a beloved friend." (It was +the gift of Magdalena.) "Look upon it with reverence, and heaven may +vouchsafe a miracle in your favour. Let it not be forgotten, when danger +comes to you." + +The spirit of the Propaganda had infected the minds of all the Spaniards +in America. The ambition of conversion was inseparably linked with that +of conquest; and on all occasions, except those of actual battle, the +rage of making proselytes was uppermost in the minds of many. This was +undoubtedly fanaticism, and, in the case of the fierce and avaricious, +it developed itself with all the odious features of superstition. With a +few of more gentle and kindly natures, it was a nobler and more +benignant passion. While others sought proselytes for the glory of the +church, these thought only of doing good to man. The best, the most +enthusiastic and successful missionaries, were those whose efforts were +prompted by affection. The first impulse, therefore, of Juan, who had +long since felt and cherished, even among distant deserts, a strong +interest in the fate of this young princess, was to secure to her the +blessings of salvation, which his religious instruction could not lead +him to hope for any one dying in unbelief. It was a consequence and +evidence of affection; but a still stronger proof was given, when he +drew from his breast a little silver cross, which, up to this moment, he +had treasured with the most jealous regard, and proffered it to +Zelahualla. It was, as has been mentioned, the gift of Magdalena, +presented before the evil acts of Hilario and Villafana had interrupted +the affection fast ripening in Juan's heart, and accepted because it +possessed little value beyond that imputed by consecration and +superstition. It was, indeed, as Magdalena had told him, the gift of her +deceased mother, and she had always been taught to believe it possessed +some of the extraordinary virtues of a talisman. In these virtues Juan +was sufficiently benighted to believe; and it was perhaps for this +reason, rather than from any grateful memory of the giver, that he had +from that day worn it in secret upon his bosom, so that it had even +escaped the hands of his jailers in Mechoacan, and from the eyes of his +Spanish companions. It was a proof of the pure and disinterested nature +of his regard for the Indian princess, as well as of his reliance upon +its heavenly protection, that he could rob himself of a relic so prized, +in order that its presence might secure to her the benefits of a belief +she neither understood nor professed. + +If such were his own superstition, it could not be supposed that +Zelahualla's was less in degree. On the contrary, she received the +humble trinket with a look of respect as well as gratitude, saying with +the greatest simplicity, + +"What the Great Eagle loves must be good, and Zelahualla will listen +when his god speaks to her." + +"Is it possible," thought Juan, while flinging the chain of silver beads +by which it was secured round his neck, "that a creature so beautiful +and so good--so pure, so innocent, so lovely to the eye and the +thought--should be really a pagan and barbarian?" + +The question was indeed natural enough. A sweeter impersonation of +beauty both mental and corporeal, could scarcely be imagined; and the +light of her eyes was so mild and seraphic, that one might wonder whence +it came, if not from the operation of that divine belief, which chases +from the heart the impurer traits of nature. + +What further thoughts might have crowded into Juan's breast, and what +might have been the conclusion of an interview so interesting, it is not +necessary to imagine. While he was yet securing the chain around the +bended neck of the princess, a step, previously heralded by the growl of +Befo, rang upon the walk, and the Lord of Death, followed at a little +distance by Techeechee, stalked into the covert, arrayed in all the +Mexican panoply of war and knighthood. Instead of a tunic of cotton +cloth or other woven material, he wore, doubtless over some stronger +protection, a sort of hauberk of dressed tiger's skin, fitting tight to +his massive chest, and bordered by a skirt of long feathers, reaching +nearly to his knees. On his head was a helmet or cap which had once +adorned the skull of the same ferocious animal, the teeth and ears +flapping about his temples, and the skin of the legs, with the talons +remaining, hanging at the sides over his shoulders and breast, waving +about in connexion with his long black locks and the scarlet tufts among +them. His shield of stout cane-work, painted, and ornamented with a long +waving penacho of feathers, hung at his back, and a macana of gigantic +size swung from his wrist. His legs were swathed, merry-andrew-wise, +with ribands of scarlet and gilded leather, that seemed to begin at his +sandals; and his arms, otherwise naked, were ornamented up to the elbow +in a similar way. On the whole, his appearance was highly formidable and +impressive, and not the less so that many marks of blood, crusted about +his person, as well as divers rents in his spotted hauberk, told how +recently and how valiantly he had borne his part in the terrors of +conflict. + +As he entered the covert, his step was bold, springy, and majestic, such +as belongs to the native American warrior, when he treads the prairie +and the mountain, beyond the ken of the white man. It happened that his +ear being struck by the growl of Befo, his attention was not immediately +directed to the princess and her companion; but, seeing the dog, and +conceiving at once, though not without surprise, the cause of his +presence, he turned round in search of his master, and beheld him +engaged securing the relic around the neck of the daughter of Montezuma. + +At this sight, his countenance changed from the haughty joy of a +soldier, and darkened with gloom and displeasure. He even grasped his +macana, and took a stride towards the pair, who were unconscious of his +intrusion, until Befo made it evident by a louder growl, and by taking a +stand, ready to dispute the warrior's right of approach. + +The person of the Lord of Death was at first unknown to Juan; but he +beheld enough in his visage to convince him it was not that of a friend. +Still, he knew too much of the almost slavish reverence with which even +the highest nobles regarded their king and the child of a king, to +apprehend any danger from the warrior's wrath. In this belief he was +justified by the act of the barbarian, who, perceiving Zelahualla look +towards him with surprise, released the weapon from his grasp, and +sinking into the lowest obeisance of humility, kissed the earth at her +feet. Then rising and surveying her with a melancholy, but deeply +respectful look, he said, + +"What am I but a slave before the daughter of Montezuma? The young man +of the east is the king's brother. I speak the words of Guatimozin: 'My +brother shall look to-day upon the king of Mexico, with the crown upon +his head, at the rock of Chapoltepec, among the people.' These are the +words of the king. Shall the king's brother obey the king?" + +"Doth Guatimozin call the Eagle his brother?" exclaimed Zelahualla, with +a look of the greatest satisfaction. "Then shall no evil befall him +among the people. Let my lord the Christian and Great Eagle depart, and +fear not: for the men of Mexico know that he was good to the king and +the king's daughter, when the king was a captive; and therefore +Zelahualla will remember what he says of the god of the silver cross." + +Thus summoned, and thus dismissed, Juan withdrew his eyes from the +beaming and singularly engaging countenance of the maiden, and looked to +the Lord of Death, as if to signify his readiness to depart. But the +Lord of Death seemed for a moment to have lost his powers of locomotion. +He remained gazing upon the princess with an aspect increasing in gloom, +and once or twice seemed as if he would have spoken something in anger +and reprehension. Yet deterred by the divinity of royalty that hedged +about her, or more probably by the divinity of her beauty, he roused up +at last, and, after making another deep reverence, which was as if a +lion had bowed down at the feet of a doe, he strode away without +speaking, followed by Juan and Techeechee. + +From Techeechee Juan learned what he had in in part gathered from the +obscure expressions of the noble: He was summoned to witness the +coronation of the young king in form before the assembled Mexicans, on +the consecrated hill of Chapoltepec, on which occasion he was to be +honoured and his person made sacred, by the king bestowing on him the +title of friend and brother. + +The path led Juan as before through the royal menagerie; and while +passing among the wild beasts, Techeechee signified to the Christian +that the presence of Befo among the Mexicans would subject him to much +difficulty, if not danger; and would certainly, the moment he was seen, +produce a confusion in the assemblage, indecorous to the occasion, and +highly displeasing to the king and the Mexican dignitaries. To this Juan +justly assented, and not knowing in what other manner he could dispose +of his faithful attendant, he agreed, at Techeechee's suggestion, to +confine him in one of the several empty cages, wherein he was assured +and believed, he would remain in safety. This being accomplished, and +not without trouble, he endeavoured with caresses to reconcile the +animal to his novel imprisonment, and then left him. + +He found the Lord of Death at the pool, with a piragua, very singularly +carved and ornamented, in which were six Mexicans, known at once by +their dress to be warriors of established reputation, the rules of +Mexican chivalry not allowing any soldier, even if the son of the king, +to wear, in time of war, any but the plainest white garment, until he +had accomplished deeds worthy of distinction. These were arrayed in +escaupil, variously ornamented with plumes and gilded leather; they had +war-clubs and quivers, and their appearance was both martial and +picturesque. + +At a signal from Masquazateuctli, they seized their paddles and began to +urge the piragua towards the water-gate of the wall, and Techeechee +leaping into the little canoe, Juan prepared to follow after him. He was +arrested by the Lord of Death, who touched his arm, though not rudely, +and looking into his face for awhile, with an expression in which anger +seemed to struggle with melancholy, said, + +"The Great Eagle is the brother of Guatimozin,--Masquazateuctli is but +his slave. Where would the king's brother have been this day, had the +king not taken him from the prison-house?" + +"In heaven, if it becomes me to say so--certainly, at least, in the +grave," replied Juan, in some surprise. "In this capture, or this +rescue, as I may call it, the king will bear witness, I did not myself +concur; for such concurrence I esteemed unbecoming to my state as a +Christian and Spaniard. Yet I am not the less grateful to Guatimozin, +and I acknowledge he has given me a life." + +"It was a good thing of the king," said the barbarian; "but what is +this? Are you a Spaniard in Mexico, and alive? neither upon the block of +the pyramid, nor in the cage at the temple-yard? The king feeds you in +his house, he gives you water from his fountain, and robes from his +bed,--he takes you by his side, and, among his people, he says, 'This +man is my brother; therefore look upon him with love.' Is not this good +also of the king?" + +"It is," replied Juan, gravely; "and I need not be instructed, that it +becomes me to be grateful, even by a warrior so renowned and noble as +the Lord of Death." + +The eyes of the barbarian sparkled with a fierce fire while he +continued,-- + +"What then should you look for in Mexico, but shelter and food?--a house +to hide you from the angry men of Spain, and bread to eat in your +hiding-place? Where are the quiver and the macana? Will the king's +brother fight the king's enemies?" + +"If they be my countrymen, the Spaniards, _no_," replied Juan, with great +resolution, yet not without uneasiness; for he read in the question, an +early attempt to seduce him into apostacy. "I am the king's guest,--his +prisoner, if he will,--his victim, if it must be,--but not his soldier." + +"Hearken then to me," said the Indian, with a stern and magisterial +voice: "The king is the lord of the valley, the master of men's lives, +and the beloved of Mexico; but he has not the heart of the old man gray +with wisdom, and he knows not the guile of the stranger. Why should his +brother do him a wrong? The king thinks his brother a green snake from +the corn-field, to play with;[9] but he has the teeth of the rattling +adder!" + +[Footnote 9: The Mexicans were accustomed to tame and domesticate +certain harmless reptiles.] + +"Mexican!" said Juan, indignantly, "these words from the mouth of a +Spaniard, would be terms of mortal injury; and infidel though you be, +yet you must know, they bear the sting of insult. What warrior art thou, +that canst abuse the helplessness of a captive, and do wrong to an +unarmed man?" + +"Do I wrong thee, then?" replied the Lord of Death, grimly. "Lo, thou +art here safe from thy bitter-hearted people, and wilt not even repay +the goodness of the king, by striking the necks of his enemies, who are +also thine! Is not this enough? Put upon thee the weeds of a woman, and +go sleep in the garden of birds, afar from danger,--yet call not the +birds down from the tree; hide thee in the bush of flowers, yet pluck +not the flowers from the stem. Let the guest remember he is a guest, and +steal not from the house that gives him shelter.--Does the king's +brother understand the words of the king's slave?" + +"I do not," said Juan, with a frown. "They are the words of a +dreamer;--" and he would have passed on towards the canoe, which he now +perceived was waiting him near the wicket, but that the Lord of Death +again arrested him. + +"The king is good," he said with deep and meaning accents, "but the +wrong-doer shall not escape. Perhaps,"--and here he softened the +severity of his speech, and even assumed a look of friendly +interest,--"perhaps the Great Eagle has left his best friend among the +fighting-men of Tezcuco? Let him be patient for a little, and his friend +shall be given to him." + +"You speak to me in riddles," replied Juan, impatiently. "Let us be +gone." + +The Mexican gave the youth a look of the darkest and most menacing +character, and uttering the figurative name which Guatimozin had already +applied to the princess, said, + +"The Centzontli is the daughter of Montezuma,--the bird that is not to +be called from the tree, the flower that is not to be pulled from the +stem.--The king is good to his brother; but Mexico is not a dog, that +the Spaniard should steal away the daughter of heaven." + +Then, clutching his war-axe, as if to give more emphasis to his warning, +the nature of which was no longer to be mistaken, he gave the young man +one more look, exceedingly black and threatening, and strode rapidly +away. The next moment, he leaped, with the activity of a mountain-cat, +into the piragua, and speaking but a word to the rowers, was instantly +paddled into the lake. + +Juan followed, not a little troubled and displeased by the complexion +and tone of the menace, and stepping into the canoe, was soon impelled +from the garden. He perceived the piragua floating hard by, and the Lord +of Death standing erect among the rowers. As soon as the canoe drew +nigh, the warrior-noble made certain gestures to Techeechee, signifying +that he should conduct the youth on the voyage alone. Then giving a sign +to his attendants, the prow of the piragua was turned towards the east, +and, much to the surprise of Juan, and not a little even to that of the +Ottomi, was urged in that direction with the most furious speed. As they +started, the rowers set up a yell, as if animated by the prospect of +some stirring and adventurous exploit. + +Techeechee gazed after them for a moment, and then handling his paddle, +he directed the canoe round the point of Tlatelolco, and was soon lost +among a multitude of similar vessels, all proceeding to the southwest, +in the direction of the hill of Chapoltepec. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The review, division, and minute organization of the vast army now at +the disposal of the Captain-General, occupied nearly the whole day, +which was unexpectedly propitious, as the rainy season might be said to +have already commenced. Clouds, indeed, gathered over the sky, in the +afternoon, giving a melancholy aspect to the hills and meadows; and a +thick fog rose from the lake and spread around, until it had pervaded +the lower grounds on its borders. Yet not a drop of rain fell during the +whole day, and, by sunset, the clouds dispersed, without having +disturbed the firmament with thunder; and the lake was left to glimmer +in the light of a young moon, and the multitude of stars. + +The whole native population of Tezcuco had been drawn to the meadows, to +witness the glories of military parade, and the city was deserted and +solitary. Nay, even the watchmen on the walls, forgetting the audacious +assault of the past night, and anxious to share a spectacle from which +their duties should have separated them, stole, one after another, from +their posts, until the northern gates were left wholly unguarded. The +vanity of the Commander-in-Chief could not permit the absence of a +single effective Spaniard from the scene of display, and the walls had +been left to Tlascalans. + +Late in the afternoon, and when the mists were thickest, and the hues of +the fields most mournful, a single individual passed from that gate at +which Juan Lerma, eight or nine weeks before, had terminated the first +chapter of his exile. A friar's cassock and cowl enveloped his whole +form, yet the dullest eye would have detected in the vigour and +impetuosity of his step, the presence of passions which could not belong +to the holy profession. His eye was fixed upon a shadowy figure, almost +lost among the mists, that went staggering along, as if upon a course +not yet defined, or over paths difficult to be traced; and while he was +obviously watching and pursuing the retreating shape, it seemed to be +with a confidence that feared not the observation of the fugitive. Thus, +when the figure paused, he arrested his steps, and resumed them only +when they were resumed by the other; and, in this manner, he followed +onwards, with little precaution, until Tezcuco was left far behind, +hidden in the fog. As he moved, he muttered many expressions, indicative +of a deeply disturbed and even remorseful mind. + +"All this have _I_ done," he exclaimed, bitterly, and almost wildly. +"Mine own sin, though black as the soot of perdition, is stained a +triple dye by the malefactions it has caused in others--_Mea culpa, mea +culpa, mea maxima culpa!_ Cursed avarice! cursed ambition! There _is_ a +retribution that follows us even to the grave; sin is punished with +sin,--the first fault lays fire to the train of our vices, and in their +explosions we are further stained,--punished, destroyed. That sin! and +what has come of it? Where is the gain to balance it? Cajoled by the +demon that seduced me, cheated and flung aside--suspected, degraded, +demoralized--a wanderer, a villain, a cur--the friend of rogues, and +myself their fittest fellow--Heaven is strong, and justice +oppressive.--_Munda cor meum ac labia mea!_ for I blaspheme!" + +Thus muttered the distracted Camarga, for it was he who gave vent to +such troubled expressions. Some of these were uttered so loudly, that +they seemed to reach the ear of the fugitive, who turned round, looked +back for a moment, and then diving into a misty hollow, was for a short +time concealed from his eyes. + +"Ay,--fly, fly!" he muttered, gnashing his teeth; "fly, wretch, fly! But +wert thou fleeter than the mountain-deer, thou couldst not escape the +fiend that is already tearing at thy vitals. Fling thyself into the +lake, too, and after death, open thine eyes upon a phantom of horror, +that will sit before thee for ever!" + +Then pursuing with greater activity, he again caught sight of the +fugitive, who was ascending the little promontory of the cypress-tree, +on which Juan Lerma had first beheld the faces of his countrymen. + +"And Hernan Cortes will yet have me speak the story!" he murmured. "Be +it so--live she or die she, he shall hear it, and curse the curiosity +that compelled it. Ay! and his anguish will be some set-off to the joy +of having triumphed over the poor wretch he persecuted. God rest thee, +Juan Lerma! for thou at least hast died in ignorance; and but for this +mischance,--this fatal mischance,--hadst been worthy of a better fate, +and therefore saved from destruction." + +As he uttered these broken words, he perceived La Monjonaza,--for it was +this unhappy creature whom he followed,--steal over the mound to the +right hand, as if turning her steps from the lake landward. But being +aware that she had beheld him, and suspecting this to be merely a feint, +designed to mislead him, he directed his course to the water-side, and +stepping among the rocks and brambles at the base of the hill, passed it +in time to behold Magdalena stalking, with a countenance of distraction, +towards the lake, as if impelled by some terrible goadings of mind, to +self-destruction. + +"Wretched creature!" he cried, springing forwards, and staying her +frenzied steps, "what is this you do? Fling not away the grace that is +in wait.--_You_, at least, may live and be forgiven." + +To his great surprise, the unhappy girl, whose countenance had indicated +all the iron determination of desperation, offered not the slightest +resistance, while he drew her from the water-side; but turning towards +him with the face of a maiden detected in some merry and harmless +mischief, she began to laugh; but immediately afterwards, burst into +tears. + +"Good heavens!" said Camarga, with compassion, "are you indeed brought +to this pass? What! the mind that even amazed Don Hernan--is it gone? +wholly gone? Miserable Magdalena! this is the fruit of sin!" + +At the sound of a name, so seldom pronounced in these lands, the lady +rose from the rock, on which she had suffered herself to be seated, +although it was observable that she showed no symptoms of surprise. She +gazed fixedly at Camarga for an instant, and a dark frown gathering on +her brows, she turned to depart, without reply. Camarga, however, +detained her, and would have spoken; but no sooner did she feel his hand +laid upon her mantle than she turned suddenly round, with a look of +inexpressible fierceness, saying, with the sternest accents of a voice +always strikingly expressive, + +"Who art thou, that comest between me and my purpose? If a priest or an +angel, fly,--for here thou art with contamination; if a man, and a bad +man, still fly, lest thou be struck dead with the breath of one deeper +plunged in guilt than thyself.--If a devil, then remain, and claim thy +prey from the apostate and murderess. Dost thou forbid me even to die?" + +"Ay--I do," replied Camarga, trembling, yet less at her terrible +countenance than her fearful expressions: "I am one who, in the name of +heaven,--a name which is alike polluted: in thy mouth and in +mine--command thee to recall thy senses, if they have not utterly fled, +and bid thee, thinking of self-slaughter no longer, leave this land of +wretchedness, and, in a cloister, and with a life of penitence, obtain +the pardon which heaven will not perhaps withhold." + +"Pardon comes not without punishment," said Magdalena, sternly; "and I +would not that it should: and for penitence,--the moaning regret that +exists without torture and suffering,--know that it is but a mockery. +Kill thy friend, and repent,--yet dream not of paradise. Scourge +thyself, die on the rack or gibbet, and await thy fate in the grave. +Begone; or rest where thou art, and follow me no more." + +"Till thou die, or till thou art lodged within the walls of a convent," +said Camarga, grasping her arm with a strength and determination she +could not resist: "thus far will I follow thee, rave thou never so much. +Oh, wretched creature! and wert thou about to rush into the presence of +thy Maker, unshriven, unrepenting, unprepared?" + +Magdalena surveyed him with a look that changed gradually from anger to +wistful emotion; and then again shedding tears, she dropped on her +knees, saying, with a tone and manner that went to his heart, + +"I will shrive me then, and then let me go, for thy presence persecutes +me.--Well, and perhaps it is better; for it is long since I have looked +upon a man of God--long since I have spoken with any just Christian but +_one_,--and him I have given up to the murderers. Hear me then, and then +absolve or condemn as thou wilt, for I judge myself; and I confess to +thee, only that my words may drive thee away, as would the moans of a +coming pestilence. Hear me then, friar, and then begone from me." + +"Arise," said Camarga, "I seek not thy confession, at least not now: I +have that will draw it from thee, at a fitter time and place. In this +distant spot, thou art exposed to danger from the infidels." + +"If thou fearest them, away! Why dost thou trouble me? If thou stayest, +listen to my words; for though they come too late, yet will they cause +thee to do justice to the name, and say masses for the soul, of Juan +Lerma." + +"Speak of Juan Lerma," said Camarga, with a trembling voice, "and I will +indeed listen to thee. _In nomine Dei Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus +Sancti_, speak and speak truly. Cursed be thou, even by my lips, if thou +speakest that which is false, or concealest aught that is true!" + +"Truth, though I die,--and let me die when it is spoken," said +Magdalena, placing her lips with the instinctive reverence of habit to +the cross which Camarga extended. As she kissed it, her heart seemed to +soften, and she shed many bitter tears, while pouring forth her broken +and melancholy story. + +"Know, father," she said, not once doubting that she had a true father +of the church before her, "that it was my misfortune never to have known +the kindness and care of a parent." + +"Let that be passed," said Camarga, hurriedly. "Speak not of the sins of +thy youth, a thousand times confessed, and a thousand times absolved. +Speak of thy coming to the island,--of thy broken vows,--thy--" But here +perceiving that Magdalena started with a sort of affright, at finding +how far his knowledge had anticipated her divulgements, he continued, +with better discretion, "Thus much do I know--_how_ I know, ask not; and +yet thou mayst be told, too, that much of thy fate was interwoven with +that of Villafana." + +"_My_ fate, and that of Villafana!" cried Magdalena, with a withering +look of contempt. But instantly changing to a more submissive air, she +exclaimed, "My _story_, indeed, father, but not my fate. If he have +confessed to you, then do you know enough,--perhaps all. He told you, +then, that his avarice, gratified at the expense of a horrible +crime,--the destruction of the ship, and the lives of all within it, +abbess, nuns, sailors, and all,--was the cause of all my calamities, +since it was my hard fate not to perish with the rest. He robbed the +ship of the golden and silver church-vessels, when we were near to the +port, and made his escape to the shore, leaving us to sink in the midst +of a storm then rising. Our pilot having no hope but in running upon the +shore, then within sight, ran the vessel among certain rocks, where it +was beaten to pieces. Father, it chanced to be my fate, and mine alone, +to be plucked out of that roaring sea, by one to whom, when lying in a +gulf ten times more hideous, I refused to stretch out my hand. Father! +last night a word from my lips would have saved the life of Juan Lerma, +and I did not speak it!" + +"Dwell not on this," said Camarga, sternly. "Rather thank heaven that +thou wert rendered unable by any exercise of criminal love, to preserve +on the earth's surface a wretch, at whose footstep it shuddered." + +"Hah!" cried Magdalena, starting up in a transport of indignation, and +sending daggers from her eyes, "who art thou, that speakest so falsely +and foully of Juan Lerma? Wert thou, instead of a pattering friar, a +canonized saint in heaven, still wert thou but a thing of dross and +earth, compared with him thou malignest!" + +Before Camarga could rebuke this burst of passion, she sank, as before, +to the earth, weeping afresh; for she was in that pitiable state of +mental feebleness, in which life seems only to continue in impulses,--a +chain of convulsions and exhaustions. "Alas, father," she continued, +with sobs, "you have been taught, like the rest, to misconceive and +belie the best and most unfortunate of men;--for such is Juan +Lerma;--and you have perhaps joined with the rest to compass his +destruction. Has he wronged you? no--you have imagined a wrong. Has he +wronged Cortes? no--he has wronged no one; but the ear of Cortes was +open to his enemies. Hear me, father, and while you condemn me, listen +to the refutation of slander. Father, when I opened mine eyes to the +light, and in the presence of him who had saved me, I forgot my vows; +nay, I thought that heaven had absolved them in the wreck, and ordained +that I should be happy in a new existence. Never before had I looked +upon the world, and the people of the world,--never before had I looked +upon Juan Lerma. When had I seen one smile upon me with affection? +Father, for a second such smile, I would have moaned again on the wreck, +seeing my companions swept from me one by one. I grew cunning and +deceitful, and when they asked me of the ship and people, I told them +falsehoods, lest they should bring me the veil and the priest, and carry +me from his presence. Alas! and my deceit availed not; he smiled no +more; and when Hilario spoke of affection--affection for me,--Juan Lerma +withdrew without a sigh, without a struggle." + +"Saints of heaven!" cried Camarga, starting with horror, gasping for +breath, and, in the sense of suffocation, forgetting his assumed +character so much as to fling back the cowl that had concealed his +features. "Dost thou speak me the truth? On thy life,--on thy hopes of +heaven's forgiveness,--on thy love even for this lost, perhaps this +dead, youth,--I charge thee speak me the truth. Went there no more than +this between you? And Juan Lerma loved you not? and Villafana belied ye +both? And you are not--" + +He paused in agitation, unable to utter another word; and Magdalena, +surprised as much at his extraordinary interest in her story, as well as +confounded by the absence of the tonsure, and the glittering of an iron +gorget about his throat, seemed for a moment unable to answer his +questions. But summoning her spirits at last, she said, + +"Thou art not a priest, but a layman, a stranger, and a man of sin! But +be who thou wilt, friend or foe, thou knowest now enough of my history +to be entitled to know all. Never did man couple my name with shame, and +think of any but him who died under the dagger of Villafana. As for Juan +Lerma, not even Cortes, his bitterest enemy, would dare accuse him of a +deed of dishonour. Stranger, if thou art interested in the betrayed and +murdered Juan, know at least that he died innocent of any wrong to +Magdalena." + +"Now God be praised for this good word!" said Camarga, dropping on his +knees, and speaking with what seemed a distraction of fervour and +delight: "God be praised that I may not think, at my death-hour, that my +sins have caused among my children the crime of incest! God be praised! +God be praised!" + +"Incest! _Thy_ children!" exclaimed Magdalena, wildly. "What art thou? +What is this thou sayst?" + +"What do I say I and why need I say it?" cried Camarga, springing up and +wringing his hands--"have we not slain him among us? Oh, wretched +Magdalena, if, by thine influence, he was brought to this pass, know +that thou hast slain thine own brother!" + +At this strange and exciting revelation, Magdalena, who had, in the +ecstacy of expectation, seized upon Camarga's hands with a convulsive +grasp, uttered a scream, wild, loud, and thrilling, and yet how unlike +to that which rose from her breaking heart in the prison! It was some +such cry as might be supposed to come from a despairing Christian, who +finds that the gates, which he thinks are conducting him to hell, have +suddenly ushered him into the walks of paradise. It mingled fear and +astonishment with joy, but joy predominant over the others; and though +it sounded as if coming from a bursting heart, it was as if from one +bursting in the over-bound and expansion of a breast released from a +mountain of oppression. It echoed over the lake, and seemed to have +called up the spirits thereof; for before its last hysterical echo had +vibrated on the ear, there sprang up, as if they had risen from the +earth or the waters, six or seven athletic barbarians, flourishing heavy +macanas, who rushed at once upon the pair. + +At the sight of such unexpected and formidable antagonists, though taken +entirely by surprise, Camarga snatched his concealed sword from the +scabbard, leaped with great intrepidity betwixt Magdalena and the +nearest savage, who seemed the leader of the party, and made a blow at +him, while calling to her, + +"Fly! fly! and tell Cortes that thy brother--" But his lips finished not +the sentence. Whether it was that he was rendered helpless by long +continued disease, was embarrassed by the friar's cassock, or was really +unskilful in the use of weapons, it is certain that his blade dropped +harmless on the macana of the warrior. Before he could recover his +guard, the battle-axe of the Mexican fell upon his head with deadly +violence, and he rolled, to all appearance a dying man, on the ground. + +At the same instant, another warrior clutched upon Magdalena, who, +though pale as death, and agitated by a long succession of passions, yet +drew the dagger she always carried at her girdle, and aimed it at the +breast of the infidel. Before it could do him any harm, it was snatched +out of her hand, and she herself caught up as by the grasp of a giant, +in the arms of the leader, and hurried to the water. In an instant more, +she was placed in a piragua, which her capturers drew from a reed-brake +hard by, and secured, though not rudely, beyond the possibility of +further resistance, among the infidels. They caught up their paddles, +uttered a wild yell, and the next moment dashed from the shore, and were +hidden among the mists of the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +Are the refinements and delicate sensibilities of the spirit confined to +the highborn and polished? They are undoubtedly the offspring of nature: +Education supplies their place only by the substitutes of affectation. +Though poverty may crush, though wretchedness and evil habits may +corrupt and extinguish them, yet they throb in the breasts of the lowly, +during the days of youth, and are not always banished even by the +rigours of manhood. They dwell under the painted lodge of the barbarian, +and they burn even in the heart of the benighted heathen. + +Let us fancy the moonlight streaming over the lake of Tezcuco. The moon +is in her first quarter, and the evening-star, almost her rival in +lustre and magnitude, precedes her in the blue paths of the west. The +golden radiance of sunset trembles no more on the mountain peaks; but +the thin vapours floating through the zenith, are yet gleaming faintly +with the last expiring glories of day. The birds are at rest in the +garden of Mexico,--all save the little madrugadores, that yet chirp +merrily in the trees, and the centzontli, who leaves her ravishing +melody, to mock them with their own music, made yet more musical. The +breeze sleeps among the boughs, or it stirs only through the poplar +leaves, and its rustling sound is mingled with the hum of a thousand +nocturnal insects. In such a night, one forgets that man is not an +angel. We see not the frown of malevolence in the sky; we hear not the +step of the betrayer on the grass; nor does the dew-drop, falling from +the leaf, admonish us of the tears that are streaming, hard by, in +sorrow. In such a night, the feelings of the kind are kindest, the +thoughts of the pure, purest; youth gathers about it the mantle of hope, +and hope whispers in the voice of affection. At such a time, it is good +to look into the hearts of the youthful, and forget the excitements of +years. A draught from the waters of Clitorius was fabled to extinguish +the thirst for wine.[10] He who can creep into the bosoms of the young, +and drink of the fountain of innocent affections, will turn with +loathing from the impure and maddening currents, that convert the human +family into a race of moral Bacchanals. + +[Footnote 10: + + Clitorio quicunque sitim de fonte levârit + Vina fugit. + + _Metam. Lib._ XV.] + +Can we think that among the worshippers of the ferocious Mexitli, and +the fierce invaders of his people, there were none with natures worthy +of a better belief, and a nobler cause? Destiny had thrown together two, +at least, whose spirits were but little tainted with the evil of their +place and their day,--in whom, perhaps, feeling rather than reason, had +set a talisman that left them incorruptible. A good heart is to man what +the galvanic bar of the philosopher was to the ship's copper-sheathing. +It gives this protection, at least, that, through the whole voyage of +life, it preserves the integrity of the vessel. The barnacle and the +remora will indeed deaden its course, but the metal remains clean and +bright: the billows of the world waste their corrosive powers only on +the protector. Morality itself is two-fold; it is of the head, and of +the heart. The first belongs to the philosopher, the second to the poet. +The one is an abstraction of reason; the other an exhortation of +passion. The morality of the head is the only one that is just; but it +is loveliest and best when the heart enforces its precepts. With good +hearts, Juan Lerma and the princess of Mexico, moved among the +corruptions of superstition, uncorrupted; and preserved to themselves, +unabated and unsullied, the pure and gentle feelings, which nature had +showered upon them at their birth. + +The moon, falling aslant upon the garden, lighted the countenances of +the young Spanish exile and the orphan child of Montezuma, as they +rested upon the summit of a little artificial mound, ornamented with +carved stone seats and rude statuary, constructed for the purpose of +overlooking the walls. The visage of the Christian was illumined by +pensive smiles, and his lips breathed gently and fervently the accents +that were sweetest to the ears of the Indian maiden. But did he +discourse of worldly affection and passion to one so ignorant and +artless? A nobler spirit animated the youth. He spoke of the faith of +Christians, and laboured with more than the zeal, though not perhaps +with the wisdom of the missionary, to impress its divine truths upon the +mind of his hearer. If his arguments were somewhat less cogent and +logical than might have been spoken, it must be remembered that his +religion was like that which will perhaps belong to the majority of +Christians to the end of the world,--a faith of the heart, which the +head has not been accustomed to canvass. + +He directed her eyes to the moon, to the evening star, and to those +other celestial wanderers, by which the heart of man was 'secretly +enticed,' even before the days of the perfect man of Uz. + +"They are the little bright heroes that hang down from the house of +Ometeuctli, king of the city of heaven," said the poor infidel,--"all +save Meztli," (the moon) "who is the king of night, brother of +Tonatricli," (the sun) "god of the burning day. This is what they say of +the two gods: There were men on the earth, but wicked: the ancient gods, +the sons of Ipalnemoani killed them. Then Ometeuctli sent forth from the +city of heaven his sons, who descended to Mictlan,--the dark hell,--by +the road that leads between the Fighting Mountains, and the Eight +Deserts,--and stole the bones of men, that Mictlanteuctli had heaped up +in his cavern. The sons of Ometeuctli sprinkled the bones with their +blood; and these men lived again, and the sons of Ometeuctli were their +rulers and fathers. But the earth was dark,--it was night over the +world, and the only light was the fire which they kindled and kept +burning in the vale of Teotihuacan. The sons of Ometeuctli pitied the +men they had revived; and, to give them light, they burned themselves in +the fire. Ometeuctli, their father, then placed them in the +sky,--Tonatricli the first born, to be the sun, Meztli to be the moon, +and the others to be stars. So they hang in heaven, turned to fire: and +men built pyramids to them, on the place of burning, Micoatl, the Field +of Death.[11] They are very good gods, for they shine upon us." + +[Footnote 11: The vale of San Juan de Teotihuacan, where stand the great +pyramids of the Sun and Moon, and the smaller mounds erected to the +Stars.] + +"Forget these idle fables," said Juan, with a gentleness much more +judicious than any zeal could have been. "Forget, too, Mexitli, +Painalton, Quetzalcoatl, Centeotl, and the thousand vain beings of +imagination, with which your priests have peopled the world. Think only +of the great _Teotl_, whom you have called Ipalnemoani,--the great God, +the only God,--for there is no other than He, and the rest are but +fables. Yonder moon and stars are not divinities, but great globes like +this on which we live; and to worship them is a sin--it angers +Ipalnemoani, who is the only God,--the Creator,--whom all men worship, +though under different names. Worship but Ipalnemoani, and in mode as I +will tell thee, and thou art already almost a Christian." + +"But is not Christ another god of the Spaniards?" said the maiden, +doubtfully. + +"The Son of God, a portion of God, and God himself," replied the +Christian, launching at once into all the theological metaphysics with +which he was acquainted, and succeeding in confounding the mind of the +poor barbarian, without being very sensible of the confusion of his own. +But if he could not teach her how to distinguish between categories, not +reducible to order and consistency by the poor aids of human language, +he was able to interest her in the fate and character of the divine +Redeemer, by no other means than that of relating his history. And it is +this, to which men must chiefly look for instruction, belief, and +renovation, without reference to dogmas and creeds; for here all find +the unanimity of belief and feeling, which entitles them to the claims +of fraternity. + +When Juan had excited her sympathy in the character of the Messiah, he +began to discourse upon the object and the ends of his mission. But +unfortunately the doctrine of original sin, with which he set out, had +in it something extremely repugnant to the rude ideas of the child of +nature. It inferred a native wickedness in all, to be banished only by +belief; and it seemed at once to place _her_ in an humble and degraded +light, in the eyes of the young Christian. + +"What has Zelahualla done," she said, with maidenly pride, "that the +king's brother should make her out wicked?" + +At this application of the doctrine, Juan was somewhat staggered in his +own belief. He looked at the mild eyes of the catechumen, beaming as +from a spirit without stain and without guile, and he said to himself, +'How can this be? for she has known no sin?' His imagination wandered +among the moral and religious precepts stored in his memory, and settled +at last with the triumph of a controversialist, as well as the +satisfaction of a Christian, upon the first rules of the +decalogue,--broken in ignorance, and therefore he doubted not, easily +atoned. He told her that the worship of false gods was a sin, and homage +shown to idols of wood and stone a deep iniquity; and these being common +to all benighted people, he satisfied himself, and perhaps her, that +they were unanswerable proofs of the existence of natural depravity. But +a stronger light was thrown upon the maiden's mind, when he showed its +effects in the scene of bloodshed, commenced long since in the days of +her sire, and now about to be terminated in a war of massacre. + +"He of whom I speak," he said, "came into the world, in order that these +things should cease. He offers men peace and good-will; and when men +acknowledge him and follow his commands, peace and good-will will reign +over the whole world. Think not, because my countrymen are sometimes +unjust, and often cruel, that our divine Leader is the less divine. +These are the wickednesses of their nature, not yet removed by full or +just belief; for the belief of some is insufficient, of others +perverted, and some, though they profess it, have no belief at all. +Know, then, that our religion, justly considered, and with a pure mind +not selfish, has its great element in _affection_. It teaches love of +heaven, and, equally love of man. It denounces the wrong-doer, who is as +a fire, burning away the cords that bind men together in happiness; and +it exalts the good man, who unites his fellows in affection. It punishes +vicious deeds and forbids evil thoughts; for with these, there can be no +happiness and peace. This it does upon earth; and it prepares for the +world beyond the grave, in which no human passion or infirmity can +disturb the perfect purity and enjoyment, of which the immortal spirit +is capable." + +Thus he conversed, and thus, guided by the native bias of his mind, +dwelt upon that feature of our heavenly faith, of which it requires no +aid of enthusiasm to perceive the amiableness and beauty. "_Peace and +good-will to all!_"[12] There is a charm in the holy sentence, at once +the watchword and synopsis of religion, that thrills to the hearts even +of those, who, to obtain the base immortality of renown, are willing to +exchange it for the war-cry of the barbarian, the _Vć victis!_ of a +hero. + +[Footnote 12: According to the Vulgate, the good tidings of great joy +offered peace only 'to men of good-will,'--_pax hominibus bonć +voluntatis_,--which, whether the translation be right or wrong, +undoubtedly destroys the sublimity of the conception, by narrowing down +the benevolence of the deity, and deprives of the blessing of peace that +majority of men, who, _not_ being men of good-will, have the greatest +need of it.] + +Thus far, then, the heart of the Indian maiden was softened, and +tears,--not of penitence, for it never entered her mind that she had +anything to repent,--tears of gentle and pleasurable emotion stole into +her eyes, as she listened to tenets explained by one so revered and +beloved. + +"The religion that my lord loves, is good; and Zelahualla shall know no +other." + +"God be praised for this then," said Juan, fervently; "for now is the +desire of my heart fulfilled, mine errand accomplished; and I will die, +when I am called, cheerfully; knowing that thou wilt follow me to +heaven. Now do I perceive that heaven works good in our misfortunes. The +miseries that I have lamented,--the hatred of Don Hernan, the malice of +my foes, my downfall, my condemnation,--what were they but the steps +which have led me to effect thy conversion and salvation? God be praised +for all things! and God grant that the seeds of the true faith, now sown +in thy heart, may grow and flourish, till transplanted into paradise!" + +Thus saying, Juan fell upon his knees, and invoked blessings upon the +proselyte, who knelt beside him, confirmed greatly in her new creed by +the evident pleasure her conversion, if it could be so called, had given +him. + +"Know now, Zelahualla," he said, as he raised her from the ground, and +folded her in an embrace that had more of the gentle affection of a +brother, than the ardent passion of a lover, "that now thou art dearer +to me than all the world beside. While thou wert a worshipper of idols, +I wept for thee; now that thou art a Christian, I love thee; and through +this storm of war, that is gathering around thee, I will remain to +protect thee, and, if need be, to perish by thy side." + +"What my lord is, that will I be," said the young princess, with such +looks of confiding affection as belong to the unsophisticated child of +nature--"Yes, Zelahualla will be a Christian,--Juan's Christian,"--for +she had been long since instructed to pronounce the name of her young +friend--"and she will think of none but him--" + +She paused suddenly, and disengaged herself from the arms of the +Castilian, who, looking round, beheld almost at his side, surveying him +with manifest satisfaction, the young king of Mexico. The gorgeous +mantles of state were upon his shoulders, the golden sandals and +_copilli_, or crown, bedecked his feet and head; and though no +sceptre-bearers or other noble attendants followed at his heels, his +appearance was not without dignity, and even majesty. + +He stepped forward, and taking the princess by the hand, said to Juan, + +"The Centzontli is the king's sister;--thus said I, when Montezuma lived +no more; for the Spaniards have killed the sons of the king, and who +remains to be her brother? It is enough--the Eagle of the east is the +king's brother.--The king will speak with his brother." + +At this signal, the maiden stooped humbly over Guatimozin's hand, kissed +it with mingled love and respect, and immediately stole from the mound. + +"My brother beheld me among my people," said Guatimozin, as soon as she +was gone. "What thinks he of the warriors of Mexico?" + +"They are numerous as the sands and leaves. But hear the words of him +who knows the Spaniards as well as the Mexicans. Before a blow is +struck, speak good things to Cortes. Acknowledge thyself the vassal of +Spain, and rule for ever." + +"Is my brother yet a Spaniard? and does he tell me this thing?" + +"If I anger thee, yet must I speak! for I speak with the heart of one +grateful to thyself and friendly to the race of Montezuma. As a true +Spaniard, I should counsel thee to resist; for resistance would excuse +rapacity. How wilt thou fight upon this island, with thine enemies round +about thee? They will sit down and sleep, while the king perishes with +hunger." + +"The houses are garners," replied Guatimozin, proudly: "There is food +provided for many days; and how shall the big ships see the peasant's +canoe, when it brings corn in the night-time?" + +"The lake is broad, but thou knowest not of all the craft and skill of +thy foes. Think then of _this_: Can a man drink the water of the salt +lake and canals? Are the pipes of Chapoltepec under the mountains? The +Spaniards will tear them up from the causeways; and the warriors will +despair for drink." + +"Is Guatimozin a fool?" exclaimed the royal barbarian, with a laugh. +"The rains have begun to fall; and for seven[13] months, the sky will be +my fountain. Is not Malintzin mad, that he should besiege me at this +season? He is not a god!" + +[Footnote 13: Mexican months, of twenty days each.] + +"Were it for thrice seven months," said Juan, "be assured that Cortes +will still remain by thy city, awaiting its downfall." + +"And what shall be done by the warriors of Mexico? Will they look from +the island, and wring their hands, till he departs? For every grain of +corn in the garners of Tenochtitlan, there is an arrow in the quivers of +the warriors. Count the bones that lie in the ditches of Tacuba,--number +the bearded skulls that are piled on the Huitzompan, the trophies +gathered from the Spaniards in the night of their flight,--there are not +so many living men in the camp of Malintzin, as perished that night when +we drove them from Mexico." + +"Dost thou hold, then, for nothing the two hundred thousand Tlascalans, +Tezcucans, Chalquese, Totonacs, and other tribes, that follow with +Cortes?" + +"There are but three roads to Mexico.--Can they hurt me from the +shores?" + +"The ships are fourteen more; and by and by, there will be no canoe that +swims the lake, but will bear the soldiers of Don Hernan. Think not +resistance can do aught but protract the fate of thine empire, and +incense the miseries of its subjects. Its history is written. Heaven is +angry with your gods and with your acts. The blood of human sacrifices, +detestable in the eyes of divinity, calls for revenge. Alas, thou didst +this day condemn a poor Spaniard to the altar, and thus stain thine +installation with cruelty! God will punish the Mexicans for this." + +The eyes of Guatimozin flashed in the moonlight with indignation. + +"Is not the prisoner," he cried, "the prey of the victor? The Spaniard +burns the captive in the shoulder, and makes him a slave. Which is +cruel? The prisoner and the felon we give to the gods--it is good. Did +the Eagle ever behold a Mexican chain men to a stake, and burn them with +fire? Yet he saw Malintzin burn the Chief of Nauhtlan and the fifteen +warriors, in the palace-yard, in a great fire made with Mexican bows and +arrows! Which, then, is cruel?" + +"This act I will not defend," said Juan, "and it was my presumption in +censuring it, that made Cortes my enemy. But, prince, let us speak of +these things no more, for our arguments shake not each other's minds. +Let me speak of myself, for it is just thou shouldst know my resolve. I +am thy friend, but I will not lift my hand against my countrymen." + +The countenance of the king darkened: + +"Is not the Great Eagle brave? He fears his enemies!" + +"I fear _nothing_," said Juan, with conscious dignity, "else would I +speak no words to lose thy favour. I will be thy prisoner, thy +sacrifice, if thou wilt.--I lament the fate that is coming upon thee, +but I cannot fight in thy cause." + +Guatimozin eyed him earnestly, as if to read his soul; and then said, a +little softly, + +"The Great Eagle knows all things: he shall rest in the palace all day, +and at night, speak wise things to the king." + +"Neither in this can I aid thee," replied Juan, resolutely. "What I know +of religion and moral duties,--nay, all that I know of civilized arts, +that are not military,--this much I am free to communicate; but nothing +more. I can no more help thee to fight with my knowledge, than with my +arm." + +This was a declaration of principles somewhat above the powers of the +infidel to appreciate, and it filled him, as Juan saw, with serious +displeasure. He took him by the arm, and spoke sternly and even +menacingly: + +"The faith of a Christian is not that of a Mexican. The Indian kills his +foes and the foes of his friend: the Christian forgets his friend, when +his friend is in trouble." + +Juan was stung by the reproach, and replied with emphasis: + +"The king took me from the prison-house of Tezcuco: the block was in +waiting for me. Who talked to me of prisons and of blocks, before Olin +came to the garden?" + +Guatimozin grasped his hand, and spoke with impetuosity,-- + +"I have said the thing that was false, and my brother does _not_ forget +his friend. He did a good deed to Olin; why should he turn his face from +Guatimozin? Was Olin in greater distress than the king, beset by enemies +who cannot be counted? My brother has looked in the face of the +Centzontli, my sister.--The princes of the city, and the kings of the +tribes, have said, each one, 'Give me the daughter of Montezuma, and I +will die for Mexico.' But the king thought of his brother. Thus it shall +be: the Great Eagle shall take the princess for his wife, and be a +Mexican; and then, when Guatimozin entreats him to strike his foe, he +will call upon his god of the cross,--the Mexitli of the Spaniards,--and +strike with all his force. Is it not so?" + +"Prince!" said Juan, sadly, "even this cannot be. According to our +thoughts, there are sins of the deepest turpitude in acts which your +customs cause you to esteem virtues. The Spaniard may change his +country, but he cannot become the foe of his countrymen. What wouldst +thou think of one of thine own people,--thy friend, thy subject--whom +thou shouldst find among the Spaniards, and aiming his weapon against +thee?" + +"There are many thousands of them," said Guatimozin, giving way to +passion. "Malintzin fights with weapons more destructive than the big +thunder-pipes. He goes among the serfs that pay tribute, and he says, +'Pay no more--Is it not better to be free?' Thus he seduces them. But my +brother shall think of this again. And now he shall eat and sleep." + +So saying, and perhaps thinking it unwise to pursue his designs at the +present moment, he drew Juan from the mound, and was leading him towards +the palace, when the sound of voices and footsteps came from the bottom +of the garden, accompanied by the fierce barking of Befo, who was still +confined in the cage. + +"Now do I remember me," said Juan, with a feeling of shame, "that I have +suffered the noble animal--" + +But his words were cut short by an unexpected circumstance. No sooner +had his voice sounded, than a wild cry burst from a neighbouring copse, +and a female figure, pursued by Mexican warriors, rushed forwards, +calling upon him by name, and by a title that had never before blessed +his ears. + +"Juan! Juan! my brother! oh, my brother!" + +It was Magdalena,--her hair disordered and drooping in the damp air of +evening, her face, as far as it could be seen in the imperfect light, +pale and distracted. No sooner did her eyes behold him than she +redoubled her speed, and throwing herself upon his neck, she cried, with +transports of emotion, while the pursuers gathered round in no little +amazement. + +"Oh, Juan! my brother! pardon me and forgive me; for I am your +sister,--yes, your sister, your own sister,--and I have come to die with +you!" + +Confounded as much by the strange declaration as by her presence, Juan +endeavoured gently to disengage himself from her embrace, but all in +vain. She clasped his neck with tenfold strength, weeping and exclaiming +he scarce knew what; and, though much affected, he began to think that +sorrow and passion had turned her brain. What therefore was his +surprise, when he gathered from her incoherent exclamations, that +Camarga, the masking stranger, who had, on three several occasions, +betrayed such an unaccountable desire to take his life, had, even with +his dying lips, pronounced them brother and sister. His heart thrilled +at the thought; for his affection for the singular being whose destiny +of mourning was so like his own, had ever been great, though chilled and +pained by the belief of her unworthiness. He pursued the idea with a +thousand questions, the answers to which provoked his curiosity, while +they damped his hope. Was Camarga their father? and was he dead? What +did he say? What,--no more than _this_--'He was her brother?' No more? +And no one alive to confirm the story? "Alas," he said, his thoughts +reverting to what he remembered of his childhood; "this fancy has made +me as distracted as thyself. Camarga was a dreamer--an evident madman. +_My_ father died at Isabela in the island; for was not I at his side? +This cannot be, Magdalena;--deceive thyself no longer." + +"Speak not to me of deceit, my brother--for my brother thou art," said +Magdalena, vehemently. "Can my heart deceive me? Is it not the work of +heaven, seen in our whole life? Heaven kept thee--yes, Juan, while +heaven punished _me_ the sin of neglected vows with the torments of +unavailing affection--it kept thee from loving me as much, because thou +wert my brother. Yes, this it is! The angels spoke with the lips of that +man, who now lies dead on the lake-side! But what of that, Juan? We will +go to Cortes--I can win thy forgiveness. Alas, alas! I could have saved +thee before, but thou madest me mad. Why didst thou treat me so, Juan? I +was innocent--indeed I was; and Hilario's recantation--oh believe me, I +knew not of his murder, till it was accomplished! Villafana killed him +from fear, for Hilario had discovered how he scuttled the ship; and thus +it was that Hilario gained Villafana to corroborate the falsehoods he +spoke of me. I can make all clear to thee, indeed I can.--But now, dear +Juan, cast me not off again,--for you are my brother. We will go to +Cortes,--he will pardon thee. We will find out the friends of Camarga, +and it must needs be that we shall discover all. And then I will go to a +convent again,--and then I care not what befalls me; for I shall have a +brother in the world left to love me." + +While Magdalena was pouring forth these wild expressions, for a time +almost unconscious of her situation in the heart of the pagan city, and +in the presence of so many barbarians, Guatimozin, who had looked on +with an astonishment that was soon converted into the darkest +displeasure, turned to the capturers of Magdalena, who had ceased their +pursuit the moment they beheld the king, and flung themselves reverently +at his feet. The Lord of Death, who made the like prostration, had +assumed an erect posture, in virtue of his high rank. But his looks +wandered from the king to the Christian pair, whose endearments he +watched with exceeding great satisfaction, and indeed with exultation. + +"What is this that I see?" said the king, in a low but stern voice; "and +who hath brought this woman to my garden?" + +Masquazateuctli bent his head to the earth, replying with the +complacency of one who has achieved a happy exploit,-- + +"The king made the Great Eagle of the East his brother; he took him to +the hill of Chapoltepec that his people might know him, and do him +honour. Shall not Masquazateuctli do a good thing to the king's brother? +He was sorry because of his loneliness in the king's garden, and the +Maiden of the East was afar in Tezcuco. I thought of this, and I crept +to the gates of Tezcuco: and I said, 'I will take a prisoner for the +king, and perhaps I shall find a maiden with white brows; which will +gladden the heart of the king's brother.' Mexitli was with me. But I +killed the man that came with her, for I saw she was that daughter of a +god, with eyes like the full moon, of whom the king had spoken, when he +came from Tezcuco alone, and my heart was very joyful. The Eagle is +glad--he will not ask the king for the daughter of Montezuma!" + +Guatimozin muttered a fierce interjection betwixt his teeth, but replied +with dignity, + +"The Lord of Death should have spoken this to the king; but if he be +angry, he remembers that Masquazateuctli was Montezuma's soldier. By and +by, I will speak with him in the palace.--I have said." + +The Lord of Death, thus dismissed, and not a little mortified at such +insufficient thanks, beckoned to his followers and departed. + +Guatimozin strode up to the Christians, and touching Juan on the +shoulder, said, with a stern voice, + +"What shall the king say of his brother, to the daughter of Montezuma?" + +The colour rushed into Juan's cheeks; but he replied immediately, and +even firmly, + +"That he brings her his sister, to whom, for his own sake, he prays her +to be kind and gentle." + +"Does my brother tell me this?" said the king, starting. "The Great +Eagle said he was alone in the world, with none of his kin remaining." + +"And so I thought, until this hour," said Juan, not without +embarrassment: "and now must I tell the king, that though I call this +maiden my sister, and pray heaven she may prove so, yet neither she nor +I have aught upon which to found our belief, but the words of one whom +the Lord of Death killed, when he seized her." + +Guatimozin intently eyed the maiden, who watched with painful interest +the changes of his countenance and Juan's, for she understood not a word +of their speech; and then said, + +"Let it be so: Guatimozin will think of this. The Spanish lady is +welcome--the Eagle shall speak with her a little, and then give her up +to the women, that they may be good to her.--The king's house is very +spacious." + +He then turned gravely away, signing to the outcast pair to follow him. + +They were suffered to be alone together for a brief hour, in which +Magdalena, rejecting impetuously and passionately all Juan's doubts, +poured out all the secrets of a life full of unhappiness, but not of +crime; and Juan himself, forgetting the weakness of all her claims of +consanguinity, melted into belief, and learned to call her his sister. +There were indeed certain circumstances of mystery about his birth, +which might have often disturbed his thoughts, had he been of an +imaginative turn. The man whom he had called and esteemed his father, +had died a violent death in the islands, while Juan was yet very young. +He could recollect little of him that was agreeable to remember; and all +that had afterwards come to his ears, only served to chill his +curiosity; all persons, who had not forgotten him, representing the +elder Lerma as a most depraved and infamous man. No one knew whence he +had come, or if he had any relatives left in the world; and Juan +remembered well, that the planters had, on several occasions, when the +unnatural parent, if parent he was, had maltreated and abandoned him, +taken him away from Lerma, and comforted Juan with the assurance that +the villain had undoubtedly _stolen_ him from some one. It is, however, +very certain that Juan never seriously thought of doubting that this man +was his parent; nor would he have recalled such trivial circumstances to +his mind, had he not been staggered by the impetuosity of Magdalena, and +by his own feelings of affection, into a credulity almost as ample as +her own. That he should desire also to find a relative in one, who, +considered without reference to the weakness shown only in her love for +him, was of a soul as stainless as it was noble, is not to be doubted; +and such love he could be rejoiced to return. In truth, his reasons for +admitting her claims were as flimsy as hers for making them, as he came +to discover, when left to examine them in solitude. They made, however, +a deep and lasting impression upon his mind. Perhaps the impression +would have been still deeper, had the two been permitted to remain +longer together; but before Magdalena had yet been able to speak with +composure, there came a train of maidens, bearing chaplets of flowers, +and rich ornaments of feathers, giving Juan to understand, that it was +the king's will his companion should now leave him. + +Magdalena turned pale, when this command was announced to her by Juan, +and seemed at first as if resolved never to be parted from him more. But +being persuaded by Juan that she had nothing to fear--that the king was +his friend--that they should certainly meet again,--she at last +consented. She strode to the door--she listened to his words of +farewell, and she sobbed upon his breast; and then departed with the +happy but delusive hope of seeing him again on the morrow. + +It was the last night of peace that ever darkened over the Mexico of the +pagans. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +To one whose perverted imagination can dwell with pleasure on 'the pomp +and circumstance of glorious war,' no better study can be recommended +than the history of the siege of Mexico, which may be considered as one +single battle, lasting for the space of ninety-three days, counting from +the time when the different divisions of the besieging army had taken +their positions in form, upon the different causeways. This does not +include the period occupied in the march of these bodies from Tezcuco, +and which was not devoted to inactivity. On the contrary, the +Captain-General took advantage of the occasion to discipline his naval +force, by sweeping over the lake from bay to bay, and town to town, +destroying every piragua that made its appearance, as well as such +chinampas, or floating gardens, as he could approach, and frequently by +cannonading the imperial city itself. Besides this, he assaulted and +took, on each occasion after a most sanguinary combat, certain +fortresses upon two island rocks, one of which rose near to Iztapalapan: +the other, though no longer insulated, still lies a little to the east +of the republican city, and is called the Peńon, or Crag, of Montezuma. + +The preparations of the Mexicans were extensive and anticipative of all +the peculiar evils which they thought it in the power of their great +enemy to inflict. They had cut through the causeways numberless ditches, +each of which was furnished with a light bridge, to be withdrawn, when +about to fall into the power of the Spaniards; and the earth and stones +thus removed, were built up before and behind the chasms, into strong +ramparts, which were still further strengthened with palisades. In this +manner, while opposing the greatest obstructions to the passage of the +foot-soldiers, they made it impossible for horses to be brought against +them,--a precaution that, for a long time, robbed the Spaniards of their +greatest advantage. + +The beginning of the siege of Mexico, then, lay in the struggles of the +besiegers to obtain possession of the ditches, which were to be filled +up, by levelling the ramparts. This was a work both of infinite danger +and toil, the besieged fighting from behind the advanced barriers with +unexampled resolution, and, however overpowered, never retreating beyond +the ditch, until their companions had left but a single plank for their +passage, which was immediately afterwards withdrawn. After this, the +Spaniards were forced to overturn the first barrier into the chasm, +before they could rush across the slough of mud and water, to attack the +second; and all this was to be done not only against violent opposition +in front, but with a most dangerous and audacious species of annoyance +practised on one flank or the other, and sometimes on both. Wherever the +shallows admitted, the Mexicans drove into the bottom of the lake, and +at but a short distance from the dike, strong piles, to which they +secured their canoes, furnished with high and thick bulwarks of planks, +almost musket-proof; and from these they drove arrows, darts, and stones +against the soldiers with destructive effect. Nay, with such wisdom had +the young king of Mexico devised means to embarrass his adversary, that +he had even secured his little flotillas from the possibility of +approach, by sinking rows of piles in the lake, parallel with the +causeways, through which the brigantines could not pass, to disperse +them. It was to but little purpose that Cortes battered them from a +distance with his falconets; the following morning saw replaced every +loss of men and canoes. The soldiers were excited to fury by an +annoyance so irritating, and some were found at times frantic enough to +leap into the lake, where the waters happened to be sufficiently +shallow, and endeavour to carry the flotillas, sword in hand. + +The narrowness and obstructed condition of the dikes making it +impossible that all the forces could act upon them together, the vast +multitudes of native allies were left in reserve, with the cavalry, on +the shore,--where they were not idle, the numbers, as well as the +boldness of the Mexicans being so great, that they frequently sent +armies to the shore by night, who, at the dawn, fell upon the reserved +troops with all the rancour of opponents in a civil war. + +This was the condition of the war at its commencement. The grand +desiderata,--the removal of the flotillas, and the profitable employment +of the confederates, were not effected until Cortes had seized all the +piraguas of the shore-towns, and sent them, manned with Tlascalans, +against the palisaded posts, where, besides doing what execution they +could upon the enemy, the allies tore away the piles, and thus admitted +some of the lighter brigantines among the canoes. + +Aided in this manner, the soldiers were able to advance along the +several dikes, until they got possession of certain military stations, +on each, which might have been called the gates of Mexico. + +It has been already said, that the causeways of Iztapalapan and +Cojohuacan, coming respectively from the south and southwest, united +together at the distance of less than a league from Mexico. At the point +of junction, the causeway expanded into a mole or quay, where was a +strong and lofty stone wall, the passage through which was contrived by +the overlapping of the walls, in the manner described at Tezcuco. This +rampart was defended by very strong towers and by a parapet with +embrasures, from which the defenders could easily repel any enemy, +inferior in strength and determination to the Spaniards. The point was +called Xoloc, and when wrested from the hands of the Mexicans, became +the head-quarters of Cortes. + +A similar expansion of the dike of Tacuba, fortified in the same way, +and at the distance of two miles from the city, and one from the shore, +afforded a resting-place and garrison for the forces under Alvarado, +whose first act, after reaching Tacuba, was to destroy the aqueduct of +Chapoltepec, which consisted of a double line of baked earthenware +pipes, carried across the lake on a dike constructed only for that +purpose, and therefore so narrow and inconsiderable, that it does not +appear that the Spaniards derived any advantage from the possession of +it. + +The division of De Olid united with that of Sandoval at the point Xoloc; +the latter of whom was afterwards directed to take possession of the +northern dike of Tepejacac, the remains of which may yet be traced +between the city and the hill of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on which was a +fortification resembling the others. + +These positions being thus assumed, the Captain-General divided the +fleet of brigantines among the three captains, to whom they were of vast +service, by protecting the flanks of their divisions. + +From this period, the siege may be considered to have been begun in +form; and it was continued with a fury of attack and resistance almost +without parallel in the history of conquest. Foot by foot, and inch by +inch, the invaders advanced, staining the causeways with their blood, +and choking the lake with the bodies of their foes. Ditch after ditch +was won and filled, and almost as often lost and re-opened. The day was +devoted to battle, the night to alarms. The only periods of rest were +when the daily tempests, for it was now the heart of the rainy season, +burst over the heads of the combatants, as if heaven had sent its floods +to efface the horrible dyes of carnage, and its thunders to drown the +roar of man's more destructive artillery. Then, the exhausted soldier +and the fainting barbarian flung themselves to rest upon the trodden mud +of their ramparts, within sight of each other, regardless of the wrath +of the elements, so much less enduring than their own. + +At first, the Spaniards after winning a ditch and filling it, were +content to return for the night to the fortified stations, to shelter +themselves in the towers, and in miserable huts of reeds which they had +constructed, from the rains, that, usually, continued until midnight. +But finding that the infidels, more manly or more desperate, devoted the +night to repair the losses of the day, by again opening the chasms, they +denied themselves even this poor solace, and threw themselves to sleep +on the spots where they fought, ready to resume the conflict at the +first glimmer of dawn. + +Thus, day by day, the approaches were effected, and by the end of the +second month, the besiegers had advanced almost to the suburbs, which +jutted out into the lake along the three causeways, supported upon +foundations of piles, and sometimes piers of stone. The houses stood +apart from each other, but were connected, in seasons of peace, by light +wooden drawbridges, running from terrace to terrace; so that the +_streets_ of these quarters may be said to have been on the tops of the +houses,--and the same thing was true of the gardens. The communication +below was effected always by means of canoes. Among these edifices, the +water was often of sufficient depth to float the brigantines of lighter +draught, which sometimes entered them, to fire the buildings, that were +so many fortresses, from which the soldiers on the causeways could be +annoyed. + +The labours and sufferings of the besiegers were constant, and almost +intolerable; yet they endured them with a patience derived from the +assurance of a certain though tardy success. The toils and distresses of +the Mexicans were greater, and endured with heroism still more noble, +because almost without hope; and it may be said with justice of these +poor barbarians, whose memory has almost vanished from the earth, that +never yet did a people fight for their altars and firesides with greater +courage and devotion. They saw themselves each day confined to narrow +limits,--they fought the more resolutely; they beheld all the marine +forces of the neighbouring towns, late their feudatories, led against +them,--they sent navies of their own to chastise the insurgents, and +still kept their ground against the Spaniards. + +It was certain that Cortes had found in the young king an antagonist far +more formidable than he had expected. The resistance at the ramparts, +the sallies by night that were often made with fatal effect, the secret +expeditions against the shores, and the stratagems put in execution to +cripple the brigantines, all indicated, in the infidel prince, a +capacity of mind worthy of his unconquerable courage. A single exploit +will prove his daring and his craft. He decoyed two of the largest +brigantines into a certain bay, where many of his strongest piraguas lay +in ambush among the reeds. With these, he attacked, boarded, and carried +the two vessels, and had he possessed any knowledge of the management of +sails, would have conducted them in safety to his palace walls. As it +was, they were maintained against an overpowering force, sent to retake +them, and not yielded until the captors had destroyed every Christian on +board, fifty in number, as well as the sails and cordage, and cast the +falconets into the lake. + +Another stratagem of a still more daring character, and infinitely more +fatal to the Spaniards, was conceived and executed, almost at the moment +when they thought the young monarch reduced to despair. But of that we +shall have occasion to speak more at length hereafter. The thousand +conflicts on land and water, that marked the progress of a siege so +extraordinary, have but little connexion with the adventures of the two +outcasts; and we are glad of the privilege to pass them by. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +When Magdalena was led from the presence of Juan, she was conducted +through many chambers and passages, which gave her an idea of the +immense extent of the palace, to the quarter especially appropriated to +the women, and which was as carefully guarded from the approach of the +other sex as the harem of an oriental monarch. It consisted of a series +of dormitories and other small apartments, as well as a vast hall, +covered with pictured tapestry and knots of flowers, in which the daily +labour of the loom and spindle was shared by all, the princess and the +slave alike, mingled with the more elegant occupations of embroidery and +feather-painting. + +But the toil of the day had been long since over, and when she entered, +the maidens were amusing themselves, some talking and laughing, and +others dancing to the sound of flutes, and all unconscious or heedless +of the perils that were about to hem them in. + +The appearance of a vision so strange, so often imagined, yet never +before seen--a woman of the race of the invaders, and one at once so +majestic and lovely as Magdalena--produced an immediate sensation +throughout the merry crew. The dancing ceased, the music of the pipe was +exchanged for a murmur of admiration, and all eyes were turned upon the +novel apparition. But it was observable, that the maidens indulged in no +rude demonstrations of curiosity or surprise. They neither thronged +about her, nor uttered any loud exclamations; and however ardently they +gazed, when unperceived, each cast her looks modestly to the floor, the +moment she found the eyes of the stranger directed upon her. + +Troubled as were Magdalena's thoughts by the strangeness of her +situation, and conscious of her inability to exchange a word with these +new companions, she yet felt a sort of relief, and even pleasure, to +find herself once more surrounded by individuals of her own sex, who, as +was evident from their appearance, were neither rude in manners nor +degraded in mind. + +In this happier frame of feeling, she suffered herself to be conducted +to a chamber, where two young female slaves attended her with +refreshments of meats, fruits, and confections, and pointing to a couch +of robes, upon a little platform under a canopy, left her to her +meditations. + +She rose from a troubled and dreamy slumber at the dawn, and waited +impatiently for the moment when she should be led to Juan. The slaves +again made their appearance, bearing, besides food, which they set +before her, rich garments of the most splendid hues, which they desired +her by signs to substitute for her monastic attire. To this she acceded, +after some hesitation, thinking it needful to humour the wishes of those +upon whose friendship her existence, as well as that of Juan, so +obviously depended. She exchanged, at least, the gray veil for a broad +mantle embroidered with feathers and gold, and placed over her other +dress three several tunics, each of a different hue, and each gorgeously +ornamented. Her toilet was completed when the slaves had encircled her +arms and neck with jewels, and wreathed her hair with chains of gold; to +all which she passively, yet impatiently, submitted. + +Thus dressed and decorated, she was conducted again to the great hall, +and seated upon a throne cushioned over with feathers of every hue, +when, to her great surprise, she found herself the object upon whom was +to be showered marks of the most extraordinary honour. The crowd of +maidens was huddled in the farther end of the apartment, where they +stood with downcast eyes, giving place to a female, evidently of exalted +rank, who came from among them, followed by five or six girls, much more +splendidly dressed than the others, one of whom bore in her arms a +sleeping infant. + +The Indian lady was distinguished from her attendants by apparel similar +in hues and splendour to that worn by Magdalena, and she had on her head +a little cap or caul of emeralds, mingled with pearls. Her face was +prepossessing, her figure well proportioned, and her bearing not without +dignity. Yet there was in her aspect something of trouble and +hesitation, and she went through the business of salutation, or rather +homage, for so it appeared, with visible reluctance. She approached the +throne, and kneeling before it, took Magdalena's hand, and laid it upon +her head, speaking a few words which the Christian did not comprehend. +Then taking the infant from the girl who bore it, she laid Magdalena's +hand upon its innocent brows, in the same manner; after which she +stepped aside, and the young attendants went each separately through the +same ceremony. This accomplished, she stole from the apartment, and in a +few moments, the spindle rolled, the shuttle of the simple loom rattled, +and the fingers of the embroiderers and feather-painters moved over +their tasks. + +The morning passed away, and Magdalena still expected a summons to the +presence of Juan. The evening darkened, the fragrant torches were +lighted, the pipe and dance were again summoned to close the labours of +the day, and Magdalena was, a second time, conducted to her chamber, to +muse with fear and distrust over her singular situation. + +The second day beheld the same ceremonies, succeeded by the same labours +and diversions, and still not a movement indicated the approach of a +messenger. She looked upon the maidens around,--their faces were grave +and placid. They gazed upon her no more, except when her eyes were +averted. She imagined a thousand reasons to account for her seclusion. +Was her brother, notwithstanding his assurances to the contrary, in a +state of as much restraint as herself? Or--was it possible?--did it not +depend upon himself?--was it possible, he did not desire to see her? She +thought of his slowness to admit her claim of consanguinity; she thought +of the words of Camarga,--of their wildness--Had not Juan said he was +insane?--of their insufficiency. Nay, she remembered that Juan spoke of +_his_ father, whom he well remembered; and among the tears she shed of +doubt and disappointment, she blushed at the boldness and warmth with +which she had advocated her claims. + +Another day came,--another, and still another; and her heart sickened +and her cheek grew pale with suspense and humiliation. Then impatience +waxed into anger, and she stalked among the maidens with looks of +determination, as if she would have commanded them to lead her from what +she justly conceived to be imprisonment. But _how_ command them? Her +language was as the language of the gods to them, and their words were +to her as unmeaning as the songs of the birds at the windows. Eyes can +speak many things, but not all; and signs are of too arbitrary a nature +to serve as the medium of communication betwixt two hemispheres. If she +strove to depart from the chamber, she was followed by the two slaves, +who seemed to be specially devoted to her service, and who, attending +her from room to room, yet arrested her with humble and supplicating +gestures, when she seemed to be overstepping the limits of the harem. If +she persisted, she found herself in the power of certain antique +beldames, who prowled around the sacred chambers, bearing wands to +indicate their authority, and who opposed themselves, though without +rudeness, to further egress. If she still made her way through these, +she found herself stopped by passages, in which were armed barbarians, +who did not hesitate to block up the avenues with their shields and +spears. In other words, she found that she was a prisoner, confined to a +society as recluse, as peaceful, and perhaps as happy as that from which +it had been her misfortune to be released. The pride and energy of her +nature were here lost; for there was nothing with which to contend, +except her feelings, and nothing to excite, save a sense of wrong, +inflicted she knew not by whom, nor why. + +This was precisely the state of things to tame her spirit into +submission and inaction; and, almost insensibly to herself, she began to +accommodate her deportment to her condition, substituting anxiety for +anger, and despondence for decision. She began to think that Juan was, +like herself, a prisoner; and the apprehension of his distresses weighed +on her heart more heavily than the sense of her own; and, as with all +her strength of mind and passion, there was a tinge of superstition +running through all her thoughts, she beheld, in the singular train of +calamities that had brought her so often to his side, a revelation and +proof that she was ordained, finally, to rescue him from this, as well +as the other ills, which oppressed him. Another thought brooded also in +her bosom. Hitherto, whatsoever efforts she had made for his good, had +ministered only to his griefs; and what had they brought to _her_? From +the moment in which she had first attempted deceit, by concealing the +sanctity of her profession, her life had been but a history of agony and +shame. Had she avowed herself, immediately after the shipwreck, the +bride of the cross, Hilario had not died under the knife of the +assassin, Juan Lerma had not forfeited the favour of his general, and +she herself had, perhaps, closed her life in the peace with which it had +begun. She began to picture to herself the sinfulness of her evasions of +vows, and to consider these the causes of her sufferings. Such thoughts +as these, and a thousand others, divided and harassed her mind by turns, +and confounded while they tormented. But one idea never left her--and +that was, the uncertainty of the fate of Juan Lerma, and the hope that +it might be reserved for her to free him from the bondage of infidels. +But how was this to be effected? She knew not. + +Her first vague desire was to gain a friend among the grave and +passionless creatures, by whom she was surrounded. She examined all +their countenances, and soon fixed upon several in which she thought she +could trace kindly feelings and simplicity of character. She strove also +to acquire a little of their language,--an effort which she soon gave +up, not so much from the difficulty of acquisition, as from the +remoteness of any benefit to be derived in that way. + +She perceived that the Mexican lady who, each morning, for the first +fortnight of her captivity, (after which time she was seen no more,) +commenced the ceremonies of salutation, so humble, and indeed to her so +irksome, must be of the highest rank,--perhaps the queen of Guatimozin +himself; though it seemed improbable that one so exalted would +condescend to homage so servile. She was conscious also, that the six +maidens who attended upon this princess were of no mean rank; for though +they frequently remained in the hall, engaged in labour, like the rest, +it was clear that the others looked upon them with the greatest +deference. Of these she had long singled out one who was superior to the +others in beauty and mildness of countenance; and it seemed to her that +this one, in going through the morning ceremony, endeavoured to make her +sensible that she did so with sincerity and feeling. Thus, besides +placing Magdalena's hand on her head, she carried it also to her lips, +expressing as much desire as her countenance could convey, to be +esteemed the Christian's friend. + +These things almost escaped Magdalena's notice at first; but she +afterwards remembered them, and strove to respond with manifestations of +similar inclination. She observed, however, that the maiden gradually +changed from tranquillity to melancholy, as if something preyed upon her +spirits. She repeated, indeed, her salutation each morning, but it was +no longer with smiles, and with a disposition to linger about +Magdalena's person. On the contrary, she retired without delay to a +little nook under a window, where she continued her task among feathers +and flowers, seldom stirring from the spot. It was evident to the +penetrating eye of Magdalena, that the Indian maiden was wasting away +under some grief as poignant and enduring as her own; and though she +attributed it only to some of the evils of war, the commencement of +which had long since been indicated by the distant explosions of +artillery, she was the more favourably impressed by the damsel's +emotion, since none of the others seemed to share it, nor to betray +either fear or anxiety. + +She attempted then to come to some understanding with this maiden. She +sat down by her in her little nook, and watched, with what, had she been +in a better frame of mind, would have been admiration, the progress of +her toils, as well as the effects of previous labours. She beheld, with +surprise, garlands and bouquets of flowers, constructed of feathers, and +imitated with such wonderful precision, that when they were mingled with +a few natural ones, and impregnated with their odours, it seemed almost +impossible that they could be artificial. The same art has existed in +other parts of the continent, and is practised to this day, in some of +the nunneries of Brazil. There were also pictures, worked with the same +beautiful materials, upon a groundwork of prepared cloth, which were +chiefly confined to the representation of flowers and birds. When +Magdalena first visited the maiden, she found her engaged upon what +seemed a wood-pigeon, surrounded by a little wilderness of flowers and +leaves. The design, though simple, was pretty and spirited; yet the +maiden seemed dissatisfied with her work, and altered it daily, as if +each day still more displeased; until, at last, she seemed to have hit +upon a plan more to her taste, when she pursued her task with what +seemed a morbid ardour. When Magdalena looked at it last, she found the +whole design and character of the work changed. The flowers had been +displaced by stones and brambles; an arrow was represented sticking +through the neck of the bird; and the story of a wounded heart was told +in the metaphor of the poor flutterer, harmed by some wanton bolt, and +left dying in a desert place. + +When Magdalena beheld this painted sentiment, she took the hand of the +artist, and pressing it as if with sympathy, pointed to her bosom. A +faint tinge of blood passed over her embrowned visage, but she looked +confidingly into Magdalena's face, as if not ashamed to confess her +grief. When Magdalena was persuaded she was understood, she directed the +painter's eyes to the bird, and then pointed expressively to her own +bosom, as if to signify that she also was unhappy. The maiden bowed her +head upon her breast, and Magdalena saw that tears were stealing from +her eyes. She thought they were the tears of sympathy; and when the +damsel looked up, she cast off all reserve, and indicated as plainly as +she could, by gestures, that she desired to make her way into the +garden. + +The maiden shook her head, and would have departed, but that Magdalena, +rendered indiscreet by her impatience, arrested her, to make trial of a +new appeal. She took the jewels from her hair, and without reflecting +that the rank of the maiden, indicated by gems quite as valuable as her +own, might render her inaccessible to such temptation, she made as if +she would have thrown them upon her head and neck. She was sorry for the +act; for as soon as the maiden understood what she designed, she drew +back with a look of offended dignity, and with cheeks burning at once +with mortification and anger. Then, gathering up her little picture, her +bodkins, and basket of coloured feathers, she left the apartment, and +returned to it no more that day. + +Amid all her grief at the disappointment of her hopes, Magdalena had yet +generosity enough to appreciate the spirit of the young pagan, and to +lament having outraged her feelings. + +That night, when the female slaves had departed from her chamber, and +she was musing disconsolately in the light of a little night-lantern, +consisting of a taper of resinous wood, surrounded by thin plates of +gold, perforated with holes in many fantastic figures, which transmitted +the light, she was roused by a sigh; and looking up, she beheld, to her +great surprise, the young artist standing before her, in an attitude of +sad and patient humility. As soon as the visitor perceived that she was +seen, she approached, and knelt at Magdalena's feet, who now saw, with a +touch of shame, and, at first, even of resentment, that, as if in +requital of the insult of the morning, she held in her hands all the +jewels that had decorated her hair and person, and offered them for her +acceptance. But Magdalena's displeasure soon passed away; for the jewels +were proffered with the deepest humility, and the damsel's eyes were +suffused with tears. She murmured out some words, too, and the tone was +expressive of grief. + +All this was mysterious to Magdalena, who puzzled herself in vain to +account for the act and the donation. She restored the jewels, and the +maiden being wholly submissive, she replaced them about her person with +her own hands; and then, taking advantage of the opportunity, made +another effort to come to a better understanding with her. She +remembered that her companion was a painter, and being herself a little +skilled in the art, she drew with a bodkin from her hair, upon the soft +wood of the table that supported her lamp, the figure of a man in +Spanish costume, bound in a cell. The representation was awkward, yet it +appeared that the damsel understood it; for she took the bodkin, and +immediately, though with a trembling hand, completed the picture by the +addition of another figure, representing a Mexican, with a crown like +that Magdalena had seen on the head of Guatimozin, who, with one hand, +extended to him the handle of a macana, while threatening him with +another, brandished above his head. + +This was expressive enough, and Magdalena's alarm for the safety of the +young man was only removed when the maiden drew what was plainly +designed for a buckler, interposed between the weapon and his head. + +Magdalena then, without further hesitation, leaped to the grand object +of her desires, by drawing the figure of a man paddling in a canoe. This +also her companion understood, and replied to it significantly enough, +by surrounding the little vessel with many others, filled with Indians, +or other human beings, who attacked it with showers of arrows and darts. + +"Alas! is there no hope for us then? no hope for my poor brother?" +exclaimed Magdalena, wringing her hands. "Maiden! maiden! carry me but +to him!--Alas, I speak as to a stone statue!" + +She then resumed the bodkin, and returning to the first sketch, she drew +the figure of two women, entering the cell. The response to this ended +her hopes immediately. The Indian girl sketched the outlines of men, +armed with spears, circling around the whole cell. + +Magdalena sank upon the couch in despair, and almost in a frenzy. The +maiden, frighted by the vehemence of her grief, endeavoured to soothe +her, by pressing her hand to her bosom and forehead, and covering it +with kisses and tears; after which she stole quietly from the chamber. + +It was many weeks before Magdalena beheld her again. She vanished from +the hall, she came no more to kneel on her footstool in the morning, and +display her melancholy visage to the stranger. Magdalena's heart died +within her. She was in a solitude among living creatures,--the most +oppressive of all solitudes. Her suspense was intolerable, and preyed +upon her health, until she was wasted to a shadow, and the pagan damsels +eyed her, when she appeared among them, with looks of pity. She +succumbed at last to her fate; the fever of her mind extended to her +body; and she was missed from the hall, as well as the young artist. She +became ill, and she threw herself upon her couch, to waste away with +passion and delirium. But there was still a gleam of happiness to break +upon her. + +One night, when the dancing,--now no longer pursued with spirit, for the +cannon of the Spaniards sounded each day louder and nearer,--had ceased, +and the flutes were breathed upon no more, she felt her hand pressed +with a gentle grasp. She looked up, and beheld the Indian girl at her +side, eyeing her with compassion. She sprang to her feet, in an ecstacy +of delight, and embraced her; for she hailed her appearance as the +herald of joy. + +"Oh, maiden! maiden!" she cried, "what news of my brother?" + +The damsel replied with the only words in her power, but the best she +could have used, had she been acquainted with the whole speech of +Castile. She looked sadly but firmly into Magdalena's face, and murmured +softly, + +"Juan Lelma"-- + +The accent was imperfect and false, but the sounds were music to +Magdalena. She clasped the young barbarian again in her arms, but her +caresses were only responded to by tears and sobs, which seemed to +increase in proportion to her own raptures. But Magdalena was too wild +with hope to think of the sorrows of her friend. She saw that the Indian +held in her hand, two long and capacious mantles of a plain stuff, +which, she knew, were to veil them from evil eyes, while they crept to +the cell of her brother. But the maiden checked her impetuosity. She +removed the trinkets from her head and person, and again offered them to +the Christian; and persisted to do so, though still most gently and +humbly, until Magdalena, thinking this might be some important ceremony, +a proof perhaps of friendship offered and received, and perceiving, what +was more influential still, that it was necessary to hasten the +proceedings of her visitor, consented to receive them. She yielded to +her importunities, and the Indian girl clasped around her ankles, arms, +and neck, and twisted in her hair, all the jewels that had decorated her +own person, besides hanging round her neck the silver cross and +rosary,--Magdalena's own gift to Juan,--which she received with rapture, +not doubting that he had sent it to her as a token and a full warrant to +submit herself to the guidance of the young infidel. This accomplished, +she assisted Magdalena to secure the larger mantle about her figure, and +wrapped herself in the other. Then beckoning the Christian to follow, +and signing to her to preserve silence, she led the way from the +chamber. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A short passage through which they stole, darkly, for it was not +lighted, conducted them to a chamber, where the guide paused a moment, +as if in doubt and fear. A strong light beamed through the curtained +door. They listened for a time, until hearing no one stir within, the +Indian maiden pulled the curtain timidly aside, and then beckoned +Magdalena to follow her. It was a spacious apartment, richly tapestried, +and lighted by many such masked torches as Magdalena had seen in her own +chamber. The hangings were even continued over the ceiling, so that it +resembled a pavilion rather than the sleeping apartment of a king,--for +such it was. In the centre was suspended a magnificent canopy, wrought +with feathers, overhanging a couch blazing with gold, and bedecked with +the richest spoils of the parrot and flamingo, with little pedestals +both at the head and foot, on which incense was burning before golden +idols. Upon this lay sleeping the Indian lady, whom Magdalena had so +often seen during the two first weeks of her durance; and the infant +slept clasping her neck. Magdalena doubted no longer that she beheld the +queen of the young monarch. But she crept softly after her guide, and +was soon buried again in darkness. After many turnings and windings, +which made her fancy the palace was a great labyrinth, she suddenly +found herself conducted into the open air, by a door exceedingly narrow, +and concealed by a mass of trailing vines. But secret as this entrance +appeared, it was not unguarded. A tall savage with a spear, started up +from the bushes, as if to dispute their right of egress. But a word from +his companion, low as the whisper of a breeze, removed his opposition. +He flung himself upon the earth, as if to his divinity, and thus +remained, until the maidens had passed. + +It was by this time midsummer--for so long a period had elapsed since +the departure from Tezcuco; but it was the season of the rains, and the +chill winds from the lake penetrated Magdalena to the heart. The sky was +overcast, the grass loaded with moisture, and every gust shook down a +shower from the trees. + +It was very dark, and she knew not well to what quarter she was bending +her steps. But she could see a line of fires running as it seemed across +the lake, from a point in the city to the right hand, and lost in the +distance or obscurity of the left. This was, in fact, the northern +causeway, or dike of Tepejacac, the nearest point of which was scarce a +mile distant from the garden. It was occupied by the troops of Sandoval, +who had extended his approach already within the limits of the water +suburb. Two or three of his brigantines were also perceived anchored +near to the calzada,--at least, their lanterns were seen shining from +their prows. + +While Magdalena was yet stealing along after her guide, her eyes fixed +upon this line of fires, she heard suddenly a great tumult begin among +them, in which the yells of men were faintly distinguished amid the +crash of fire-arms and artillery. Shocked and frighted as she was, at +being thus made a witness, though afar, of the terrors of human wrath, +she soon began to look upon the conflict as of good omen for herself. It +would certainly be a more attractive spectacle to any wandering infidels +in the garden than might be furnished by the obscure figures of herself +and companion. + +Apparently the Indian maiden thought so too; for she increased her pace, +and instead of skulking as before, among green-arched and shadowy +alleys, she walked boldly along in a broad exposed path, that led +directly to a corner of the palace. But from this very corner they saw +rushing a tumultuous throng of barbarians, some of whom ran directly +towards them, though the course of others was in another direction. + +The young guide drew Magdalena into a sheltered walk, and crept +timorously along until she reached the palace wall, when she sank down, +from fatigue or fear, signing to Magdalena to do the same thing, and +thus remained, until the last of the barbarians had vanished. The path +now seemed clear, but still the Indian maiden remained cowering on the +earth; and Magdalena, whose impatience distracted her mind and almost +hardened her heart, perceived that she was sobbing bitterly. She touched +her arm. The guide shrank away, but seemed to collect her spirits and +courage at the sign. She rose up, and led the way to a broad door, where +an armed Indian stood, holding a flambeau. He seemed alarmed, though not +surprised at the sight of the pair, and spoke earnestly to the guide, as +if to dissuade her from entering. She passed him, however, with a word, +and the next moment stopped, in great agitation, before the curtain of a +door. Magdalena looked eagerly to her to confirm her hopes; but before +the maiden could lift her finger, signing to her to enter, she heard, +from within the apartment, the well known growl of Befo. + +"Juan! dear Juan!" she exclaimed, and darted through the curtain. + +The young man was pacing to and fro, not bound hand and foot, as her +fears had anticipated, but evidently excited in the most painful degree +by the distant firing. He turned at the sound of her voice, and threw +himself into her arms. + +"Sister! for I believe thou _art_ my sister," he cried,--"else how could +I love thee with a love so unlike that of man for woman? God be praised +that I have seen thee once again: for it is time thou wert wrested out +of this place. But what is this? Thou art wasted and thin! very thin: +thy hands burn, thy cheek is hot--Sister, dear sister, thou art ill!" + +"Think of it not," said Magdalena, with the delight of a maiden, +listening for the first time to the voice of affection, and caressing +him without reserve: "Oh, Juan, I could die twice over, to hear you +speak so; and I care not if I do die, so you are but saved; for you have +made me very happy.--You are a prisoner, Juan,--we are both prisoners. +An Indian girl brought me here--she will help you to escape, for you can +speak her language. You can go to Cortes, and tell him you are the +brother of Magdalena. He will not wrong you then,--no, he will not +dare--Or perhaps we can fly together--we can fly in a canoe. The maiden +will help us, the good maiden: She is at the door--I will call her in." + +At this moment, the Indian girl, driven in, immediately after Magdalena, +by some sudden alarm, stood at a distance, near the door, muffled in her +cloak, and shrinking almost within herself. A single dim and half +expiring torch twinkled in the apartment; and its light scarcely +reaching her, she remained unobserved, a spectator of every thing, but +of course unable to understand a word of the conversation. + +"Go not, dear Magdalena," said Juan, folding her in his arms; "for it +may be that we have but a moment more to share together. Tarry, and hear +what I have to say. I am, as I may say, a prisoner; yet it seems, if I +can believe the young king, more because I have incurred the wrath of +the Mexicans than his own. Thus it is: the king rescued me from prison +in Tezcuco, first, because I had not long before given him liberty, to +my own great misfortune, and secondly, because he doubted not, that the +wrongs I have suffered would incense me to take part with him, and fight +against my countrymen; whereby, as he thinks, he would gain an +invaluable auxiliary. On the day of his coronation, he presented me to +his people, and called me his brother; nevertheless, they gave me but +sour looks, for bitterly do they hate the sight of a Spaniard. If I will +fight with them and for them, I win their love,--so he assures me, and +so I can well believe; but this is clearly impossible. I have not +fought, and I will not; and they say, therefore, that the king should +give me up to be sacrificed; and twice already, after having suffered +some severe losses, they have come turbulently to the palace, to demand +me. For this reason, I dare not appear among them, unless to be torn to +pieces.--Tremble not, fear not," he continued, as Magdalena clasped him, +as if to shield him from approaching weapons: "I have seen thee bold and +resolute among roaring breakers,--else how could I have saved thee, dear +sister?--Heaven pardon Hilario! and heaven pardon me, my sister, that I +imputed his death to thy warrant!--I have seen thee bold and intrepid. +Now summon back what courage thou hast; and, if heaven will, I will save +thee yet again from destruction. I can myself escape, but not with +thee--" + +"Think not of me, Juan, think not of me," said Magdalena, earnestly and +fondly. "Thou canst do nothing to make me so happy, as to tell me how I +can die for thee. Fly, then; pause not a moment, but fly; and know, +that, if I meet thee not again but in heaven, yet thou wilt leave me in +heaven, even upon earth, knowing that thou art saved, and that I have +ministered somewhat to thy liberation." + +"Be of this heart, Magdalena," said Juan, "and rest assured that I will +soon return, if I have life, with such a force as will rescue thee +likewise from thraldom. My plan of escape involves duplicity, nay, even +perfidy; yet are mine ends all pure, honourable, and humane. I perceive +that Guatimozin is incapable of resisting much longer. His people are +slain by thousands each day, and thousands must soon perish from want. +Cortes has already his foot upon the island; and house by house, the +city is tumbled into ruins. The poor king is distracted, and resolved to +die, burying himself and his whole people under the ruins of his +capital. This may be excused in a soldier, and in men; but the town is +thronged with poor women and children; there are thousands of them--tens +of thousands; and they must perish, if the siege be longer continued. To +save them--to save the king himself (for thus only can he be saved,) I +will break faith with him; and thus also will I save thee. My only fear +is, that his anger may fall upon thee, when he finds I have deceived +him; yet this he may not discover. There is one here, with whom, could I +but find speech, I could secure thee a protector. Magdalena, I have one +friend here, who will be thine. An unfortunate attempt to escape has +perhaps robbed me of her assistance. Yet I spoke of thee to her, +and--But, dear Magdalena, thou art sick and feeble!--I talk to thee too +much. If thou art alarmed, I will not leave thee: we will await our fate +together." + +"I _am_ sick, Juan, and I know not what is the matter with me," said +Magdalena, faintly, suffering the young man to place her upon a seat. +"But who is this of whom you speak? Your friend, Juan--surely I shall +love _your_ friends." + +At this moment, Juan, as he bent over her, caught sight of the jewels +which the Indian maiden had placed upon her head and neck, and among +others, beheld the star of pearls which had gained for the daughter of +Montezuma the name of Zelahualla, or the Lady of the Star, and the +silver crucifix. + +"Good heaven!" he cried, "do you wear her jewels, and yet ask me who she +is?" + +Magdalena started to her feet, and both turning together, they beheld +the Indian princess, shrinking in the shadow of the room, behind Befo, +who seemed to consider her an old friend, her arms crossed upon her +breast, her head drooping, and her whole attitude and appearance +indicative of a spirit entirely crushed and broken. + +"Zelahualla!" cried Juan, with a voice of delight; and rushing towards +her, he folded her in his arms, and strove to draw her towards his +sister. "Why didst thou not speak to me, Zelahualla? Why dost thou turn +from me, Zelahualla?" + +The maiden sobbed, and strove to disengage herself from his embrace, +saying, + +"There is no Zelahualla now--The bright lady of the east is Zelahualla. +Juan and the bright lady shall go. Why should Juan think there are +_two_?" + +In these broken expressions, Magdalena, had they not been in an unknown +tongue, would have traced the workings of jealous and wounded affection. +They filled Juan with surprise. + +"What is this you say to me, Zelahualla?" he cried, "and what do you +mean? Did not Zelahualla promise she would love my sister?" + +"She did," replied the princess, without abating her grief: "she will +love Juan's sister, and any one that Juan loves; and she has brought the +bright lady to Juan, and she has given her her jewels, that Juan may +love her more, and forget Zelahualla,--and the cross of his God, too, +that he may not be sorry." + +"Alas, Zelahualla, what evil-eye has struck thee? Dost thou think I +deceive thee? Wilt thou not believe this is my sister?" + +The princess looked at him doubtfully and sadly: + +"It is all as Juan says: but the king has asked questions, and the +nobles have spoken to him with the words of captives; and they say, he +has spoken falsely of the bright lady." + +"Wilt thou believe _them_, and not _me_?" said Juan, not without +emotion, for he was touched by the deep and unreproachful sorrow of the +young princess, though greatly surprised to find how her ear had been +abused. "I swear to thee, and may heaven judge me according to my truth, +that, in this matter, I deceive thee not. There is but one Zelahualla, +and she is the daughter of Montezuma." + +The maiden sank upon his breast, sobbing, but now with rapture. Then +running to Magdalena, who had surveyed the scene with varying and +extraordinary emotion, she threw herself at her feet, and embraced her +knees. + +Magdalena stood like one entranced, until Juan, raising up the princess, +placed her in her arms, saying, + +"Dear sister, give her thy friendship; for there is no one more pure or +noble of spirit, though artless, than this poor ignorant maiden; and let +the cross again hang on her bosom, for she has confessed her Redeemer. +She will watch thee and guard thee while I am gone;--nay, she will nurse +thee too, for thou art very ill, and needest kind nurture." + +Magdalena returned the embraces of the Indian maiden, but it was with a +wildness of manner, that greatly disturbed her brother, and even +frighted the princess. He took her hand,--it was hot and trembling. He +kissed her, and found her lips burning with fever; and he perceived that +excitement had wrought her indisposition into a degree of illness that +might prove serious. + +"Compose thyself, dear Magdalena," he said. "All now depends upon thy +coolness and courage. If thou becomest ill, my scheme must needs +miscarry--Nay, I cannot attempt it, until thou art better; for it seems +to me now thou art almost delirious." + +"Delirious, Juan? No, I am not delirious. Yet I am ill,--very ill, I +think. Thou goest alone, dost thou not? Tarry not a moment.--We will +leave thee,--we will not stay longer, lest the guards should return and +find us." + +"Listen to me, Magdalena," said Juan, earnestly, as if he feared lest +her senses should wander. "If I fall into the Spaniards' hands alive, I +will come to this garden in canoes, with a proper force, and enter it by +surprise. If it be possible, I will seize the person of the king, having +previously secured him such terms from Cortes as shall protect him in +person and in his government, as the vassal of Spain. This will end the +war at once. But in this I may not succeed, yet be able to liberate both +thee and the princess. Through her address, thou wilt be enabled to walk +often in the garden. Walk therein, as near to the lake as possible, +especially late in the day, and in the first hours of the evening. The +dog Befo I will leave in a cage: when you are in fear, give him +liberty.--The princess hath often fed him, and he will guard you well; +and his voice, if I come in the night-time, will show me where to seek +you.--Do you understand me, dear sister? Struggle but a little against +this fever, and perhaps it may leave you. At all events, the thought of +your suffering will arm me with double strength, when I return, bringing +you relief. Alas, Magdalena, I am sorry to see you thus!" + +"It shall be as you say, Juan," said Magdalena, a little incoherently. +"I will be governed by this maiden, and for your sake, I will love her +well. We will walk in the garden, too. Yet think not of us. If you are +safe, we will be content." + +"Farewell, Magdalena, dear Magdalena," said Juan. "Walk, if thou art +able, even to-morrow; for in the morning I will essay to depart. At any +rate, be thou sick or well, if thou hearest a bugle winded in the +garden, at any hour, be it morn or midnight, then be sure that you sally +out, and Zelahualla with you.--Farewell, sister, farewell!--and +farewell, thou, dear princess. When thou thinkest of me, let the cross +be in thy hands and on thy lips!" + +With these words, and having tenderly embraced them both, Juan led them +to the door, and putting their hands together, he had soon the +satisfaction to hear them step from the passage into the open air. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +What Juan had said in relation to the cause of his confinement, was +true, although he was not aware of the whole extent of the truth. In +releasing him from impending death at Tezcuco, the young infidel did not +doubt, in the simplicity of his heart, that he was adding a powerful +engine of defence to his preparations, as well as requiting the +obligation, which, he believed, had been the principal cause of Juan's +downfall. He reckoned confidently upon Juan's desire for vengeance, the +absence of which feeling, after wrongs so stirring and manifold, his +nature did not allow him to anticipate; and he dwelt also, with the +security of pride, upon the incentive offered in the love of the +daughter of Montezuma. In this spirit of confidence, without much +regarding Juan's previous averments, he introduced him to his assembled +forces, upon the day of coronation, that all might know him, and respect +him thenceforth as one honoured with the highest of titles--the king's +brother. So far, all was well: the name of the Young Eagle was not +wholly unknown to the Mexican warriors; and the sight of his manly +figure, arrayed in a native cloak, his head crowned with a lofty +penacho, put on by the king's hand, and the glittering axe of obsidian +received from the same quarter, and grasped a moment with a military +air, made an impression in his favour, that could only be obliterated by +his own act of rejection. The spectacle was hailed with acclamations, +and + + Far and wide, the thundering shout, + Rolling among reduplicating rocks, + Peal'd o'er the hills and up the mountain vales.[14] + +[Footnote 14: Southey's Roderic.] + +Unfortunately, Juan, unwilling that any act should be interpreted as +expressing his assent to take arms against his countrymen, immediately +threw down the macana, and would even have taken the plumes from his +head, had he not been arrested by Techeechee, and made sensible that +such a proceeding would be followed by the most fatal consequences. The +movement, however, had been observed by many of the nobles; and from +that moment, Juan saw that he was watched by jealous and hostile eyes. +His explicit and absolute refusal to take part in the conflicts, had +convinced the young king of his error; yet, though greatly exasperated, +he took such measures, from motives of honour or humanity, as protected +the obdurate Christian from the daily increasing anger of his people. He +confined him in the palace, and forbade even the ardent Zelahualla to go +near him. In this he was actuated by suspicions, constantly inflamed by +the Lord of Death, and not unnatural in themselves, that the young man +had abused his credulity in the case of Magdalena. The love of the +Indian maid, however, penetrated through guards and prison-doors; and +Juan, almost as impatient of confinement and suspense as Magdalena +herself, resolved to effect his escape, and by throwing himself upon the +mercy of the Captain-General, make one effort to liberate his unhappy +sister. The attempt was discovered and thwarted; and from that moment +his confinement had been very rigid. + +Still, however, the young infidel was wont frequently to visit him, +after the combat of the day, in the hope of overcoming his scruples, or +of gathering from his accidental expressions some hints that might be +turned to advantage against the besiegers. On all such occasions, he +refused to satisfy the prisoner's questions concerning his sister and +the princess; giving him plainly to understand that nothing but the +assumption of the pagan battle-axe, or positive counsels in his straits, +which he did not attempt to conceal, could purchase a sight of either. +In all these things, if the infidel acted with more crafty selfishness +than generosity, he only proved that he belonged to his race. The whole +conduct of Juan was, according to _his_ scale of morals and honour, both +unfriendly and unaccountable. He designed, this very night, to visit the +prisoner, of which intention Juan was apprized; and hence his eagerness +to dismiss the maidens from the chamber, before the conclusion of the +attack upon the neighbouring dike, with the nature and objects of which +he was well acquainted. + +Before the maidens had departed, it was evident that the firing and +other noises on the causeway were subsiding. Before they had been gone +the full space of an hour, a heavy step rang in the passage, and the +next moment the Indian monarch stood before the captive. He was +singularly and sumptuously armed. From head to foot, his body was +covered with a garment, perhaps of escaupil, fitting so tightly as to +display his limbs to advantage; and over all was a coat of mail, +consisting of copper spangles or scales, richly gilded, and stitched +upon a shirt of dressed leather. His head was defended by a morion of +the same metal, shaped not unlike to those of the Spaniards, and equally +strong; and its ability to resist a violent blow was increased by the +folds of a stout serpent, painted green, wreathing over its whole +surface. A shield of tapir-skin, studded with copper nails, hung from +his neck; and he bore a macana, which was stained with blood. He wore +none of the emblems of royalty, and his appearance was only that of some +highly distinguished noble. His eye was bright and fiery, his step firm +and proud, but his aspect was thin and haggard. + +"Has my brother heard the shouts of men near him, and does he yet say, +'Let me sleep?'" were the words with which he saluted the captive. + +"Prince," said Juan, eyeing him anxiously and interrogatively, though +speaking with positive emphasis, "as I told you before, so has it +happened. The cannon were ready on the dike, the falconets were charged +in the ships, and the men of Sandoval slept with swords and matches in +their hands, and with their eyes open. Guatimozin does not come back a +victor!" + +"He comes back with a prisoner," said the prince, proudly; "and, +to-morrow, the lord with red hair (Sandoval) will count the dead and +weep, and Malintzin shall see the flames of sacrifice rising from the +pyramid." + +"Alas!" exclaimed Juan, "in condemning captives to this horrible death, +against your will, for I know your heart is not cruel, you harden the +soul of Cortes against you; and he will remember each sacrifice, when +the day of surrender comes at last." + +"Let it be harder than it is, what cares the Mexican who dies?" replied +the king. "Does my brother think that I am weary, or that Malintzin can +fight longer than I?" + +"Think not to deceive me, prince--I know that already your altars and +palaces are within reach of the cannon-shot--nay, of the +musket-bullet--You are hemmed in, like a wild-cat on a tree--Your +enemies are all round you, and they look into your eyes. Are not the +water-suburbs already taken?" + +"Why should I lie?" replied Guatimozin. "If you go to Tacuba, you will +see the banks of the island--the city of the water is not there. If you +look from Iztapalapan, the surges go rushing up towards the great +temple--the houses are under the lake--If you look from the door of my +dwelling, you will see the quarter of Tepejacac falling also into the +lake. When Malintzin calls aloud in the morning, the lord of the red +hair answers him, and Malintzin hears. Thus it is with Mexico; yet my +brother sleeps, while I die, saying to his soul, 'It is all very just, +for I sleep and see not.'" + +"If I see not and help not, yet is my heart torn by your distresses," +replied Juan, earnestly. "But why should I help? It would be a great sin +upon my soul, and could do you no good. Listen to my counsel, +Guatimozin: It is not yet too late. Cease to protract an unavailing +resistance; send to Cortes with offers of submission, and be assured of +reigning still, a king, though a vassal." + +"Does Guatimozin fight to be a king?" said the infidel, with dignity. +"He struck the Spaniard before he thought of a crown. He thinks not of +palaces and fine garments, but says, 'Why should the people of Mexico be +made slaves?' The king fights for Mexico." + +"He will fight best for Mexico with peace. The kings of Tezcuco and +Iztapalapan pay tribute to Mexico--are their people slaves? Thus shall +it be with Mexico: the king shall give gold, as the tributary of Spain, +and Mexicans shall remain in freedom." + +"Will my brother prattle like Malintzin?" demanded the monarch, sternly. +"Where is the freedom of Zempoala, of Tlascala, of Cholula? The people +talk of it, while a Spaniard strikes them with a lash. Where is the +freedom of Tezcuco? The young king, who is a boy, sits on the throne; +but the Spaniard, whom my brother struck in the face with a sword, when +he chased Olin-pilli, is there with him, and he robs and abuses the +people, so that they have sent their tears to Malintzin. What was the +fate of Montezuma? He sat in the Spaniards' house in chains, and the +soldiers murdered his nobles, who danced in peace in the courtyard. What +was the fate of Montezuma? The Spaniard, who is lord of the king of +Tezcuco, would have done violence to the captive maiden--Does my brother +remember?" + +"Ay!" replied Juan, with the gleam of passion that visited his eyes, +only when he spoke of Guzman: "I remember, and I hope yet to +avenge--Sinner that I am, I cannot think it a crime, to covet the blood +of this man!--But, prince, let me know--My captivity is very hard--Why +should I not be allowed to speak with the princess? Why should my sister +be hidden from me?" + +The countenance of Guatimozin darkened. + +"When my brother will fight for them, he shall be at liberty. My brother +thinks again of the canoe at the bottom of the garden?" + +Juan coloured, and said, + +"You keep me a prisoner--I strove to escape. The king mocks me, to call +me his brother." + +"The warriors are very angry, yet the Great Eagle is alive. He cannot go +among them in safety, unless as their friend." + +"And who," said Juan, "shall warrant me of safety, if I go even as a +friend?" + +He deemed it now the period to commence acting upon his scheme of +escape, yet hesitated, stung with shame at the thought of the duplicity +to which he was descending.--"It is better to die on the dikes than to +pine in the dungeon." + +Guatimozin's eye gleamed with a sudden fire: + +"Does my brother jest with me?" he said. "If my brother think it wrong +to strike a Spaniard, he shall not be called upon to fight. He can teach +me the things it is needful to know; and be in no fear." + +"When did Guatimozin see me afraid?" cried Juan, stifling as well as he +could the sense of humiliation and disgust, with which he began the +office of a deceiver. "To give you counsel how to resist or attack, will +make me as much a renegade as to draw sword at once. If I do become +apostate, it shall be boldly, and with the sword. Prince, I have thought +over this thing: my heart is grieved with your distress; and for my +sister, and for Zelahualla, I will do what my conscience condemns. Does +the king know what shall be my fate, if I am found fighting by the +Spaniards?" + +"Twenty chosen warriors shall circle my brother round about, and he +shall keep aloof from the van of battle." + +"If I fight, it shall be in the van," said Juan, his self-condemnation +giving a character of sullenness to his tones. "But what, if I +fall,--what shall become of my sister?" + +"She shall be the sister of Guatimozin and of Zelahualla," said +Guatimozin, with energy, yet with doubt; for he could hardly believe +that Juan was speaking seriously. + +"Let the king say _this_, and I will go out with him to battle:--If I +die, he will cause my sister and the princess to be delivered into the +hands of Cortes." + +"The Spanish lady shall be sent to Malintzin; but the Centzontli shall +remain with her brother the king. It is better she should die with him +than dwell with the Spaniards. Why shouldst thou think it? Are there not +more Guzmans than one?" + +Juan muttered painfully to himself, + +"Perhaps it _is_ better. Heaven will protect her, for she has +acknowledged her Redeemer.--Will the king swear, then, if his brother +falls, that Magdalena shall be sent to the Spaniards?" + +"He will swear," said Guatimozin, ardently. "It is better for the +Spanish lady; for she knows not our speech, and she pines away with +grief. And if the king prevails over his enemies, the king will remember +what Juan says of her." + +"Now, then, let the king tell me the truth, and mislead me not. How much +longer can he maintain the city?" + +"Till he is dead!--But he may soon die," he added, confidingly, for now +he doubted no longer that he had gained his purpose. "My brother shall +first teach me how to get food. The ships move about at night, and no +canoe can reach the shore. The king sits down to eat with the warriors, +and he eats no more--but the warriors cry all night for food." + +"Good heaven!" said Juan, surveying the wasted cheeks of the monarch; +"are you already so straitened? your garners already exhausted?" + +"Who can reckon for so many mouths?" cried Guatimozin. + +"I dreamed not of this--Sure, _I_ have never been denied abundance!" + +"My brother is a prisoner; and the women and children are feeble. Why +should _they_ want, when the warriors can endure hunger better?" + +The communication of this painful intelligence nerved Juan more strongly +in his purpose. He perceived the necessity of acting without delay, if +he wished to protect the young infidel from the consequence of his own +despairing fury, and the maiden of his love, and his sister, from a fate +too dreadful to be imagined. His eagerness the more fully deluded the +young monarch, not prone to suspicion where he loved, and he was soon +made acquainted with the whole condition of the beleaguered city, and +the situation of the Spaniards. He was also instructed in the +particulars of a design of Guatimozin, to be practised upon the ensuing +day, the boldness of which, as well as its strong probabilities of +success, both astonished and dismayed him. He perceived that perhaps the +fate of the entire Spanish army depended upon the course he might +pursue, and his honour and feelings seemed all to call upon him for some +exertion to arrest the impending destruction. + +When he had been made acquainted with all that Guatimozin thought fit to +divulge, and had again and again repeated his resolution to take arms +and accompany the Mexicans against his countrymen, the king embraced him +with great warmth, promising to provide him with a good Spanish sword +and helmet from among the spoils; but recommending that, in all other +respects, he should assume the guise of a Mexican. + +When these arrangements were completed, he turned to depart, and yet +seemed loath to go. Finally, he took Juan by the arm, and said, + +"To-night the king will sleep by the side of his brother: we will wake +in the morning and go out together." + +"Why will not the king speak kind things to the queen? It will rejoice +her to look upon the king." + +"Has she not a little sick babe by her side? and are they not very +wretched?" said Guatimozin, exposing, without reserve, the miseries +preying upon his own bosom, and abandoning himself to a grief that +seemed to mock the greatness of his station. "When I look upon them," he +said, "I am no longer the king who thinks of Mexico and the people, but +a man with a base heart, who cries, 'Why am not I a prisoner and a +slave, that my little child may be saved, and his mother protected from +the famine that is coming?' The king should not think these things,--he +should not look upon his household, but his country." + +"Go, notwithstanding," said Juan, touched still further by the +distresses of the infidel. "Comfort them with your presence, and let +their sufferings admonish you of the only way to end them. It is not too +late to submit." + +"Is this the way my brother begins the duties of a Mexican?" said +Guatimozin. "The gods tell me to die, not yield. I fight for +Mexico,--not for the wife and child of Guatimozin." + +With these words, and having banished all traces of weakness and +repining, he left Juan to slumber, or to weigh, in painful anticipation, +the risks and uncertainties of his projected enterprise. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +As Guatimozin had confessed to Juan Lerma, the three suburbs of the +causeways were already demolished, and their ruined walls, battered by +cannon and blackened by smoke, peered over the lake, along the +causeways, in melancholy ruins. The hand of desolation had extended +still further; at least, in the quarter that was pierced by the dike of +Iztapalapan. Here Cortes commanding in person, and fighting every day at +the head of his army, he had infected the whole division with a share of +his own energy. While Alvarado and Sandoval were contending for a +foothold on the very borders of the city, he had already penetrated it +to the distance of half a mile, destroying many houses, though without +being able to effect a secure and permanent lodgment upon any portion of +the island. + +It must not be supposed, that, having reached the island, the Spaniards +could exchange the narrow and ditched causeways for firm and spacious +streets. On the contrary, the causeways, so to speak, were continued up +to within half a mile of the principal square which was in the very +centre of the city, and contained the great pyramid, as well as the +chief temples of Mexico. On either side was a canal both broad and deep, +dividing the road from the houses; and others, running from intersecting +streets, perforated the causeways with chasms, the number of which the +Mexicans had long since greatly increased. The island, which was +circular, did not exceed three miles in diameter, of which the central +third only was dry and solid. Hence the advanced posts of the three +divisions were at no considerable distance from each other; and if the +call of Cortes in the morning was not absolutely heard and answered by +his two lieutenants, the bugles of each could be easily distinguished, +cheering one another as they advanced to the daily assault. + +The labour of Cortes in destroying the suburb in his quarter, was less +than that of the others; for here, the lake being deeper, the houses +extended but a short distance from the island. His advanced post was +almost within the limits of the suburb, and separated from the island by +only one ditch, which he had twice or thrice taken and filled up, but +was as often obliged to yield again to the foe, subduing his impatience, +until his lieutenants had advanced equally far in their quarters. + +The outposts were always guarded with the most jealous vigilance, +particularly in the later hours of the night, after the rains, which, in +this climate, commonly prevail with the greatest violence between the +hours of noon and midnight. A guard of forty men, with two pieces of +artillery, kept watch until midnight; when, yielding their places to +forty more, but not retiring, they threw themselves to sleep upon the +damp stones and clay. Two hours before dawn, the post was strengthened +by another company of forty, who watched until morning, the others +flinging themselves in their cloaks among the first watchmen. Thus, +there were ready, before day, one hundred and twenty men, the strongest +and boldest of their divisions, who, in case of sudden attack, could +preserve the station, until reinforced by the whole strength of the +division, from the towers of the gates, which were still the +head-quarters of the several divisions. The causeway between the gates +and the pickets, was occupied by patrols of horsemen, who watched lest +the enemy, coming in canoes, should make a descent behind the advanced +post, and thus cut it off. + +Two hours after midnight, upon the night in which Juan revealed his +purpose of escaping, the second guard on the causeway of Iztapalapan was +relieved from watch by the coming of the third; and the soldiers flung +themselves, as usual, upon the earth, to prepare for a morning, which, +it was known to all, was to witness a general assault, made +simultaneously by all the divisions, from their three several quarters. + +The watchfires were replenished, and two subalterns, the leaders of the +party, advanced a little beyond them, to reconnoitre the condition of +the enemy. Three hundred paces in front, the causeway was intersected by +the ditch, held by the Mexicans; and beyond it, on a strong rampart, +blazed a great fire, in the light of which the pagan sentinels could be +seen, squatting upon the mound, or stalking idly about. The gap was +bridgeless, as was well-known; but this the Spaniards could not observe +with their own eyes, not thinking it prudent to advance within the range +of a Mexican arrow. + +As they returned, they conversed together in low voices; and it was +worthy of remark, as indicating how little their spirits were occupied +by the dangers around them, that they bestowed more words upon the +ordinary scandal of the camp than upon the horrible conflicts through +which they had passed, or in which they were yet to mingle. + +"They lay this thing of Camarga entirely to the door of Guzman," said +one; "and, in my mind, the imputation were reasonable, could we discover +any cause for enmity between them. They say, that Guzman smothered him +with pillows of cottontree-down. Wherefore--" + +"Pho, Najara," said the other, bluffly; "blame not a man upon these vain +fancies; for Camarga was killed by a hard weapon, and by no pillows of +cotton-down or feathers. I found him myself." + +"Ay," said Najara, for it was the hunchback, whose companion was no +other than the worthy historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo,--"Ay, seńor +amigo, but he was not dead; and we are speaking of two very different +events: to make which palpable to thy historical wits, we must e'en go +back to the starting point. It is with a man of ill mind as with a +cannonier; who, if he look for the mark of his ball in a forest, must go +back to the place whence he shot it, and take the range over again." + +"I do not understand thy trope," said Bernal, "nor what thou meanest by +an 'ill mind,' not having one myself, but one that harbours animosities +against none but Indians. As for Camarga, I found him myself. It was +when we marched out of Tezcuco, by the northern road; for I was then +with Alvarado, going to Tacuba. I say it, and it is to my honour, not +shame, that Cortes, when he left the brigantines, demanded me of +Alvarado; 'for,' said he, 'Bernal Diaz is one of my best friends, and a +soldier second to none:' which is true, though I say it myself. De Olid +was with us, with his men. The story is this: When we passed by the +cypress-tree on the hill, I bethought me of a chapter of my book, which +I had lost, I knew not where nor when. 'Now,' said I, 'perhaps I left it +under this tree;' for what with the sudden coming of Juan Lerma, poor +fellow, and the quarrel I had with Gaspar on his account, I departed +from that place, without much thought of what might be left behind me. +But pondering on this, as we passed, I dropped from the ranks, and +hunting about, I saw Camarga lying mangled at the bottom of the hill; +and when we came to examine him, it was plain he had been struggling +there for many hours,--perhaps, all night. We thought he was dead; but +Juan Catalan, the cannonier, who is so good at a fresh wound, said, his +heart was yet beating, and he might live. So we sent him back to +Tezcuco, then in charge of Guzman, that the Indian doctors might see +what could be done for him. And there he died." + +"Ay, if we can believe Guzman," said Najara; "and no doubt, he did: but +_how_? Know now, Bernal, for thou art too innocent to look further than +thy nose, that this man's death has made a great noise at head-quarters; +for, somehow, they have come to associate it with the marvellous +disappearance of La Monjonaza; for which there are but two ways of +accounting." + +"As how?" said Bernal, gravely. "Gil Ortaga told me, he saw her ghost, +six nights after, in Iztapalapan, dragging the spirit of Villafana by +the hair; which frightened him very much." + +"The first thought," said Najara, "is, that she drowned herself for the +love of Juan Lerma, of which--that is, of her love, at least--there is +some proof that might be mentioned, were there any wisdom in speaking +it; and the second, that Guzman hid her in some den about Tezcuco, +trusting to the departure of Cortes on the morrow. It is well known that +Guzman will play rival with the devil himself, if he have taken a fancy +to a woman." + +"Fu," said Bernal, "that is a foolish thought." + +"Dost thou not know," demanded the hunchback, "that he is in disgrace, +for acts still darker than these? He abused the Indians in the palace, +robbing them of their gold and women, at his will, and greatly incensed +the young king Ixtlilxochitl, who complained to Cortes. Cortes sailed to +Tezcuco in person, and removed him from his government; and now he is in +such disgrace, that were it not for some old friendship between him and +the Captain-General, it is thought, Cortes would utterly renounce him. +The Indians say, that he murdered Camarga, when the poor man was +recovering. But this is improbable. Camarga was a stranger, and without +foes. Yet his fate has greatly troubled the general. As for the lady +Infeliz, Don Francisco persists in averring that he knows nothing about +her. He brought a Tlascalan, who swore he saw both her and Camarga walk +out from the northern gate together, during the review; whereby he would +have us believe they fell into the hands of the Mexicans; but Indians +will swear anything, if you tell them how. It is said, that Guzman has +got permission to serve in the fleet with Garci Holguin, his old friend. +They are two dare-devils together, and neither in very good odour; so +they will doubtless do some desperate act to regain favour.--Hark, +Bernal! dost thou hear nothing?" + +"Nothing but the whistling of the Indians at the fire;--for that is the +way they make their signals. We shall have hot work to-morrow, +Najara."-- + +"Hark!--Ah, 'tis the sound of oars! One of the night-ships is +approaching the dike. What's in the wind now?--Hah, sirrah! what brings +thee out of limits?" + +These words were directed to a tall man, cloaked to the eyes, whom they +had not before noticed, who stood hard by, peering into the lake, as if +he sought to discover the approaching vessel. Najara hobbled up to him, +in no little dudgeon, and repeated the question, before the stranger +deigned to answer him. He then turned, and replied, with great coolness, + +"Curiosity, crookback, curiosity,--some little itching to know how thou +and thy brother ass, Bernal Diaz, discourse of thy betters. Well, +rogues, have you done? have you despatched mine honour twice over again? +I am not in good odour, hah? I have murdered Camarga, and suborned +Indians to invent fables of La Monjonaza? Out upon ye, fools! I thought +thou wert not so sodden-brained, Najara!" + +As if his voice were not enough to make him known, the cavalier removed +the cloak from his visage, and exhibited the iron features of Don +Francisco de Guzman, illuminated by the watchfire hard by. There was +something about his countenance unusually dark and fierce; yet he did +not speak angrily, although Najara perceived he must have overheard some +of his concluding expressions. But Najara was not a man to be daunted +even by a stronger arm and a sterner eye. He replied therefore, with +composure, + +"What we have said, seńor Don Francisco, we have said, and may take the +same liberty again. But under your favour, seńor, I am, just now, the +captain of the guard; and as I cannot number you among my company, I +must e'en make bold to ask your will, as well as your business, here, in +advance of the post?" + +"Thou shalt ask, and be answered," said Guzman, clapping his fingers to +his lips, and whistling with a strength that might have done honour to +the neighbouring infidels, though in a manner differing entirely from +any of their signals. "One, two,--three,--and _too-whit! too-whit!_ like +a hungry kite in the morning! Dost thou understand _that_, mi Corcobado? +If thou dost not, then _poco á poco, y paciencia_, as we say after +dinner; for presently thou shalt be made wiser. After which, get thee to +thy dogs there, in the mud, and snore with them.--Ah, _amigo y hermano_! +Garci, _mi corazoncito_! I will know thy pipe among a thousand, for it +whistles out of the nose, like the hiss of a serpent!--Fare ye well, +patches; and heaven send ye a rough rouse in the morning." + +While the cavalier was yet speaking, a little boat from the brigantine, +the heavy oars of which they had long since heard, though they could +scarce trace it in the gloom, shot against the causeway; and an officer +of a powerful frame and forbidding aspect, just rendered visible by the +fire, rising up, extended his hand to Guzman, who immediately jumped +aboard, and took a seat at his side. It was then pushed off, and soon +vanished on the lake. + +"There they go," said Najara, not without admiration, "two imps after +the devil's own liking, strong-handed, tough-headed, hard-hearted! Wo +betide ye, brown lambkins of Mexico! for these wolves have scented a +hole in your pinfold. I tell thee, Bernal, man, we shall have rare work +to-morrow, and these men will make it rarer. When the gall comes from +Guzman's lips, the devil is waked up in his liver. 'A rough rouse in the +morning!' For thy good wish, mayst thou have as rugged a couch in the +evening--Amen! for I love thee not." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +The two subalterns now rejoined their companions, and passing them, as +they stood patiently to their arms, waiting for the dawn and the battle, +they crept through the sleepers towards the cannon, which were placed in +the rear, the cannoniers sleeping around them. Here, they found a +solitary individual of the watch they had relieved, leaning moodily +against one of the pieces, instead of sharing the slumber of his +comrades. + +Bernal Diaz surveyed him for a moment, and then touched him on the +shoulder: + +"Townsman," said he, "it is but a foolish thing of thee to stand upon +thy legs, watching, when thy guard duty is over. Sleep a little, +Gaspar--We shall have toilsome work to-morrow." + +"Sleep thyself, Bernal," replied Gaspar Olea. "What care I for sleep? +Come, get thee into the mud, and I will take thy place. Thou shalt have +my cloak, too, if thou wilt, to keep the rain out--I can warm me by +walking." + +"I will do no such thing," said Bernal, grasping the hand of his friend, +though Gaspar turned from him, and seemed desirous to continue the +conversation no longer; "if thou wilt wake, why well. I will talk thee +out of thy melancholy. Thou art very much changed, Gaspar. I know not +why thou shouldst grieve after this boy. Thou must now confess, he is +unworthy thy friendship." + +Gaspar returned no answer, and Bernal continued to give consolation by +inflicting pain,--which is the common way. + +"It is allowed by all, that he is a renegade; and doubtless, also, he +has become a worshipper of false gods; for he who will turn his sword +against his countrymen, is a rogue and a blasphemer--That is my opinion. +Gil Ortaga said--" + +"The fiend seize Ortaga, and thee into the bargain!" said Gaspar, +angrily. "If a deer be wounded, and hide himself in a by-way, his +fellows will not hunt after him, to gore him!--Why shouldst thou have +less humanity than a deer?" + +"Come, Gaspar, if I have offended thee, I ask thy pardon," said Bernal +Diaz; "for thou art my townsman and friend, though we have quarrelled +sometimes; and what I say, I say with a good meaning." + +Gaspar looked over his shoulder, and finding that Najara had returned to +the front, he grasped Bernal's hand, and said earnestly, + +"Let there be ill will and ill words between us no more; for who knows +what may come to us to-morrow? I know what is said of Juan Lerma. He is +with the infidels--but what drove him among them? He is a renegade, +too,--yet what made him so? He teaches the enemy to cut ditches and +throw up ramparts, to lay ambushes and attack ships, and a thousand +other feats and stratagems, not to be looked for among barbarians. This +they say,--all say; and some swear they have seen him, in a Mexican +cloak, fighting at the head of the pagans, and knew him by his stature +and voice. Let us believe all this--What then? Bernal, it is a thought +that preys upon me, remembering his honour, his goodness, and +truth,--and this it is,--that a damnable malice has driven him, against +his own will, into the den of perdition. Hark thee, here, in thine +ear--Thou rememberest the expedition to the South Sea? Before that, thou +knowest, I was in great favour with Cortes, whom I loved well, for he +had done me many good deeds in Cuba. About that time, Juan Lerma lost +favour, and no one knew why; for as to censuring the indignities offered +to Montezuma, that was a crime committed by some hundreds besides, who +were never punished. The cause, Bernal, the true cause,--I would I might +tell thee the true cause: but I swore an oath never to breathe it to +mortal man. But _this_ I may speak, (and thou must afterwards forget +it.) I see things more clearly than I did before; and methinks, this +night, mine eyes are further opened. I see very well, that we are all +deluded and abused, and Juan Lerma an innocent man. Hearken then to what +I say. One night, Cortes came to me, looking more like a demon than a +man, and he said to me, 'Gaspar Olea, thou must kill me a snake, that +has stung me upon the breast.' And with that he told me a thing, which I +cannot speak; but this followed--I agreed that I would kill Juan Lerma." + +"Thou art beside thyself, Gaspar!" said Bernal, with the utmost +astonishment. + +"I had good reason given to me," continued Olea; "and at that time I had +but little acquaintance with the young man, and no love; and I was bound +very strongly to Cortes. Understand me, Bernal: I did not consent to +play the part of an assassin, for that was no part for Gaspar Olea. But +being convinced the thing was just, and that the young man was a knave +deserving death, I agreed to exasperate him into a quarrel; wherein I +appeased my conscience, by thinking of the risk I ran, he being reckoned +very good at all weapons. But what dost thou think? The very next night +comes me Cortes again, with quite another story. 'Gaspar,' said he, 'the +thing I told thee was false, and I have done the young man a wrong. +Wherefore, quarrel with him not, and forget what I have told thee;' +adding many things which satisfied my mind, that the youth was an +innocent man, very basely slandered. This caused me to think well of +him; and I consented to go with him to the South Sea. There, Bernal, I +learned to love him, for he was brave, and noble, and good;--ay, by my +faith, I loved him better than ever I had loved the general. But 'What +then?' you will say; 'Whereto tends this?' To this--and it is damnable +to think upon: The General deceived me,--he repented having made me his +confidant; but he still longed for the blood of Juan Lerma. Hence the +South Sea scheme, devised for our destruction--(At this moment, I see it +plainly,)--for Juan's, because of the General's hate, and for _mine_, +Bernal, because he had confided to me a secret of which he was ashamed. +Ay, by my faith! he repented him that passion had made him so +indiscreet; and therefore designed to put me out of the way. The +soldiers have a story that he was angry with me for some freedom of +speech. This is false. He smiled on me to the last, and thus lulled my +fears. Neither Juan nor myself had any suspicion of evil intentions. He +made it appear, that the expedition was given to us, because of his +regard for our courage; and he deigned to tell me in secret, that his +chief reason for sending Lerma, was that he might be angered no longer +by his censures,--Juan being then very melancholy and peevish, in +consequence of the death of some old companion he had killed in +Espańola. But, Bernal, he deceived us both, as I can now see clearly. He +made it appear to the soldiers, that he was sorry to punish Juan--Nay +some said he shed tears, among the Indians, when he signed the +death-warrant. But this was hypocrisy. I know that he was rejoiced; for +he remembered the old cause, and abhorred him." + +"Marry," said Bernal Diaz, "it cannot be doubted he did. But the cause, +Gaspar? I do not ask thee, what it was: but was it enough to excuse such +rancour?" + +"If true, _yes_," replied Gaspar, with deep emphasis: "But it was not +true. Juan was innocent. I have probed his heart a thousand times, while +we were in the desert together, and when he knew not what I was doing. +He has not wronged Cortes--no, nor any other living creature. This I +told the General, when we returned to Tezcuco, after the campaign round +the lake. But what wouldst thou think? He averred that he had forgot the +thing;--that it was very foolish;--a groundless slander brought against +Juan by an enemy;--that he loved him as well as ever, and proceeded +against him only on account of broken laws and decrees;--that he durst +not pardon him, since his affection was well known, (his _affection_, +Bernal!) and the men would cry out against his favouritism. I knew he +spoke falsely, and so I told him. He hardened my heart; and then I ran +to Villafana, who had the power to save him, and promised to make him +our chief captain." + +"Now that you speak of Villafana," said Bernal, "it reminds me of this: +Why, had Juan Lerma been a man of honour and a Christian, should he have +joined in the murderous plots of that detestable traitor?" + +"Thou shouldst ask that of _me_," said Gaspar, fiercely. "But it matters +not. Who says that Juan Lerma joined him? Najara avers that he kept them +from speech together; and Luis Rafaga, who died of the wounds he got +among the piraguas, a week since, declared to his comrades as well as +the priest, (and being of the prison-guard, he knew all,) that Juan +fought in the prison with Villafana, about the list, the very night that +Villafana was hanged, and would have been killed, but for the coming of +La Monjonaza. I saw the traitor, myself, when he came among the +cavaliers; and he was hurt in the shoulder. Does this look like joining +him? Trust me, Bernal, we have done a great wrong to my young captain; +and I cannot die, without thinking that I leave behind me one man, at +least, to do him justice. This is what I say:--Not his crime, but the +general's secret malice, has driven him among the infidels. He is a +prisoner with them, or perhaps he has already died the death of +sacrifice. They lie, who say they have seen, or will see him in arms +against us. On this I will gage my life; and I pray heaven to take it, +the moment the pledge is forfeited! I swear it--Amen." + +The worst point in the character of a dog, is that, in all the quarrels +betwixt others of his species, he always takes part against the feebler. +In this particular, he is sometimes aped by his master,--not, indeed, in +an absolute conflict between man and man; for ninety in a hundred will, +in such case, befriend the weaker party,--but in those combats which an +individual wages with an evil destiny. Ill thoughts naturally follow +upon ill luck; and it is the curse of misfortune to be followed by +ungenerous suspicion and still more odious crimination. As the whole +army were acquainted with the manner of Juan's flight, or rather +captivity, they did not hesitate to believe him up in arms against them; +and every repulse which they endured from the barbarians, they traced to +the malignance and activity of the exile's treason. Fear and invention +together clothed him with the vestments of a fallen angel; and if some +savage, more gigantic and ferocious than the rest, distinguished himself +in the front of battle, straightway a dozen voices invoked curses upon +the head of the unhappy Lerma. There were few who did not forget his +sorrows and wrongs, and speak of him only with execrations; and many had +already begun to anticipate, as the chief triumph of victory, and the +most delightful of all their hopes, the privilege of burning him alive +on the temple-top, or even sacrificing him to their vengeance, after the +equally horrific manner of the Mexicans. + +While Bernal Diaz was thus conversing with the outcast's only friend, +there came from the distant gates of Xoloc, a suppressed hum, as of an +army arising from its slumbers. This was soon followed by the sound of +heavy bodies of men, approaching over the causeway; and it soon became +evident, that the morn was to be ushered in with the usual horrors of +contention. + +"Up, knaves!" cried the voice of the hunchback, "ye grumbling, growling, +wallowing, swine, that call yourselves lions and tigers! up, and shake +the clay from your cloaks, before it is trodden off by the hoofs of the +horsemen!" + +As he spoke, a cavalier galloped up to the party, and drawing in his +steed, while the men rose to their feet, he exclaimed, + +"_Halon_, Najara, man! where art thou? Dost thou talk thus in thy +sleep?" + +"Ay, may it please your excellency," said the hunchback, recognizing the +voice of Cortes; "for it is well, on such a post, that a soldier should +have the faculty of issuing commands asleep, as well as waking." + +"Dost thou hear, Diaz?" muttered Gaspar in his companion's ear. "Wouldst +thou think now to what the devil has tempted me, ever since I have seen +clearly that of which I have spoken? I tell thee, man, I have sometimes +thought it were but a turn of good friendship, to kill the man who has +brought these things upon Juan Lerma!" + +"Thou art mad!" said the historian in alarm. But his further +remonstrance was cut short by Cortes riding by, and even urging his +charger, though at a cautious pace, beyond the watchfire, as if to +reconnoitre with his own eyes, the situation of the foe. + +"Fear me not," said Gaspar, bitterly. "You shall see me do what I have +done before at Xochimilco,--pluck him out of the jaws of the devourers, +if need be. I think I was then enchanted; for, when I saw the Indians +have him off his horse, I said to myself, 'If I let him die now, no harm +happens to Juan Lerma.' But come--let us follow after him. And bid some +of your dull sluggards along with us, lest the pagans should make a +sally from the rampart. Hark! he has ridden up, till their fire shines +on his armour, and they see him! He will have the villains upon us, +before the reinforcements arrive!" + +The Captain-General did, indeed, advance so far that he was seen by the +pagan sentinels, who whistled out a shrill note of alarm, and then bent +their bows against him, till his corslet and the iron buckler which he +carried before his face, rattled under the crashing arrowheads. Thus +admonished, he rode a little back, and was joined by three or four other +cavaliers, who came galloping up from the causeway. + +"What say ye, cavaliers?" he cried. "Methinks there is not even a duck +lying near the causey-side, much less a brace or two of my brigantines." + +"If your excellency be looking for the ships," said Najara, "I can +satisfy your mind. There were some five or six here an hour since: I +heard the plunging of their anchors on both sides of the dike." + +"Ah! I will set thine ears against mine eyes any dark morn, +Corcobado.--Fetch up the Indians, Quinones; and bid the horsemen follow +at their heels. And hark ye, Najara,--let your drowsy knaves take post +on the causey-sides, lest they be trampled to death under the feet of my +red pioneers. Wheel up the pieces some ninety or an hundred paces in +advance; and see that your matchsticks be dry and combustible. Where +didst thou hear the sound of the anchors?" + +"But a little distance on the lake; and methinks I can see two of the +vessels on the left, betwixt us and the Indians.--His valour, Don Garci +Holguin, did but now take up the seńor Guzman--" + +"A pest upon Guzman!" said the general, sharply. "Get thee to thy men, +and move me the ordnance without delay." + +"'A pest upon Guzman?'" muttered Gaspar. "I have a thought of him also; +but I know not that he has done Juan a wrong. At all events, methinks, +his case is like mine.--The general's secrets are unlucky." + +With that, he retired, and took post among the soldiers. + +In a few moments, a numerous body of Indian auxiliaries made their +appearance, bearing, besides their ordinary weapons, which were slung on +their backs, certain hoes and mattocks, called _coas_, some of stone, +others of copper, but most of them of some hard wood. It was the +business of these men to fill up the ditches, after the defenders had +been driven away by a fierce cannonade from the ships, and by incessant +discharges of stones and arrows from fleets of piraguas, manned by other +Indian confederates, which lay near the brigantines. And here it may be +observed, that the labour of filling a ditch was much inferior to that +of re-opening it; and the causeways being constructed of stones as well +as clay, it was not possible to remove the former to any great extent. +Hence, the gaps that had been once or twice filled, remained, +notwithstanding the toil of the besieged, so shallow, that they might, +at almost any period, be forded; though this, usually, was not done, +until they were filled above the level of the water. + +Immediately after these pioneers, came a small body of horsemen, behind +whom were ranged the lancers and swordsmen; the musketeers and +cross-bowmen being chiefly distributed among the ships. + +These arrangements having been made, and the Tlascalans halting within +the distance of two hundred paces from the ditch, and throwing +themselves flat upon their faces on the causeway, to guard against the +first volleys of the foe, all were directed to remain in repose, until +the coming daylight should give the signal for battle. + +Nothing now broke the silence of the hour, save the dropping sound of +paddles from two numerous squadrons of canoes, filled with allies, which +were stationed on the flanks of the rear. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +Slowly the morning dawned; and the foremost Tlascalan, raising his head +from the earth, could behold, dimly relieved against an atmosphere of +mist, the outlines of the foe, yet loitering upon the rampart behind the +ditch, and warming his naked body, for the last time, over his +smouldering fire. And now, also, were seen the brigantines, four in +number, which had taken post, long before day, on either flank of the +ditch, while a line of well-manned piraguas extended some distance +beyond them. + +The savages gathered up their arms, and leaping upon the ramparts, shook +them with defiance at the besiegers, taunting them with such words of +opprobrium as marked both their hatred and resolution. + +"Ho-ah! ho-ah! What says the king of Castile? what says the king of +Castile?" they cried,--for all the offers of peace and composition, +(sent occasionally by the hands of liberated captives,) being made by +Cortes in the name of his master, the barbarians prefaced every defiance +by expressing their contempt for his authority,--"what says the king of +Castile? He is a woman,--he shows not his face,--he is a woman. What +says Malintzin? what says Malintzin? He calls for peace,--he is a +coward: he fights in the house, when his foe is a prisoner, but he calls +for peace, when Mexico comes out upon the causeways. What say the +Teuctlis,--the Spaniards,--the sons of the gods? They bring the +Tlascalans, to fight their battles,--the Tlascalans, the Tezcucans, the +Chalquese, and the other little dogs of Mexico. Their flesh is very +bitter, and their hearts sour: the mitzlis and ocelotls, the wolves and +the vultures, in the king's garden, say, 'Give us better food, for this +is the flesh of crocodiles.' What say the men of Tlascala? They are +slaves,--they say they are slaves, and what matters it where they fight? +If Malintzin prevail, wo for Tlascala! for he will scourge her with +whips, and burn her with brands, even from the old man with gray hairs +down to the little infant that screams: If Mexico be victorious, wo for +Tlascala! for we will strike her down with our swords, as we strike the +maize-stalks in the harvest-field. Ho-ah! ho-ah! Come on, then, ye +women, cowards, and slaves! for we are Mexicans, and our gods are +hungry!" + +With such ferocious exclamations, the bold barbarians provoked the +besiegers; and with such they were used, each morning, to incite them to +the work of slaughter. + +The Spaniards still stood fast, and the Tlascalans lay upon the earth, +receiving the arrows that were for awhile shot at them; until the +Mexicans, exhausting their voices with outcries, at last ceased to +continue them, and assumed an attitude as quiescent as that of their +foes. + +While they thus remained, each party staring the other in the face, and +the rapidly increasing light made it evident that a very considerable +multitude of infidels were gathered upon the dike, a trumpet was winded +behind the Tlascalans, in one single, prolonged, and powerful note, that +woke up the echoes of mountains, even at the distance of leagues. It was +answered, first from the west, from the dike of Tacuba, in a blast both +strong and cheery, and immediately after, though much more faintly, from +the northern causeway, where Sandoval was marshalling his forces. + +As soon as these signals, for such they were, had been exchanged between +the leaders, the trumpet of Cortes sounded again, with a succession of +short, sharp, and fierce notes, such as blast fury into men's hearts, +through their ears. Instantly, and as if by enchantment, the four +falconets in the brigantines were discharged, and swept hundreds of the +barbarians from the causeway. Then followed the rattle of musketry, +mingled with the clang of cross-bows; which din was continued, until the +gunners, loading again, discharged their pieces a second time upon the +enemy. And now the Tlascalan pioneers, springing up, rushed, with wild +yells to the ditch, which they began to fill with frantic speed. + +Notwithstanding the boldness of their defiance, the Mexicans made a much +less manly resistance than was expected. But they stood as long as any +human beings could do, exposed between two deadly batteries, both plied +with unexampled activity, and both strengthened by the addition of the +native archers in the piraguas. They handled their bows and slings as +they could, and they cheered one another with shouts; but it was evident +that they must soon give way, and take post behind some ditch +unapproachable by the brigantines. + +As soon as this became known, the Spanish foot-soldiers began to +encourage one another, in anticipation of the charge which they were +soon to be called on to make; and Bernal Diaz, losing his grave +equanimity, in the prospect of adding another leaf to his chaplet of +immortality, ran briskly to and fro, in virtue of his official rank, +which could scarce be defined in any one title of modern military +nomenclature, and cheered every soldier with whom he happened to be well +acquainted. In the course of his rounds, he fell upon Gaspar, from whom +he had been before separated, and whom he now seized by the hand, +crying, + +"Now, Gaspar, my dear brother of Medina del Campo, we shall have such a +rouse among the red infidels as will make posterity stare." + +He was then about to extend his exhortations to others, when Gaspar +arrested him, turning upon him, to his great surprise, a countenance +extremely pale and agitated. + +"Art thou sick, man?" cried the historian, "or art thou worn out with +watching? A few knocks, Gaspar, will soon warm thy blood." + +"Bernal," said his friend, with an unnatural laugh, "wert thou ever in +fear?" + +"In fear?" echoed Bernal Diaz. "Never, before an infidel;--never, at +least, but _once_, when they had me in their hands, and I thought they +were carrying me to the temple." + +"What were thy feelings then?" demanded Gaspar, with singular eagerness: +"Was there ice in thy bosom, and lead in thy brain? Were thy lips cold +and thy tongue hot? Did thy hand shake, thy teeth chatter, thy leg +fail?--Faugh! what should make _me_ fear to go into battle?" + +"Fear! _thou_ fear?" said Bernal, anxiously. "Thou art beside thyself, +never believe me else,--frenzied with over-watching." + +"I tell thee," said Gaspar, with a grin that was indeed expressive of +terror, "that, if thou hunt this whole army through, thou wilt not find +a white-livered loon of them all, who is, at this moment, more a coward +than myself. Why should I be so? Is there an axe at my ear, and a foot +on my breast? There are an hundred stout Spaniards, and thirty score +Tlascalans betwixt me and the foe; and yet I am in great terror of mind. +I have heard that such things are forewarnings!" + +"If thou art of this temper, indeed," said honest Bernal, with more +disgust than he cared to conceal, "get thee to the rear, in God's name, +and thou mayst light somewhere upon a flask of maguey-liquor. Shame upon +thee, man! canst thou be so faint-hearted?" + +"Ay!" replied Gaspar; "yet I go not to the rear, notwithstanding. I +thought thou shouldst have counselled me.--Fare thee well, then, +Bernal.--Thou dost not know, that one can be in terror of death, and yet +meet death without flinching. Fare thee well, brother; and what angry +things I have said to thee, forget, even for the sake of our early days. +Fare thee well, Bernal, fare thee well." + +The Barba-Roxa locked his friend in a warm embrace, kissed him on both +cheeks, and then starting away, rushed towards the front, with an +alacrity that seemed utterly to disprove his humbling confession. +Whether or not fear had, indeed, for the first time in his life, beset +him, it is certain that Gaspar Olea did, that day, achieve exploits +which eclipsed those of the most distinguished cavaliers, and +consecrated his memory for ever in the hearts of his comrades. + +The Tlascalans, working with furious zeal, had now so choked up the +ditch, that stones and earth already appeared above the water. The +Mexicans wavered, and seemed incapable of maintaining their post for a +moment longer. + +The fiery spirit of the Captain-General became incensed with impatience +and hope. He rose upon his stirrups, and exalting his voice, always of +vast and thrilling power, exclaimed, + +"This time, brothers! we will seize the bridges before the pagans have +leisure to destroy them. Footmen! see that ye follow after the horse, +with all your speed. Cavaliers! put your lances in rest, and be ready. +What, trumpeter! speak thy signal to the pioneers; and, brave hearts! +fear not the gap, for it is strong enough to support you.--Sound, +trumpeter, sound!" + +The trumpeter winded a peculiar blast, and the Tlascalans, dividing +asunder, flung themselves, from either side of the causeway, into the +lake,--a feat often before practised,--and thus left the whole space up +to the ditch vacant for the horsemen. At a second blast of the +instrument, the cavaliers spurred up to the chasm, and crossing it as +they could, and clambering over the rampart, dashed down at once upon +the disordered infidels. The footmen followed, running with all their +strength, and returning the cheers, with which those in the ships beheld +the exploit of the cavalry. + +Meanwhile, the Mexicans, seized with unusual consternation, fled with +great haste towards the city, pursued so closely by the cavaliers, that +they made no attempt at a stand, even at the second ditch; nor did they +pause a moment, according to their usual tactics, to destroy the bridge +that spanned it. It was indeed a narrow chasm, with an unfinished +breastwork, and could not have been maintained for an hour. Another, +equally narrow and indefensible, occurred at a distance of less than two +hundred paces; and at such intervals, it appeared that the dike was +perforated, as far as it extended, even within the limits of the island. + +The ardour of the cavaliers, aided by that incentive to valour, the back +of the foe, carried them over three several bridges, before they +bethought them of the propriety of drawing up their horses a little, and +waiting for the footmen. + +"_Halon!_ halt! and God give us better heads to our helmets, or better +helms to our heads!" cried Juan of Salamanca, a valiant young hidalgo, +who had won immortal renown upon the field of Otumba: "Does your +excellency intend that we twenty Paladins of Spain shall sack this city +with our lances and bucklers? In my mind, we should divide a moiety of +the honour with those who will share a full half of the profit." + +"Ay," said another, an ancient hidalgo, as all checked their steeds at +the sudden call of the young man: "We should be wise, lest we fall into +an ambush. Let us wait here for the footmen." + +"And have the bridges torn up before our eyes!" cried Cortes; with +ungovernable fire. "Heaven fights for us to-day; the infidels are seized +with a panic, and they are but few in number." + +"Say not so, seńor," exclaimed Salamanca, pointing in front, where they +could see the fugitives checked by what seemed a flood of armed men, +pouring out from the city. "They are in no panic; but we took them too +early. Their drum has not yet been beaten upon the temple-top; but we +shall hear it now, soon enough.--What ho! ye lame ducks with swords and +lances! ye lagging footmen! come on like men, and be fleeter." + +"Let us pass on, at least, slowly," said Cortes. "The footmen are nigh, +and we may yet gain two or three bridges. Do you not see, we are almost +upon the island?--Hark! I hear the trumpet of Alvarado!--He will win the +race to the pyramid!--Press on, gallant cavaliers, press on!" + +They were indeed within but a short distance from the island, surrounded +by the ruins of the water suburb; and it seemed yet easy to secure, at +least, two more bridges, over which the fugitives had fled without +pausing, and which could be gained before the causeway should be +obstructed by the advance of the dense column from the city. Calling out +therefore to the infantry to hasten, and finding themselves already +joined by two or three of the fleetest of foot, of whom the Barba-Roxa +was one, they again dashed onwards, and secured the desired passes. + +They now found themselves so near to the island, as to be within reach +of annoyance from the adjoining housetops; and this circumstance, +together with the unexpected conduct of the Mexicans, produced such +alarm in the bosom of the cavalier who had seconded Salamanca's caution +before, that he exclaimed, + +"Seńor mio, and good brothers, let us think a little what we do, before +proceeding further. Let us beware of an ambuscado. The knaves yielded us +the rampart, almost without a blow; and they leave the ditches bridged +behind them. This is not the way Mexicans fight, when they fight +honestly. Lo you, now, yonder is a herd of twenty thousand men, with +flags and banners, and they stop at sight of us, as if in dismay! What +does this mean, if not some decoy for a stratagem?" + +"It means," said Cortes, "that they are in a perplexity, because their +priests have not yet given them the signal to fall on: and of this +perplexity it should be our wisdom to take advantage. See, now, the dogs +are in confusion!--Nay, by my conscience! 'tis the confusion of attack, +and they come against us! Couch your lances, and at them! for it is +better they should feel the weight of our horses, than we the shock of +their stormy bodies. On, footmen, on! spur, cavaliers, spur! Santiago +and Spain! and down with the paynim scum!" + +At these words of exhortation, the horsemen closed their ranks, shouted +their war-cries, and dashed with fearless audacity upon the advancing +warriors. They swept the causeway, like a moving wall, and however +insignificant their numbers, it did not seem possible for the enemy to +withstand the violence of their onset; indeed, before a drop of blood +was shed, they manifested such symptoms of hesitation and wavering, as +greatly exalted the courage of the assailants. They plied their slings +and arrows, indeed, they darted their javelins, brandished their spears, +and added their discordant shrieks and wild whistling to the shouts of +the Spaniards; but still it was in a kind of confusion and disorder, +that showed them to be, from some cause or other, not yet prepared for +combat. Nay, some were seen, as the galloping squadron approached, to +cast themselves into the lake, as if in fear, and swim to the nearest +ruins for protection. + +This degree of disrelish for battle was a phenomenon, so unusual in the +character of barbarians brave not only to folly, but to madness, that a +wary commander would have laid it to heart, and pondered over it with +suspicion. But not so the Captain-General. He remembered, with +Salamanca, that the sound of the enormous drum on the temple of Mexitli, +with which, each morning, the Mexican emperor gave the signal for +battle, had not yet been heard; and as there seemed to be as close, and +almost as fanatical, a connexion between the thunder of this instrument +and the courage of the pagans, as he had found, in former days, in the +case of the sacred horn, he did not doubt that their present timidity +was caused entirely by the failure of the signal. Perhaps he thought it +increased also by their sense of weakness; for, now that he was nigh, it +became obvious that their numbers were much less considerable than they +had appeared at a distance. At all events, they were in fear, and they +wavered; which was enough to give his valour the upperhand of his +prudence.--It is with martial ardour as with a pestilence;--it ravens +most furiously among the ranks of fear. + +Fierce, therefore, was the zeal of his cavaliers, and their hearts +flamed at the thought of blood. They raised their voices in a cry of +victory, and bounded like thunderbolts among their opponents. The shock +was decisive; in a moment, the whole mass of pagans was put to rout. +They flung down their arms, and betook themselves to flight. Those who +could, fled down along the dike into the city; others flung themselves +into the water, and swam to the island, or to the neighbouring ruins. +The only ones who made resistance, were those whose hearts were +transfixed by Spanish lances, before they could turn to retreat. Such +men uttered the yell of battle, and, in their dying agonies, thrust with +their own hands, the spears further through their vitals, that they +might be nearer to the foe, and strike the macana once more for +Tenochtitlan. + +"On, ye men of the foot!" cried the Captain-General. "Let the Tlascalans +fire the houses behind me; for now we are again upon the island. Charge, +cavaliers, charge! The saints open a path for us. Charge, my brothers, +charge! and _viva_ for Spain and our honour!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +The horsemen pursued along the dike, spearing, or tumbling into the +water, the few who had the heart to resist; and so great was, or seemed, +the terror of the barbarians, that the victors penetrated even within +the limits of the island, until the turrets of houses, from which they +were separated only by the lateral canals, darkened them with their +shadows. Upon these were clustered many pagans, who shot at them both +arrows and darts, but with so little energy, that it seemed as if +despondence or fatuity had robbed them of their usual vigour. Hence, the +excited cavaliers gave them but little attention, not doubting that they +would be soon dislodged by the infantry. They were even regardless of +circumstances still more menacing; and if a lethargy beset the infidel +that day, it is equally certain that a species of distraction +overwhelmed the brains of the Spaniards. It seemed as if the great +object of their ambition depended more upon their following the +fugitives to the temple-square than upon any other feat; and to this +they encouraged one another with vivas and invocations to the saints. +They could already behold the huge bulk of the pyramid, rising up at the +distance of a mile, as if it shut up the street; and its terraced sides, +thronged with multitudes of men, seemed to prove to them, that the +frighted Mexicans were running to their gods for protection. It is true, +they perceived vast bodies of infidels blocking up the avenue afar, as +if to dispute their passage beyond the canalled portion of the island; +but they regarded them with scorn. + +They rushed onwards, occasionally arrested by some flying group, but +only for a moment. + +There was a place, not far within the limits of the island, where they +found the causeway, for the space of at least sixty paces, so delved and +pared away on either side, that it scarce afforded a passage for two +horsemen abreast. The device was of recent execution, for they beheld +the mattocks of labourers still sticking in the earth, as if that moment +abandoned. This circumstance, so strange, so novel, and so ominous, it +might be supposed, would have aroused them to suspicion. The passage, as +it was, so contracted, broken, and rugged, looked prodigiously like the +Al-Sirat, or bridge to paradise of the Mussulmans,--that arch, narrow as +the thread of a famished spider, over which it is so much easier to be +precipitated than to pass with safety. Yet grim and threatening as it +was, there was but one among the cavaliers who raised a voice of +warning. As the Captain-General, without a moment's hesitation, pushed +his horse forward, to lead the way, and without a single expression of +surprise, the ancient hidalgo, who had twice before sounded a note of +alarm, now exclaimed,-- + +"For the love of heaven, pause, seńor! This is a trap that will destroy +us." + +"Art thou afraid, Alderete?" cried Cortes, looking back to him, grimly. +"This is no place for a King's Treasurer," (such was Alderete, the royal +Contador.)--"Get thee back, then, to the first ditch, and fill it up to +thy liking. _This_ will be charge enough for a volunteer." + +"I will fight where thou wilt, when thou wilt, and as boldly as thou +wilt," said the indignant cavalier; "but here play the madman no +longer." + +"I will take thy counsel,--rest where I am,--and, in an hour's time, see +myself shut out from the city by a ditch, sixty yards wide! God's +benison upon thy long beard! and mayst thou be wiser. Forward, friends! +Do you not see? the knaves are running amain to check us, and recover +their unfinished gap! On! courage, and on! Santiago and at them!" + +It was indeed as Cortes said. The infidels, who blocked up the streets +afar, were now seen running towards them, with the most terrific yells, +as if to seize, before it was too late, a pass so easily maintained. The +cavaliers, animated by the words of their leader, were quite as resolute +to disappoint them, and therefore rode across as rapidly as they could. +The pass was not only narrow, but tortuous and irregular; which +increased the difficulties of surmounting it; so that the Mexicans, +running with the most frantic speed, were within a bowshot, before +Cortes had spurred his steed upon the broader portion of the dike. But, +as if there were something dreadful to the infidels, in the spectacle of +the great Teuctli of the East, thus again in their stronghold, they came +to a sudden halt, and testified their valour only by yelling, and waving +their spears and banners. + +"Courage, friends, and quick!" cried Cortes. "The dogs are beset with +fear, and will not face us. Ye shall hear other yells in a moment. +Haste, valiant cavaliers! haste, men of Spain! and make room for the +footmen, who are behind you." + +The screams of the barbarians were loud and incessant; but in the midst +of the din, as he turned to cheer his cavaliers over the broken passage, +Don Hernan's ears were struck by the sound of a Christian voice, calling +from the midst of the pagans, with thrilling vehemence, + +"Beware! beware! Back to the causey! Beware!" + +"Hark!" cried Alderete, who had already passed; "Our Saint calls to us! +Let us return!" + +"It is a trick of the fiend!" exclaimed Cortes, in evident perturbation +of mind. "Come on, good friends, and let us seize vantage-ground; or the +dogs will drive us, singly, into the ditches." + +"Back! back!" shouted the cavaliers behind--"We are ambushed! We are +surrounded!" + +Their further exclamations were lost in a tempest of discordant shrieks, +coming from the front and the rear, from the heavens above, and, as they +almost fancied, from the earth beneath. They looked northward, towards +the pyramid,--the whole broad street was filled with barbarians, rushing +towards them with screams of anticipated triumph; they looked back to +the lake,--the causeway was swarming with armed men, who seemed to have +sprung from the waters; to either side, and beheld the canals of the +intersecting streets lashed into foam by myriads of paddles; while, at +the same moment, the few pagans, who had annoyed them from the +housetops, appeared transformed, by the same spell of enchantment, into +hosts innumerable, with spirits all of fury and flame. + +"What says the king of Castile? What says the king of Castile _now_?" +roared the exulting infidels. + +"Santiago! and God be with us!" exclaimed Cortes, waving his hand, with +a signal for retreat, that came too late: "Cross but this devil-trap +again, and--" + +Before he could conclude the vain and useless order, the drum of the +emperor sounded upon the pyramid. It was an instrument of gigantic size +and horrible note, and was held in no little fear, especially after the +events of this day, by the Spaniards, who fabled that it was covered +with the skins of serpents. It was a fit companion for the horn of +Mexitli; which latter, however, being a sacred instrument, was sounded +only on the most urgent and solemn occasions. + +The first tap,--or rather peal, for the sound came from the temple more +like the roll of thunder than of a drum,--was succeeded by yells still +more stunning; and while the cavaliers, retreating, struggled, one by +one, to recross the narrow pass, they were set upon with such fury as +left them but little hope of escape. + +If the rashness of Cortes had brought his friends into this fatal +difficulty, he now seemed resolved to atone his fault, by securing their +retreat, even although at the expense of his life. It was in vain that +those few cavaliers who had succeeded in reaching him, before the +onslaught began, besought him to take his chance among them, and +recross, leaving them to cover his rear. + +"Get ye over yourselves," he cried, with grim smiles, smiting away the +headmost of the assailants from the street: "If I have brought ye among +coals of fire, heaven forbid I should not broil a little in mine own +person. Quick, fools! over and hasten! over and quick! and by and by I +will follow you." + +For a moment, it seemed as if the terror of his single arm would have +kept the barbarians at bay. But, waxing bolder, as they saw his +attendants dropping one by one away, they began to close upon him, and +his situation became exceedingly critical. He looked over his shoulder, +and perceived that his followers threaded their way along the broken +dike with less difficulty than he at first feared. The very narrowness +of the passage left but little foothold for the enemy; and their +attacks, being made principally from canoes, were not such as wholly to +dishearten a cavalier, whose steed was as strongly defended by mail as +his own body. Encouraged by this assurance, the Captain-General still +maintained his post, rushing ever and anon upon the closing herds, and +mowing right and left with his trusty blade, while his gallant charger +pawed down opposition with his hoofs. Thus he fought, with the mad +valour that made his enemies so often deem him almost a demigod, until +satisfied that his own attempt to cross the pass could no longer +embarrass the efforts of his followers. Then, charging once more upon +the pagans, and even with greater fury than before, he wheeled round +with unexpected rapidity, and uttering his famous cry, "Santiago and at +them!" dashed boldly at the passage. + +Seven pagans sprang upon the path. They were armed like princes, and the +red fillets of the House of Darts waved among their sable locks. + +"The Teuctli shall have the tribute of Mexico!" shouted one, flourishing +a battle-axe that seemed of weight sufficient, in his brawny arm, to +dash out the charger's brains at a blow. The words were not understood +by Cortes; but he recognized at once the visage of the Lord of Death. + +"I have thee, pagan!" he cried, striking at the bold barbarian. The blow +failed; for one of the others, springing at the charger's head with +unexampled audacity, seized him by the bridle, so that he reared +backwards, and thus foiled the aim of his rider. The next moment, the +Spanish steel fell upon the neck of the daring infidel, killing him on +the spot; yet not so instantaneously as to avert a disaster, which it +seemed the object of his fury to produce. His convulsive struggles, as +he clung, dying, to the rein, drove the steed off the narrow ledge; and +thus losing his foothold, the noble animal rolled over into the deep +canal, burying the Captain-General in the flood. + +"The general! save the general!" shrieked the only Christian, who, in +this horrible melée, (for the battle was now universal,) beheld the +condition of Cortes, and who, although on foot, and bristling with +arrows that had stuck fast in his cotton-armour, and resisted by other +weapons at every step, had yet the courage to run to the rescue. It was +Gaspar Olea. His visage was yet wan, and expressive of the unusual +horror preying upon his mind; yet he rushed forward, as if he had never +known a fear. He exalted his voice, while crying for assistance, until +it was heard far back upon the causeway; yet he reached the place of Don +Hernan's mischance alone. The scene was dreadful: the nobles had flung +themselves into the flood, and were dragging the stunned and strangling +hero from the steed, which lay upon its side on the rugged and shelving +edge of the dike, unable to rise, and perishing with the most fearful +struggles; while, all the time, the elated infidels expressed their +triumph with shouts of frantic joy. + +"Courage, captain! be of good heart, seńor!" exclaimed the Barba-Roxa, +striking down one of the captors at a single blow: "Courage! for we have +good help nigh," he continued, attacking a second with the same success: +"Courage, seńor, courage!" + +No Mexican helm of dried skins, and no breast-plate of copper, could +resist the machete of a man like Gaspar. Yet his first success was +caused rather by the Mexicans being so intently occupied with their +captive, that they thought of nothing else, than by any miraculous +exertion of skill and prowess. He slew two, before they dreamed of +attack, and he mortally wounded a third, ere the others could turn to +drive him back. A fourth rushed upon him, before he could again lift up +his weapon, and grasping him in his arms, with the embrace of a mountain +bear, leaped with him into the canal. + +There were now but two left in possession of Cortes; yet his resistance +even against these was ineffectual. His sword had dropped from his hand; +a violent blow had burst his helmet, and confounded his brain; and he +had been lifted from the water, already half suffocated. Yet he +struggled as he could, and catching one of his foes by the throat, he +succeeded in overturning him into the water, and there grappled with him +among the shallows. The remaining barbarian, yelling for assistance, +flung himself upon the pair; and though twenty Spaniards, headed by +Bernal Diaz and the hunchback, were now within half as many paces, +Cortes would have perished where he lay, had not assistance arose from +an unexpected quarter. + +Among the vast numbers who came crowding from the city over the broken +passage, were several who knew, by the cry of the seventh noble, that +Malintzin was in his hands; and they rushed forward, to insure his +capture. The foremost and fleetest of these was distinguished from the +rest by a frame of towering height; and, had there been a Spaniard by to +notice him, would have been still more remarkable from the fact, that he +uttered all his cries in good, expressive Castilian. He bore a Spanish +weapon, too, and his first act, as he flung himself into the ditch where +Cortes was drowning, was to strike it through the neck of the uppermost +noble. His next was to spurn the other from the breast of the general, +whom he raised to his feet, murmuring in his ear, + +"Be of good heart, seńor! for you are saved." + +What more he would have said and done can only be imagined; for, at that +moment, the Barba-Roxa rushed out of the ditch, followed close at hand +by the hunchback, Bernal Diaz, and others, and seeing his commander, as +he thought, in the hands of a foeman, he lifted his good sword once +again, and smote him over the head, crying, + +"Down, infidel dog! and _viva_ for Spain and our general!" + +At this moment, there rushed up a crew of fresh combatants, Spaniards +from the rear and infidels from the front. But before they closed upon +him entirely, the Barba-Roxa caught sight of the man he had struck down, +and beheld, in his pale and quivering aspect, the features of Juan +Lerma. + +The unhappy wretch, thus beholding the beloved youth, with his own eyes, +a leaguer and helpmate of the infidel, and punished to death, as it +seemed, by his hand, set up a scream wildly vehement, and broke from the +group of Spaniards, who now surrounded Cortes, endeavouring to drag him +in safety over the pass. The exile had been seen by others as well as +Gaspar, and many a ferocious cry of exultation burst from their lips, as +they saw him fall. + +Meanwhile, Gaspar, distracted in mind, and dripping with blood, for he +had not escaped from the ditch and the fierce embrace of his fourth +antagonist, without many severe wounds, endeavoured to retrace his steps +to the spot where Juan had fallen. It was occupied by infidels, who +drove him into the ditch, where his legs were grasped by a drowning +Mexican, who raised himself a little from the water, and displayed, +between his neck and shoulder, a yawning chasm, rather than a wound, +from which the blood, at every panting expiration of breath, rolled out +hideously in froth and foam. It was the Lord of Death, thus struck by +Juan Lerma, as he lay upon the breast of Cortes, and now perishing, but +still like a warrior of the race of America. He clambered up the body of +Gaspar, for it could hardly be said, that he rose upon his feet; and +seeing that he grasped a Christian soldier, he strove to utter once more +a cry of battle. The blood foamed from his lips, as from his wound; and +his voice was lost in a suffocating murmur. Yet, with his last expiring +strength, he locked his arms round the neck of the Spaniard, now almost +as much spent as himself, and falling backwards, and writhing together +as they fell, they rolled off into the deep water, where the salt and +troubled flood wrapped them in a winding-sheet, already spread over the +bosoms of thousands. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +If it be indeed permitted to disembodied spirits to look back to the +world they have left, and to read the hearts they have, in life, +mistaken, then should that of Gaspar Olea have seen, that his unlucky +blow fell not upon the head of an apostate, and that it had not slain +his friend and companion of the wilderness. Even Gaspar's strength +failed to pierce entirely through a morion composed of tiger-skins and +thickly-padded escaupil; and though the violence of the blow forced Juan +to the earth, and left him for a time almost insensible, it had done him +no serious injury. It robbed him, to be sure, of the dearly coveted +opportunity of escape, which the lucky service he had done the +Captain-General would have rendered of still more inestimable value; but +it yet served the good purpose, since he did _not_ escape, of removing +from the minds of the Mexicans many fierce doubts and suspicions, with +which they beheld him rush into the melée. + +He was dragged back upon the causeway, and soon found himself in the +arms of the king. + +"My brother is brave and true," said the young monarch, tearing from his +own hair the symbols of military renown, and fastening them to Juan's. +"The people have seen his bravery, and now they know him well. Did he +not lay his hands upon Malintzin? and was not Malintzin his prisoner, +until the red lion with the white and bloody face, struck my brother +with his sword? Is this a good deed, men of Mexico?" + +"The king's brother is valiant!" exclaimed many nobles, who surrounded +the monarch with a guard of honour, eyeing the outcast with reverence. + +Their words stung Juan to the soul; for he abhorred his deception, +though still urged, by his desire of escaping, to carry it on. + +"Why do we stand here idle?" he cried, with affected zeal: "Is not +Malintzin yet upon the causeway? My heart is very strong; I will look +him in the face again." + +At this proof of courage and apparent devotion to their cause, the +infidels shouted with approbation. But the king took him by the arm, and +withdrawing him a little, said, + +"My brother will go now to the palace.--What is this that Azcamatzin +says of my brother? He says that my brother pierced the Lord of Death +with a sword, and pulled Malintzin out of his hands! This foolish thing +of Azcamatzin has made many angry, and they say, 'Let us know; for +perhaps the Great Eagle is for Malintzin.' Therefore my brother shall +not go from the king, till Azcamatzin thinks better things; for many +hurts have made him mad." + +"Think not of this," said Juan, eagerly, for every moment the shouts of +the Christians were at a greater distance, and he feared that every step +of their retreat was one more link taken from his chain of hope. + +"My brother," said Guatimozin, interrupting him, "may yet fight the +battles of the king, and be the king's friend. It is said to me, by a +messenger, that the ships have broken the wall of my garden, and that +Spaniards are slaying the women." + +"Ha!" cried Juan, his own agitation at this information, contrasting +strongly with the frigid placidity of the king. + +"Why should the king think of his women--of his wife and his little +boy,--when he is taking the Spaniards, like birds in a net? Let my +brother think for the king, for the king thinks for his people. My +brother's arm is yet strong--he will fight for Zelahualla, and for her +sister, the queen." + +A thousand contrary emotions tore the breast of Juan, yet his thoughts +were fixed upon the garden. He remembered what counsel he had given to +the maidens, to sally forth, at any moment, when a trumpet should be +heard among the trees; and he conceived the danger in which they would +be involved, among a troop of enraged and merciless soldiers. He needed +no second exhortation to run to their assistance; and following +Techeechee, who remained at his side, he made his way through the +multitudes that thronged all the great streets, with a rapidity that, at +any other period, would have even surprised himself. He passed the great +square of the pyramid, the Wall of Serpents, and the House of Skulls, +from which, had he been so minded, he might have looked, at the same +moment, upon the three battles raging upon the three several causeways, +(for it was here the dikes terminated;) he passed the house of +Axajacatl, in which the Spaniards, a year since, had endured those +assaults which terminated only in their expulsion from Tenochtitlan; and +he trod again upon the vast market square of Tlatelolco, the northern +side of which was bounded by the walls of Guatimozin's palace and +garden. Upon this square he beheld many infidels, shouting at once with +wrath and triumph, a party of whom bore in their arms a Christian +prisoner, bound hand and foot, over whom the others seemed to exult, +piercing the very heavens with their clamorous cries. + +Heart-sick, for well he knew the fate in store for the captive, and +struck with foreboding fear, he rushed over the fosse that laved the +garden wall, and was now choked up by the falling of a portion of its +extent, washed and undermined by the heavy rains, and passed into the +pleasant wilderness within. It was a theatre of wild disorder and +affright: men were seen rushing to and fro in great numbers, and their +cries were re-echoed by the yells of a thousand beasts of prey, famished +with hunger, or alarmed by the tumult. + +He perceived that the water-wall was rent at one of the chief +sally-ports, as if battered by cannon; and he had no doubt, if it were +not yet over, that some terrific combat had but lately taken place in +the garden. + +He came too late to share in it, but as he ran down to the water-side, +he beheld four brigantines making their way with oars, for the +atmosphere was breathless, towards the dike of Tepejacac, which was +itself a scene of furious conflict. The vessels were surrounded by +countless canoes and piraguas, some of which seemed to be manned by +Tlascalans; for while the brigantines were seen contending with this +aquatic army, it was equally manifest that a battle was raging also +among the canoes themselves. + +He gave but little heed to this spectacle, nor did he scarcely note that +among the many human corses which strewed the lower part of the garden, +there were several with the visages of Spaniards. + +His attention was arrested by a yelping cry; and looking round, he +beheld the dog Befo lying upon the ground, with an iron sword-blade, +broken off near the hilt, sticking quite through his body. But this +painful sight was forgotten, when, having approached, he beheld three or +four barbarians raising from the earth what seemed the dead body of +Magdalena. There were indeed blood-drops upon her hollow and ghastly +cheeks; and when he rushed up among the Indians, they exclaimed, + +"The Teuctlis killed her, the men of Malintzin with beards,--they killed +the bright-eyed lady, and they killed the daughter of Montezuma!" And +then they added their wild lamentations to the mourning cries of Juan. + +Distracted himself, as indeed were all the infidels, he could learn +nothing but that the Teuctlis, or Spaniards, had suddenly burst into the +garden, and besides slaughtering all that opposed them, in their attempt +to reach the palace, had killed, or carried off, as seemed much more +probable, the princess Zelahualla. + +The misery that took possession of his heart at these evil tidings, he +smothered within its secret recesses, or strove to forget it in the +contemplation of his sister--for so his heart acknowledged her. He bore +her to the palace, and gave her in charge to the maidens, who, whatever +was their fright, were not unmindful of the duties of humanity. He then, +in much of that sullen despair that had oppressed him in the prison of +Tezcuco, returned to the garden and to Befo, whom he had left in +suffering, and drawing the sword-blade from his body, he examined it +with stern curiosity, as if hoping to penetrate the mystery of the whole +unhappy transaction, from such records as it might furnish. His scrutiny +was vain: it was a blade without any name, by which he might be enabled +to guess at its owner. He snapped it under his foot, and muttered a +malediction upon the unknown foe: + +"Cursed be he that did this deed," he cried; "for he slew the only +protector of a feeble and wretched woman." + +He then carried Befo, almost with as much tenderness as he had bestowed +upon Magdalena, into the palace, and stanching his wounds as he could, +deposited him upon his own couch. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +The effects of this battle upon the Spaniards were disastrous in the +extreme. The assault, as has been mentioned, and as was anticipated, was +made upon all the causeways at once; and, on all, successfully repelled, +though an ambuscade was only attempted upon the dike of Iztapalapan. It +seemed as if the Mexicans, thinned as their numbers had been, by so many +conflicts, and now the remainder absolutely perishing under want and +pestilence, had collected all their energies for one final blow. It was +first successful in the quarter attacked by the Captain-General, in +consequence of his surprising infatuation; and victory soon after +followed in the others. The Spaniards fled, so completely broken and so +utterly defeated, that the priests, in the wild hope of completing their +destruction at once, even drew the sacred horn from the tabernacle of +Mexitli, and added its dreadful uproar to the thunder of the great +tymbal. This was always regarded by the Mexicans as the voice of the god +himself, and was never sounded without filling them with a delirium of +fury, utterly inconceivable. It was not more maddening to the infidels +than frightful to the Spaniards; who remembered the horrors of the Noche +Triste, augmented, if not altogether caused by its unearthly roar. The +Spaniards were driven back to their strong and defensible stations at +the gates; the dikes were lost; and had not famine now fought for them, +they must have given up the siege in despair. Nearly an hundred +Spaniards, and many thousand Indian allies, were killed; the fleets of +canoes and piraguas were destroyed, and several brigantines wholly +ruined. + +But the miseries of the besiegers were not confined to the events of the +day. Night opened to them a scene of grief and horror. The whole mass of +the pyramid, always a striking object, was suddenly illuminated by a +myriad of flambeaux, so that it blazed like a mountain of solid fire. +The night was clear, and the peculiarly rarified and transparent +atmosphere of Mexico rendering objects distinct at a much greater +distance than in other lands, the Spaniards, looking from the towers at +the gates, could plainly perceive some of their late fellow-soldiers, +stripped naked and their hands bound behind them, driven up the stairs +from platform to platform, by the blows and other indignities of their +cruel captors. On the summit of the pyramid, they were unbound, their +heads adorned with plumes, and great waving penachos placed in their +hands, with which they were forced to dance round the ever-burning +censers of the gods, in the midst of shouting pagans, until dragged away +by the priests and immolated, at a signal blasted from the sacred horn, +upon the stone of sacrifice. The station of Alvarado on the dike of +Tacuba, was nearer than either of the others; and his men, while they +wept and prayed over a spectacle so appalling, even fancied they could +distinguish the figures and faces of particular individuals, and hear +their cries to heaven. Many were the wretches who had yielded themselves +alive into the hands of the foe; and for ten nights in succession, the +blazing temple echoed to their groans, and their garrisoned friends were +compelled to be the witnesses of their torments. + +But this triumph was the last of the pagans. All supplies of corn from +the lake-sides were cut off, and they were known to be famishing; and +besides, as if heaven were willing to assist even the arms of rapacity, +to subdue a race, all whose institutions were more or less infected by +the spirit of blood that brutalized their religion, the rainy season was +brought to a close preternaturally early, and they were left without +water. The Spaniards recovered their spirits, and collecting again vast +bands of confederates, recommenced the siege, advancing with prudence, +and destroying every thing as they advanced, and not only regaining all +they had lost, but even effecting, despite all resistance, a secure +lodgment upon the island, from their several points of attack. The +Mexicans still fought; but it was with bodies emaciated and enfeebled, +and with hearts subdued by despair. The three divisions of besiegers met +upon the great square, blew up the Huitzompan, and all the temples +within the circuit of the Wall of Serpents, which they fortified and +preserved; and then, still demolishing houses as they advanced, they +pushed on until they reached the great market-place of Tlatelolco; and +thus hemmed in upon the narrow peninsula the unfortunate king of Mexico, +and the few shattered remnants of his army. + +Before this crisis had yet arrived, there occurred another incident, in +which, as in all others since his return from the South Sea, the virtues +of Juan Lerma were made the instruments of still further misfortune. He +beheld Magdalena but once, after the adventure of the garden; and she +was then raving with delirium, in which she did not know even him. The +fate of Zelahualla was still wrapt in obscurity; for such had been the +suddenness of the attack in the garden, that none knew of her fate, and +Magdalena was incapable of uttering any rational word, to remove the +mountain of anxiety from his breast. His scheme to effect the +deliverance of the princess had doubtless thrown her into the power of +the Spaniards; and the thought of such a captive in such hands, preyed +upon him with a bitterness that exceeded death. He fought no more, and +indeed he was urged no longer by the king, who was himself reduced to +such desperation, that he thought no further of stratagems, but merely +of blind and sullen resistance. + +On the third day after the battle, he was summoned by Techeechee to +attend the king in public; and without questioning for what purpose, he +gloomily obeyed, taking with him the Spanish sword with which he had +been provided, on the day of his attempted escape. + +It was midday: no sound of contention came to his ears, for the +besiegers were yet lying in their quarters on the dikes, healing their +wounds and lamenting their friends; but the quiet of the garden was +broken by the howling of the beasts, and the shrill streams of birds of +prey,--of such at least as had not already been slaughtered, to appease +the hunger of the wretches, who yet fought for their expiring empire. +One circumstance, had Juan noticed it, might have convinced him of the +dreadful extent and intensity of the suffering, of which he had been +before apprized. The trees of the garden had begun to be robbed of their +leaves, but not by summer heat or autumnal drought;--the tender shrubs +were stripped of their bark;--the smaller plants had been rooted up, and +even the grass, in some places, torn from the earth, and even the earth +itself upturned, in the search after edible roots.--All that could be +gnawed by the teeth of man had vanished, or did soon after vanish, from +the garden. When the Spaniards walked afterwards through their conquest, +not a green leaf, as they have recorded, was found in all the city. + +He passed through the broken wall, now only defended by rude palisades, +strengthened by an abatis of withered shrubs and brambles, and passing +the moat, over the ruins of the prostrate wall, found himself on the +market-square of Tlatelolco, of which the Spaniards gave such surprising +accounts, when they beheld it filled with the merchants and riches of +the empire, before the death of Montezuma. It was of very great extent, +and contained, at the eastern boundary, a pyramid, on which was the +temple of one of the lesser divinities. On the west was a platform, or +rather stage, faced and flagged with stone, and devoted to theatrical +exhibitions, which, however primitive and barbarous, were yet a chief +feature among the amusements of a Mexican festival. + +Almost in the centre of the square, and yet so nigh to the garden wall +that it could be overlooked by the nearest turrets of the palace, was +another platform, perhaps four feet in height, and circular, upon which +lay the famous stone _Temalacatl_, devoted to the purpose of the +gladiatorial sacrifice. It now lies in the Plaza Mayor of the modern +city, near the walls, and within the enclosure of the great Cathedral, +and is one of the few monuments which the conquerors have left of the +savage institutions of the Aztec empire. It is a circular block of +porphyry, nine or ten feet in diameter, and is sculptured over with the +effigies of warriors. The privilege of dying upon this stone was awarded +only to captives of the most extraordinary prowess; and as such were +never taken alive, unless when conquered by accident, the exhibition of +such a sacrifice was as rare as it was agreeable to the fierce tastes of +the Mexicans. It was essentially gladiatorial, and it offered a prospect +even of life and liberty to the valiant prisoner. A sword and buckler +were put into his hands, and he was tied by one leg to the stone; yet, +if he succeeded in slaying or defeating six chosen Mexican warriors, he +was released and sent back in safety to his own country. The last victim +of the Temalacatl was the famous Tlascalan chief, Tlahuicotl, the +Orlando of Anahuac, captured by Montezuma not many years before the +advent of the Spaniards, who, fighting only to die, (for he refused to +accept life, even as the meed of his own heroism,) and fighting till he +_did_ die, slew no less than eight different opponents, and disabled +twenty others, before his great spirit sank under his exertions. If the +gladiator fell, before he had accomplished his task, he was dragged to +the neighbouring temple, and there sacrificed, while yet living. The +last victim, destined to close the list of those to whom Mexico did +honour, was a Spaniard. + +A vast multitude of pagans surrounded the platform, except on that side +which looked to the temple. Here stood the priests, few in number, yet +prepared, at the moment of the victim's fall, to clutch upon him, and +bear him to the altar, a space being left for them, as much out of +reverence for their sacred character, as to preserve their pathway +entirely unobstructed. The side that looked to the palace was also but +little encumbered; for here the king of Mexico sat upon a scaffold, +attended by his chief nobles. + +The grim looks of expectation, with which the assembled multitude +surveyed the platform, were heightened in ferocity by the privations +that had pinched and hollowed their visages. They looked like winter +wolves, gaunt with famine; and one would have thought their appetites +were whetting for a repast on the flesh of the victim. There was indeed +something horrid in their appearance, as well as in the cause which had +assembled them together. It was plain that they waited impatiently for +the coming of the prisoner. As they rolled their eyes over the square, +they caught sight of Juan, conspicuous by his lofty stature, though he +now drooped his head with gloom, and hailed his appearance with such +shouts as proved what a change had been made in their feelings, by his +presence, in the battle of the ambuscade. The imputations of Azcamatzin +were ended, for Azcamatzin perished an hour after uttering them, under a +shot from the crossbow of the hunchback: they remembered nothing now, +but that the Christian had touched the body of Malintzin, and was struck +down while he had him in his hands, and that he was the brother of the +king. + +It was these acclamations which roused him out of his sullen mood, so +that he could exert his mind and imagine the object for which he had +been summoned. But no sooner did he perceive the priests near the +Temalacatl, than he was seized with horror, and disregarding the command +of Guatimozin, who beckoned to him to ascend the platform to his side, +he turned to fly. + +"Is not my brother a Mexican, and among the sons of the king?" said the +infidel; and then added with a look of bitter meaning, "My brother shall +see the revenge of the daughter of Montezuma!" + +Struck by these words, yet incapable of fathoming their signification, +Juan looked up to the young monarch, and would even have ascended the +scaffold, had not the sudden appearance of the captive engaged his whole +attention. A wild and frantic cry burst from the mob, and looking round, +he beheld a body of ten or twelve priests, with their black robes, and +long plaited, rope-like hair, leading the prisoner towards the platform. +His arms were bound behind him, and his only garment was a coarse cloth +wrapped round the loins. + +Juan's heart sickened; he would have sunk to the earth, or buried his +head in his tilmaltli, to avoid looking upon the spectacle of a +Christian and countryman, thus brought forth to be slaughtered. But the +fiery spirit displayed by the victim, as soon as he was lifted upon the +mound and set upon his feet, drew another shout from the admiring +infidels, which caused him to steal one look at the scene; and that look +left him without the power of withdrawing his eyes. The captive, as soon +as he was on the mound, leaped, of his own accord, upon the stone, as if +to testify not only his knowledge of the purpose for which he was +brought there, but his willingness to engage in the combat. He then +turned his face towards the king, and, at that moment, + +Juan Lerma lifting his eyes, beheld the only man he had ever learned to +hate--It was Don Francisco de Guzman. + +Noble, compassionate, and truly unvindictive, as was Lerma's spirit, he +did not make this discovery without a thrill of fierce exultation. There +is a touch of the wild beast in the hearts of us all; and so long as man +is capable of anger, he will, at some moment, and for some brief space +of time, yield to thoughts and wishes, that he himself must, a moment +after, esteem diabolic. Religion and moral culture make us the masters +of our malign propensities; but man is naturally a vengeful animal. + +It was but the weakness of a moment with Juan Lerma; perhaps, too, it +was caused by the thrill of joy at the proof thus rendered, that Guzman, +at least, exercised no control over the fate of the princess of Mexico; +and if he did not instantly commiserate the condition of an enemy justly +abhorred, but now so fallen, so wretched, and about to expiate his evil +deeds by a punishment so fearfully retributive, he was able to banish +all unworthy elation from his mind, and look on with feelings more +becoming a man and Christian. + +He could not indeed but admire the fearless intrepidity, or rather +audacity, with which Guzman (more oppressed by a sense of humiliation, +at being made a spectacle among a crew so despised and abhorred, than by +any other feeling,) looked around him upon the pagans, and extended his +foot to the ligature, with which it was to be secured to the stone. +Whatever were his faults, it could not be denied, that Don Francisco was +a man of unflinching courage, which was indeed a constitutional trait. +His presence on the stone of battle indicated that he had been captured +after a heroic resistance. His resolution was, in this case, kept up by +a knowledge of the nature of the ordeal through which he was to pass, +and by full confidence in his ability to win all the privileges it +conferred upon him. He had some little acquaintance with the Mexican +tongue, and was by no means ignorant of the more remarkable institutions +of the country. A victory over six awkward and half-starved barbarians, +was an exploit not to be despaired of by a well-trained cavalier, even +when denied any advantage of weapons, and defensive armour. Yet it was a +curious circumstance, that he, who had not often kept faith himself, +when his interest called upon him to break it, should rest with such +perfect reliance upon the willingness of the Mexicans to liberate him, +in the event of his prevailing over their champions. But he knew, that +never but _once_ had a tribe of all the broad regions of Anahuac broken +its pledged faith to a successful gladiator; and that tribe was, for +that reason, ever after held infamous. It was the tribe of Huexotzinco; +and Cortes himself placed the circumstance on record. + +As soon as his foot was properly secured, his arms were unbound, and a +noble, who stood upon the scaffold in the character of a herald, +addressed him in the following official terms: + +"This is the law of Mexico, and let the people hear: 'The prisoner who +is brave, the gods honour. If he kill six strong men upon the stone +Temalacatl, he shall be set free.' This is the law." + +"This is the law, then," repeated Guzman, in imperfect Mexican, turning +his eyes upon Guatimozin, as if he disdained to hold converse with any +meaner infidel: "Is it a law that will be remembered, when the prisoner +is a Spaniard?" + +"He who is a prisoner, has no name and no country," replied the prince. +"He is neither Tlascalan nor Castilian, but a man who kills or dies." + +"And if I prevail over six of thy soldiers," again cried Guzman, as the +attendants strapped upon one arm a light buckler of basket-work, and +gave him also a short macana, "dost thou warrant me by thy gods, that I +shall be sent back to Don Hernan?" + +"Let the prisoner fight," said the king sternly: "Are the warriors of +Mexico blades of grass, that they should be blown down by a man's +breath, before the sword has struck them?" + +"Thou shalt see," replied Guzman, with a grim smile. "What are six +warriors to a man fighting for liberty? Give me a Spanish sword,--a +weapon of iron,--and let my adversaries be doubled in number." + +The boldness of this demand greatly excited the admiration of the +warlike spectators, who rewarded it with cheers. But they checked their +tumult to hear the words of the king. + +"The white man talks with the lips of a boaster," he said. "Had he not a +Spanish sword in the king's garden, among the women? How is this? He is +a prisoner!" + +"Ask thy warriors,--it was not broken off in my hand! How else should +they have taken me?" replied Guzman, to the words of scorn; and then +added, in Spanish, as if to himself, "So much for striking the accursed +hound! I would he and his master were broiling in purgatory; for they +have ever brought me bad luck." + +Juan Lerma heard not these words, but he remembered the broken blade in +Befo's body, and again his heart hardened against his foemen. But +matters were now approaching to a crisis. The monarch, disdaining to +hold further discourse with the prisoner, waved his hand, and a warrior, +darting from the ground at the foot of the scaffold, leaped with a +single bound upon the platform, and uttered the yell of battle, which +was instantly re-echoed by the shouts of the multitude. He was a tall +and powerful savage, though meager of frame, of great activity, as was +proved by his ready leap, and of a spirit fully corresponding. His +equipments were but little superior to those of the captive; his +battle-axe was somewhat longer, his buckler a little broader, and he had +some slight defence for his head, in a cap of alligator-skin, that +crowned his matted hair. + +No sound of trump and tymbal gave the signal for beginning the fight, as +in a Christian tourney. The yell of the infidel, as he sprang upon the +mound, and brandished his battle-axe, was all that was allowed or +required, to put the prisoner on his guard; and Don Francisco seemed to +understand enough of the nature of the ceremony, to look for no further +warning. + +The great superiority of the infidel consisted in his being entirely at +liberty, able to begin the attack by leaping upon the stone at any point +he chose, and to continue it thereon, by changing his position as often +as he thought fit; while the prisoner, secured by a thong not above +eighteen inches in length, to the centre of it, enjoyed no such +facilities of motion. He might turn, indeed, and as rapidly as he +pleased, but always with the danger, if he forgot himself for a moment, +of tripping himself, and falling; in which case, his death was certain, +for no forbearance was practised in the event of such an accident. + +The infidel began the combat with the same agility he had displayed in +leaping up to the platform. He uttered his yell, brandished his axe, and +making a half circuit round the stone, suddenly darted upon it, and +aimed a blow at Guzman. He was met by the Spaniard with an address and +effect, that showed he had not overrated his skill. Rather meeting than +avoiding the blow, he struck up, with his bucklered hand, not the +macana, but the arm of the assailant, seemingly calculating that the +shock of the rebuff would tumble him from the stone. It did more: it +caused the Mexican to fling up his arms, in the instinctive effort to +preserve his equilibrium. The next instant, Guzman drove his glassy axe +deep into his uncovered side, and spurning him violently with the foot +which was at liberty, the Mexican fell backwards upon the platform, +writhing in the agonies of death. The whole combat was scarce the work +of a minute. Those who drew in their breath as the Mexican sprang to the +assault, had not taken a second inspiration, before their countryman was +discomfited and dying. + +The infidels set up a scream, as much of approbation as surprise. The +spirit of the Roman amphitheatre was felt around the Temalacatl of +Mexico; and plaudits were bestowed upon a victor, when pity was denied +to the slain. + +The vanquished and writhing combatant was dragged from the mound, and +his place immediately occupied by a second, who leaped up with the same +alacrity, and attacked with similar violence. + +"Fool that thou art!" muttered Guzman, with scorn and lofty +self-reliance, "were there twenty such grasshoppers at thy back, yet +should it be but boy's play to despatch thee." + +He caught the blow of the savage on his buckler, but greatly to his +injury; for the sharp blades of the iztli severed it nearly in twain, +and besides diminishing its already insufficient defence, inflicted a +severe wound upon his arm. But it was the only blow struck by the +barbarian. Infuriated by the wound, Guzman smote him over the head with +his weapon, and with such rapidly continued blows as entirely confounded +the Mexican, so that he made scarce any use of his shield. The first +stroke tore the cayman-scales from his hair, and the next clove through +his skull. + +Guzman's victory was as complete as before, but he found that several of +the separate blades, or teeth of obsidian, that edged his weapon, were +broken off by the blows. He beheld this with alarm, for having held up +the axe, to show its dilapidated condition, and demand another, he found +himself answered only by the appearance of a third antagonist. + +"Dogs and jugglers that ye are!" he cried, indignantly: "ye would cheat +me then to death, by leaving me weaponless! St. Dominic, knaves! but I +will sort your wit with a better wisdom.--Now, what a spectacle might I +not make for my brother Christians on the dikes! Thou art playing quits +with me, Cortes!--Hah, dog! art thou so ready?" + +It was Guzman's determination, after killing the third assailant, which +event he still looked forward to with unabated confidence, to possess +himself of his weapon, which, though secured in the usual manner by a +thong, he doubted not he could easily rend from his arm. + +But his antagonist was by no means so easily mastered as the others. +Taking caution from the fate of his predecessors, he changed the mode of +attack; and though he rushed upon the block with as much resolution as +either, he betrayed no such ambition to come to close quarters. On the +contrary, taking advantage of the breadth of the Temalacatl, he confined +himself to the very edge, now facing the Spaniard, as if about to make +his spring, now darting behind him, as if to assault him in the rear, +and, all the time, vexing Guzman's ears with the most terrific screams. +Then, perceiving the Spaniard's wariness, he began to run around the +stone with all his speed, flourishing his axe, as if to take advantage +of the least opening offered by the weariness or dizziness of his foe. +Guzman at once perceived the danger to which he was reduced by a system +of attack so difficult to be guarded against. It was almost impossible, +tied as he was, to preserve his face always against the pagan; twice or +thrice he stumbled over the rope, and already his brain began to reel +with the rapidity of his gyrations. At each stumble, the Mexican struck +at him with his axe, and one blow had taken effect, though not +dangerously, upon his shoulder. This incensed the Spaniard almost to +madness, and he voluntarily exposed himself to another wound, in order +to bring his opponent within his reach. Thus, as the infidel was still +continuing to run round the stone, he flung himself round the other way +very suddenly, yet not so quickly as wholly to escape the rapid attacks +of his assailant. The macana inflicted another and deeper wound in his +back, while his own broken weapon struck the savage on the hip. At the +same moment he seized him by the throat, and employing a strength +greatly superior to the Indian's, threw him under his feet, and crushed +him with hand and knee, while despatching him with blows over the face +and head. He then grasped at the macana; but before he could wrest it +from the grasp of his dying foe, the Indian was plucked from under him +by the attendant priests. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +The feelings of Juan Lerma were throughout, strange, bewildering and +overwhelming; and he gazed upon the three combats, each fought and +finished in an inconceivably short space of time, in a species of trance +or stupefaction. Great, and doubtless just, as was his detestation of +Guzman, there was something both noble and afflicting in the courage +with which the unfortunate man bore himself in the midst of savage foes, +who, if they awarded him a shout of approbation for every valiant blow, +yet screamed with a more cordial delight, at every wound inflicted by an +antagonist. Even while Juan doubted not that Guzman's skill and +fortitude would insure him a full triumph, and final liberation, he +could not but be struck with horror, at beholding a Christian man bound +to a stone, and baited like a muzzled bear. How much more overpowering, +then, were his feelings, when he perceived, from the complexion given to +events by the last contest, that it must end, and perhaps soon, in the +destruction of the prisoner. + +His emotions became indeed irresistible, when he looked up at the third +shout of the multitude,--for he had closed his eyes with dread, while +Guzman despatched his third foe,--and saw him, bleeding at three +different wounds, and staggering with dizziness, extend his macana, now +almost reduced by the fracture of the blades, to a mere bludgeon, +towards the king, and exclaim, bitterly and despairingly, + +"King of Mexico, if thou knowest either honour or God, give me a fresh +sword!" + +His words ran through Juan's spirit like sharp knives, and he was seized +with a faintiness, so that he could scarce maintain himself on his feet. +But while his brain whirled and his eyes swam, he beheld a fourth +warrior spring upon the mound, and, yelling as he rose, dart, without a +moment's pause, against the captive. + +It was now apparent to all, and to none more than the miserable victim +himself, that his situation was become wholly desperate. His skill could +avail him nothing, while he was so insufficiently armed; his strength +was wasting away with his blood; his courage could not long maintain +itself against all hope; and even the pride that uplifted him so far +above his barbarous antagonists, only exasperated him into frenzy, when +he perceived, that, despised as they were, he was in their power, and +must soon expire under their blows. His rage was like that of the +gallant puma, knotted in the _lazo_ of a hunter, and torn to pieces by +dogs, which, were he at liberty, would be but as grass and dust under +the might of his talons. + +Hopeless of any relief from the king, and maddened by the exulting +shouts with which the infidels hailed every symptom of his defeat, he +turned furiously upon his new opponent; but not until the Mexican, more +skilful or more lucky than his predecessors, had struck him a violent +blow upon the side, which he followed up, at intervals, with others, +while running round the stone, in imitation of his less fortunate +countryman. His success was rewarded by the spectators with screams of +delight, which he re-echoed with his own wild outcries. + +Yet Guzman was not altogether subdued. Wretched as was his weapon, he +handled it with some effect, and struck his assailant two or three such +blows as would have ended the combat, had they been inflicted by a +better. With one, he staggered the pagan; with a second, he struck him +down to his knee; and with a third, he snapped off the last blade of +obsidian, upon the scales of the Indian helmet, and now brandished a +harmless wooden wand. + +At that moment, a Spanish sword, thrown by an unseen hand; fell at his +feet,--but fell in vain. Badly aimed, it struck short upon the stone, +and rolled back to the mound; and the infidel, recovering his feet, +though still staggering, uttered his war-cry, and raised his macana, to +strike down the defenceless Christian. + +Human nature could withstand the scene of butchery no longer. Juan Lerma +forgot that the captive was his foe and destroyer, and the unprincipled +oppressor of all he held dear. He saw a man of his own country and faith +cruelly assassinated before his eyes, among thousands of pitiless and +rejoicing barbarians. He thought not of the impossibility of affording +him any real relief, nor of the fate to himself that must follow an +attempt so full of folly. His brain burned, his eyes flamed as if in +sockets of fire; and obeying an impulse that converted him for a moment +into a madman, he rushed through the few nobles who separated him from +the mound, and in an instant was at the side of the victim. + +To snatch up the weapon he had so vainly cast, to spurn the exhausted +warrior from his prey, and to cut the thong that bound Guzman to the +stone, were all the work of a second. Almost before the idea had entered +the mind of the Mexicans, that the combat was interrupted, so +lightning-like were his motions, he had leaped with Guzman from the +platform, and, grasping his hand, made his way over the narrow and +unoccupied portion of the square, which led to the garden. Even then, +the Mexicans stood for awhile dumb with surprise and consternation; for +the act was so unexpected, so entirely inexplicable upon any of their +principles of action, that they scarce knew if it might not be their +Mexitli himself, who thus snatched a victim from the stone of battle. + +It has been already mentioned, that the garden wall had, in this +quarter, fallen down, and that its place was supplied only by a fence of +shrubs and brambles. Its ruins choked the ditch, and gave a passage, +which had been formerly effected by a wooden bridge, now buried under +the heavy fragments. A single plank spanned over the only gap that was +too wide to be passed, except by a bold leap. It was a knowledge of +these circumstances, that, in the very tempest of his impulses, +determined the course of Juan Lerma, and decided every step he now took +to secure life to his wretched companion. He had breathed but a word +into Guzman's ear, but it was enough to communicate strength to his +heart, and agility to his limbs; and wonderfully adapting his +resolutions and movements to those of his guide, he ran with him over +the square and across the canal, with such speed, that he rather aided +than retarded the steps of his preserver.--They had crossed the plank +before the yells of pursuit burst from the astounded assembly, and Juan, +striking it now into the ditch with his foot, dragged Guzman through the +brambles, exclaiming, + +"Quick! quick! If we can but reach the palace, we are saved." + +"Is it _thou_, indeed, Juan Lerma?" cried Guzman, with a voice +singularly wild and piteous, but struggling onward.--"Now then thou +canst kill me thyself, since thou wouldst not be avenged by infidels." + +"Quick! quick! they are following us! they are crossing the ditch!--But +fifty paces more!" + +"Ten will serve me--and ten words will make up my reckoning--that is, +_here_: the rest hereafter. Stop, fool,--I am dying." + +"Courage! courage!" exclaimed Juan, endeavouring, but in vain, to drag +further the wretch, for whom his rash humanity seemed to have purchased +only the right of expiring in a Christian's arms. "Courage, and move +on,--we are close followed." + +"Hark,--listen, and speak not," said Guzman, sinking to the earth, for +his wounds were mortal, and the exertions of flight caused them to throw +out blood with tenfold violence--He was indeed upon the verge of +dissolution: "Listen, listen!" he cried, gasping for breath, yet +struggling to speak with such extraordinary eagerness, that it seemed as +if he held life and salvation to depend upon his giving utterance to +what was in his mind. "Listen, Juan Lerma, for I am a snake and a devil. +I hated thee for--But, brief, brief, brief! First, Cortes--Hah! they +come!--Drag me into a bush, that I may speak and die. No--here--There is +no time--Listen. Saints, give me powers of speech! or devils--either! A +little reparation--Why not? I belied thee to Cortes--Hark! hark!" he +almost screamed, in the fear that he might not be understood, for he was +conscious of the incoherency of his expressions; "hark! hark!--Bleeding +to death--Concerning--Cortes--his wife--Dońa Catalina--jealousy, +_jealousy_!--Poisoned his ear. Understand me! understand me!" + +Wild as were his words and confused as was the mind of Juan, yet with +these broken expressions, the dying cavalier threw a sudden and terrific +light upon the understanding of the outcast. + +"Good heaven!" he cried, "my benefactress! my noble lady! Oh villain, +how couldst thou?--" + +"More--more!" murmured Guzman, with impatient, yet vain ardour. "I know +all--Thy father--thy sister--Camarga--killed--Aha! Magdalena--the +princess--" + +"Ay! the princess?" echoed Juan, imploringly: "the princess? the +princess?" + +But all he could hear in reply to his frantic demand, was "Garci, +Garci--" and this name was immediately lost in the roaring shouts of the +infidels, who now surrounded the pair. + +Had Guzman been able to continue the flight at half the speed with which +he had begun it, it is certain they would have reached the palace, +considerably in advance of the pursuers; though it is not certain, that +would have proved a city of refuge. But his strength failed almost +immediately after entering the garden, of which as soon as he became +sensible, he began to make his disclosures; and perhaps the haste into +which he was driven by the almost instant appearance of the Mexicans, +thronging over the broken wall, served as much as the distractions and +agonies of death, to make them confused and insufficient. The first +word--the name of the lady Catalina,--revealing at once the dreadful +delusion, which had converted his best friend into his deadliest enemy, +so excited and unsettled Juan's mind, that, in his eagerness to learn +still more of the fatal secret, he almost forgot the presence of so many +Mexicans, rushing upon him with yells of fury. It was in vain, when they +had reached him, that he brandished his sword, and assumed an attitude +of defence, calling loudly upon the king. He was thrown down and +overpowered,--nay, he was severely wounded, and handled altogether so +roughly, that it seemed as if the enraged Mexicans were resolved to drag +him to the sacrifice, from which he had rescued Guzman, if not to murder +him on the spot; some calling out to kill him, and others roaring, 'The +Temalacatl! the Temalacatl!' Their cries were not even stilled when the +nobles who waited about the person of the king, drove them away with +rods, and Guatimozin himself stalked up to the prisoner. The frown which +Juan's rash, and, as he esteemed it, impious act, had brought upon his +visage, darkened into one still sterner, when having laid his hand upon +the Christian's shoulder, to signify that his person was sacred, the +expression of protection was answered only by cries of the most mutinous +character. + +"We will have the blood of the Spaniard," they screamed. "What said +Azcamatzin? It is true--this is a bear we have, that embraces us, and +tears open our hearts. He struck the Lord of Death--he takes the victim +from Mexitli: he shall be a victim himself--he shall die on the stone!" + +It was in vain that Guatimozin employed threats, menaces, and entreaties +to allay their passions. Sufferings of a nature and extent so horrible +that we have scarce dared to hint at them, had already made them sullen +and refractory; and misery and wrath are no observers of allegiance or +decorum. The unhappy monarch, now such less in power than in name, +feigned to yield to their clamour, for he perceived he could no longer +openly save. He commanded Juan to be bound with cords, and carried into +a remote corner of the palace, promising, that, when he had recovered a +little of his strength and spirits, he should be given up to them, to +die on the Temalacatl. + +It was perhaps fortunate for Juan, that he was dragged away too suddenly +to behold the fate of his rival, who was now in the hands of the +priests, apparently reviving--a circumstance hailed with such shouts of +joy, that Juan was himself almost forgotten. The infidels carried Don +Francisco again from the garden, and hurried him towards the little +temple. But before they had passed the square, he expired in their +arms--happy only in this, that he fell not by the knives of the priests. + +Before the day was over, the citizens were called upon again to resist +the Spaniards who had now resumed the offensive, and who continued their +approaches with such fierce, determined, and incessant efforts, that +they employed the whole time, as well as the whole thoughts, of the +besieged. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +The fate of Mexico approached to its consummation. The great streets +leading from the causeways, were in the power of the Spaniards. It might +be said, indeed, that they had gained possession of the whole island, +except the extreme point of the neck of Tlatelolco; for though they did +not extend their ravages any great distance from the streets, into the +three quarters to the east and south, it was because these were occupied +only by women and children--the wounded, the sick, and the dying,--and +could be, at any moment, taken possession of. The warriors who yet +remained, were concentrated upon the little peninsula, around their +monarch, who, obstinate to the last, still resisted, even when +resistance was hopeless, refusing the offers of peace and friendship, +which Cortes, rendered magnanimous by success, and softened by +compassion, now daily sent him. His obstinacy was indeed surprising; for +the point was surrounded by brigantines and piraguas, prepared to +intercept his flight; and escape, unless by death, seemed evidently +impossible. The work of carnage therefore went on, though with mitigated +severity; for there were but few left to suffer. The market-place of +Tlatelolco was secured and occupied, and upon the day of St. Hippolytus, +(the 13th of August,) the Spaniards concluded the labours of the long +and bloody siege, by storming, with all their forces, the palace of +Guatimozin--the last stronghold of the Mexicans. The garden walls were +beaten down by the artillery, and soon after midday, the Spaniards +rushed, with tremendous vivas, upon the palace, to which fire had been +previously communicated by flaming arrows, shot into the windows by the +confederates. + +The preparations for the assault, and long before it began, were +surveyed by the Captain-General from the terrace of the palace of +Axajacatl, the famous scene of his sufferings, when besieged therein by +the Mexicans, a year before. It was in the quarter of Tlatelolco, midway +between the great pyramid and the market-place, and commanded, from its +turrets, not only a view of the palace of Guatimozin, but of the whole +surrounding city and lake. + +Deeply as his mind was engaged with the approaching climax of his mighty +enterprise,--for now he could almost count the minutes that intervened +betwixt his hopes and his success,--he was not without thoughts and +feelings of another character. The singular disappearance of Magdalena, +of which nothing more was known, or even conjectured, than was disclosed +in the midnight conversation of the hunchback and Bernal Diaz; the fate +of Camarga, over which events not yet narrated, had cast a peculiarly +exciting mystery; and the situation of Juan Lerma, upon whose character +and unhappy history certain events had shed a new light, as well as what +had now become a painful interest; all, by turns, occupied his mind, and +sometimes even withdrew it from the contemplation of the scene before +him. The few cavaliers in attendance, who enjoyed their immunity from +combat only because they were disabled by severe wounds, referred his +unusual gloom to the same cause; for he had not yet recovered from the +many injuries, the penalty of his rashness on the causeway. + +"Thou knowest, Quinones," said one, in a whisper to the captain of his +body guard, (for the conspiracy of Villafana had been made, as is usual +in such catastrophes of ambition, an excuse for investing his dignity +with another engine of power;)--"Thou knowest, the renegade struck him +upon the head; and it is a marvel of providence he was not slain; for +Lerma strikes with an arm like the wing of a windmill. These blows on +the skull, though one may seem to recover from them, have a perilous +after-effect on the brain." + +"Fy!" muttered Quinones, with a shake of the head; "there is a new word +about Lerma, especially since Garci Holguin brought in the princess. +Didst thou not hear that Alvarado, who heads the assault, called this +morning upon all soldiers who had seen Juan Lerma in the melée, and +asked them a thousand questions? I tell thee, there is a new thing in +the wind. I did myself last night over-hear Cortes charge Sandoval to +watch well for every piragua and canoe, that might leave Tlatelolco, and +see that no one taken be harmed.--But this we will see. Talking of +canoes, methought I beheld one some half hour since paddling from +Tezcuco?" + +"Ay," said another; "it landed in the north-eastern quarter.--No more +complaints of Guzman now? He will never harry infidels more. Garci's +sailors say, he was taken alive!" + +"Hist!" whispered Quinones, with a warning gesture. "This thing troubles +Cortes. It was his anger, and Guzman's desire to recover favour, which +drove him upon the mad feat, that brought him to the block of sacrifice. +It weighs upon the general's mind.--And besides, as it is now apparent +that Camarga is alive, there is deeper cause for remorse: It was perhaps +his wrongful belief in the charge of murder, rather than any other +cause, that made him proceed with such rigour against Guzman." + +"But is this rumour true?" demanded the other. + +"Ay, certain; and I wage ye my life, the very canoe we were looking +after, brings the dead-alive to Mexico. Methought I could trace the cut +of his sacerdotal maskings, even afar off. They say, after all, the man +is a true brother of St. Dominic, under some dispensation.--Ay, faith! +you may see now--Alive and shorn into the bargain! They are bringing him +up the stairway.--By Santiago, it makes the general's eye flash fire!" + +The eye of Cortes, up to this moment peculiarly gloomy and troubled, did +indeed flash with lustre, as soon as it fell upon the figure of Camarga; +for it was he, who now made his appearance on the terrace, led forward +by Indians. He was greatly altered, and seemed indeed like the ghost of +his former self, so wan and emaciated was his countenance, and so broken +and feeble his step; he looked as if in almost the last stage of +atrophy. He was otherwise changed; the hair was shorn from his crown, on +which was a ghastly scar, left by the macana of the Lord of Death; his +feet were bare; and from the cord that girded on his friar's frock, was +suspended a knotted scourge, crusted over with blood. His whole +appearance was that of some suicidal ascetic, who mourns with the +severest maceration of the body, a sin not to be expiated by mere +penitence of spirit. + +"Heaven be thanked for thy resurrection!" cried Cortes, grasping him by +the hand, and leading him to the seat he had himself occupied. "There is +a wolf in my bosom, and now I know that thou canst remove it!" + +"Have I come too late?" cried Camarga, eagerly, though with a voice no +longer sonorous. "_Agnus Dei, dona nobis pacem!_ The victim of our +madness, driven among the infidels,--the poor wretch whom misery cast +into the same hands--What of them, seńor? what of them?" + +"Nothing," replied Cortes, "unless thou canst speak it: Nothing, at +least, except that both are still in captivity. Yet know, if it will +relieve thee, that what I could do by embassies and goodly offers, that +I have done to recover them; and I have given such orders, that, if they +be not murdered by the Indians, we may see them living this day." + +"God be thanked!" cried Camarga, dropping on his knees, and praying with +such fervour, though in inaudible accents, as to excite no little +curiosity among the attendant cavaliers, whom Cortes had already waved +away. He turned upon them again, and sternly bade them descend from the +terrace, which they did, followed by the Indians. + +As soon as they were alone, Cortes, scarce pausing until Camarga had +ceased his devotions, exclaimed, + +"Speak, and delay not, either to mourn or to pray: Thou canst do these +things hereafter. Enough evil has already come of thy silence. Speak me +in a word--What art thou? and what is thy interest in these wretches? +What is thine? and what--yes, what is _mine_?" + +The last word was uttered with vehement emphasis, that seemed to recall +Camarga to his self-possession. He rolled his eyes upon Cortes with a +ghastly smile, and replied, + +"Thou shalt know; for thou hast a sin to answer as well as I; and answer +it thou must, both to God and thy conscience. Moderate thy impatience: +what I have to say, cannot be spoken in a word, but yet it shall be +spoken briefly. In thy boyish days, thou hast heard of the Counts of +Castillejo--" + +The Captain-General bent upon the speaker a look that seemed designed to +slay, it was so frowningly fixed and penetrating. He then smote his +hands together upon his breast, as if to beat down some dreadful +thought, and immediately exclaimed, + +"What thou hast to say, speak in God's name, and without further +preface. Were I but a dog of the house of Cortes, instead of its son and +sole representative, the name of a Castillejo of Merida would be hateful +to my ear. Ay, by heaven! be thou layman or monk, my friend or the +friend of my enemy, yet know that my rage burns with undiminished fire, +though the proud scutcheons of the Castillejos have been turned into +funeral hatchments, and the mosses of twenty years have gathered on +their graves.--But it is enough. The first word of thy story harmonizes +with mine own conceit. A strange accident opened my eyes upon a +remembrance of dishonour; which let us rake up no further.--I have heard +enough. Keep thine own secret, too," he continued, with a gleaming eye; +"for I would not take the life of one, upon whom heaven has itself set +the seal of vengeance." + +"Yet must thou listen, and I speak," said Camarga, disregarding the +menacing words and glance; "for there is a story to be told, of which +thou and thy kindred have not dreamed--nay, nor have others, except +one--except one! My secret will not throw thee into the frenzy thou +fearest; he of whom you think, is beyond the reach of human vengeance. +Listen to me, Hernan Cortes, and forbear your rage, until I have +done.--Of the Count Sebastian's three brothers; the next in age, Julian, +was a slave in Barbary, yet supposed to be dead; the youngest Gregorio, +was a monk of St. Dominic; and the third, Juan, was a wild and unhappy +profligate." + +"Ay, by heaven," said Cortes, with angry emotion; "may he remember his +deeds in torment--Amen! Had not Gregorio been an inquisitor as well as a +monk, I should have seen him burn at a stake, as was his due." + +"Reserve your curses for the true criminal," said Camarga, drawing the +cowl over his visage, as if no longer able to endure the fierce looks of +Don Hernan: "Among others who had inflamed his wild and fiery +affections, was one whom heaven had seemingly placed beyond his +reach,--one whose name I need not pronounce to Hernan Cortes." + +"I will tell thee who she was," said the general, laying his hand upon +Camarga's shoulder, and speaking with a passionate energy;--"the +daughter of a family, ancient and noble as his own, though without its +wealth,--a novice about to take the vows, (for to this had the poverty +of her house and her own religious fervour destined her;) and thus +uplifted both by rank and profession above the aims of a seducer. But +what thought the young cub of Castillejo of these impediments, when he +feared not God, and saw no one left to punish his villany, save an +impoverished old man and a rambling schoolboy? Dwell not on this--Speak +not her name neither: let it be forgotten. May her soul rest in peace! +for her own act of distraction avenged the dishonour of her fall." + +He paused in strong emotion, and Camarga, drawing the mantle closer +round his head, continued: + +"Know, (and I speak thee a truth never before divulged to mortal man,) +that the sin of this act,--the abduction of a devotee, whose novitiate +was already accomplished,--belongs not to Juan, the debauchee, but to +Gregorio, the Dominican." + +"These are the words of a madman," said Cortes, sternly; but he was +interrupted by Camarga hastily exclaiming, + +"Misunderstand me not. The lover and the convent-robber was indeed Juan; +but it was Gregorio who provoked him to the outrage, and gave him the +means of success. The sacrilege had not been otherwise attempted, and +the fickle-minded Juan would have soon forgotten the object of a passion +both criminal and dangerous." + +"If you speak the truth," said Cortes, "you have exposed an atrocity, of +which, as you said, truly no man ever dreamed. On what improbable ground +do you make Gregorio a villain so monstrous?" + +"On that of _knowledge_," replied Camarga, with a voice firmer than he +had yet displayed. "Dost thou think ambition lies not as often under a +cowl as a corslet? or that guilt can only be meditated by a soldier? +When the young monk Gregorio beheld the two sons of his brother, the +Count Sebastian, taken up dead from the river, into which an evil +accident had plunged them, and knew that the Count was dying--surely +dying--of a broken heart, the fiend of darkness put a thought into his +brain, which had never before dishonoured it. Yet it slumbered again, +until his evil fate showed him his brother Juan, meditating a crime, +which, if attempted, must bring him under the ban of the church, and +into the dungeons of the Inquisition. Then he said, in his heart, 'If +Sebastian die of grief, childless, and if Juan destroy himself by an act +of impiety, where shall men look for the Count of Castillejo, except in +the cell of Gregorio?' It was this thought of darkness that brought the +thunderbolt upon his house, and upon thine." + +"Ay! thou sayst it now," said Cortes with a smothered voice. "But this +monk, this devil, this Gregorio! Let me know more of the wretch, whose +flagitious ambition, not satisfied with destroying his father's house +and his brother's soul, must end by bringing to a dishonourable grave a +daughter--I speak it _now_--a daughter of Martin Cortes of Medellin!" + +"It is spoken in a word; but let the iniquitous details be forgotten. +The power of Gregorio, unknown even to Juan, (for the connivance was +concealed and unsuspected,) opened the doors of the convent, and the +lovers fled, were united in marriage, and then parted for ever." + +"United? married? Now by heavens, thou mockest me! Even this had been +some mitigation of our shame. But it is not true. Why dost thou say it?" + +"Thou wert deceived--all were deceived," said Camarga; "nay, even the +scheming Gregorio was deceived; for before he had dreamed that such a +fatal blow could be given to his ambition, the knot was tied, and the +children of Juan became the heirs of Sebastian. Behold how treachery +overshoots its mark! Gregorio opened a path, that the lovers might meet, +not that they might escape. This was reserved until the time when the +vows should be taken; after which the crime of abduction and flight +could not be pardoned. They fled a day too early, and it was within the +power of Sebastian to obtain both a pardon and dispensation; for Juan +was now his heir, in the place of his children." + +"Good heavens!" cried Cortes, "was this indeed possible? But no; thou +deceivest me. Had the offence been so venial, Juan Castillejo had not +perished among the vaults of the Inquisition." + +"Canst thou compass thine own vindictive purposes, and attribute no +similar power to others?" cried Camarga, with a laugh, that sounded +hollow and unnatural under the mantle. "Did a venial offence, or a +malignant and perfidious stratagem, drive Juan Lerma among the pagans of +Mexico?--Listen:--Juan Castillejo was dragged from his hiding-place, and +that perhaps the earlier, that Gregorio knew of their marriage. The +crime of carrying off a novice was not indeed inexpiable, but it +demanded a deep cell in the office of the Brotherhood; and such Juan +obtained. Now, Cortes, ask not for reasons to explain the acts of +Gregorio. The dying Sebastian exerted his powers to save his brother, +and would have succeeded, had not Gregorio, visiting the dungeons, in +virtue of his office, subtly attacked the prisoner's mind with the fear +of torture and final condemnation; until, in a fit of distraction, he +laid violent hands upon himself, and so ended a tragedy, for which +Gregorio designed another catastrophe. Ay, believe me! Think not that +even Gregorio planned out a climax so cruel. He desired only to work +upon Juan's terrors, in order to banish him from the land for ever; for +it was his purpose to provide him with the means of escape, when this +was accomplished. He foresaw not the consequences of the desperation he +had produced. Upon the morrow, Sebastian came with an indulgence--almost +a pardon. The shock of the spectacle of Juan's dead body, broke away the +last feeble cords that bound him to life; and Gregorio, absolved from +his vows by the papal dispensation, easily obtained, was now the Count +of Castillejo." + +"And never sat in the castle-hall a fiend more truculent and diabolic!" +cried Cortes, with terrific emphasis. "Hark thee, man, demon, or +whatsoever thou art--I did think thee, at first, the very wretched Juan +of whom thou hast spoken, escaped by some miracle, and finding the +fiercest retribution for his villany, in the misery of his children. I +remembered thy words at Tezcuco, and was thus deluded. But I know thee +at last, and words cannot express how much I abhor thee." + +"We are alike worthy of detestation," said Camarga, rising and flinging +back his cowl, "for we are alike villains,--with but this difference +between us, that I have preceded thee in the path of remorse, and must +perhaps tread it more bitterly, because in all things, self-deluded and +baffled. I am what thou thinkest,--the wretched Gregorio--and yet less +wretched than when I first discovered the twin children of my brother in +thy house at Tezcuco.--Hearken yet a moment, and I have done. All +supposed that the unhappy Olivia had cast herself into the river, and so +perished. It was not so. Pity, remorse, or some other feeling--perhaps, +policy--induced me to preserve her from her distraction. She lived in +concealment, until she had given birth to twin children--these very +wretches whom we have persecuted. Let me speak their fate in a word. The +boy I sent by a creature whose name he bears, to Colon's settlement in +Espańola; the girl I devoted from her infancy to the altar; and in both +cases, dreamed that I had provided for their welfare, as well as against +the possibility of discovery. When I had thus arranged everything for my +own security, heaven sent me the first sting of retribution in the +person of my brother Julian, returned in safety from the dungeons of +Fez, and, in right of seniority, the heir of the honours I had so vainly +usurped. It was a fitting reward, but it was not all. Dishonour, other +crimes, and awakened suspicions, followed my downfall; and I became an +exile and outcast. What life I have lived, it needs not I should speak. +A strange accident acquainted me with the stranger truth, that Magdalena +had followed her unknown brother to the islands. I had amassed wealth; +and an impulse, combining both pity and foreboding terror, drove me to +pursue them. It was easy to trace out their respective fates. The wreck +of the ship which carried Magdalena, with the supposed loss of all on +board, satisfied me that she was with her mother, in heaven. An +unexpected event had invested Juan with new interest. This was the death +of Julian, without heirs. It was in my power to repair, at least, the +wrongs I had done him, by restoring him to his inheritance; the +knowledge and proofs of his legitimacy were in my hands, and I resolved +to employ them. This I could not do in mine own person, but I +discovered--and know, seńor, it filled me with joy,--that _thou_ hadst +befriended him. I came then to Mexico, to seek the young man, and to +enable thee to do justice to the memory, and to the child of thy +sister." + +Gregorio, for so we must now call him, paused a moment, while Cortes +strode to and fro, in great agitation. He then resumed: + +"The first thing I heard was the supposed death of Juan,--his +expedition, and the cause of it--thine own bitter and unrelenting +hatred." + +"It is true," said Cortes, with a vain effort at composed utterance. "I +confessed my folly to thee before. I have persecuted the son of my +sister almost to death, and for an imaginary crime. There were villains +about me--I will tell thee, by and by, my delusion." + +"Seńor," continued Gregorio, "I found in thy camp a villain, whose +subtle and malicious nature was in harmony with my own. This was +Villafana, whose representations of thy cruelty in the matter of Juan, +stirred up my evil passions; and until the day when Juan returned, I was +very eager to avenge his wrongs. Upon that day, I discovered that +Magdalena was living. Now," he exclaimed, with vehemence, "thou mayst +understand the cause of my seeming madness: now thou mayst know that the +vengeance of heaven was punishing my old sin with lashes of horror. Thou +knowest the evil slanders cast by the ribald soldiers upon thee, in +relation to Magdalena. That dreadful suspicion was soon at an end; but +there remained the other, the persuasion, supported by strong +circumstances and by the malign averments of Villafana,--the dreadful, +damning belief, that a horrible and unnatural sin, the direct +consequence of my own, had plunged the brother and sister into a +never-ending wretchedness. Ask not my feelings, when I made this +supposed discovery. They caused me to seek the life of the unhappy +brother, to attempt it with my own hands, and finally through thine; and +all in a distraction, that mingled a thirst of vengeance with the +precautions of pity. Thou knowest the rest: he was snatched out of our +hands; and from Magdalena I discovered the blessed--the blissful truth, +that heaven had not punished them for _my_ sin! A course of +extraordinary calamities, while it covered them with misery, yet kept +them asunder.--But why should I trifle thus? The girl also was taken +from me, and by the pagans, who left me on the lake-side weltering in +blood. When I recovered speech and sense, I besought Guzman to send for +you; nay, in my distracted impatience, being myself incapable of any +effort beyond mere speech, I confided to him the secret of their +birth--" + +"Villain that he was, a double-dyed villain!" exclaimed Cortes, "this +then accounts for his attempt upon your life, of which I had something +more than mere suspicion to bring against him. I see it all now: +exposure of a long series of malignant deceptions, must have followed +the revealment, if it found the young Lerma--the young Castillejo, shall +I say?--yet living. Is it not true? did he do you violence?" + +"Not with his own hands," replied Gregorio; "nor can I say he really +designed my death, not being able to communicate with the Indians, who +dragged me by night from Tezcuco, carried me to the mountains, and +finally took me back again, when Guzman was no longer the governor. But +I doubt not, his intentions were evil." + +"He has suffered for his crimes," said Cortes.--He strode to and fro for +an instant, with hands clasped together, and a working visage. Then +returning, and casting around a glance of suspicion, he said, + +"Hark thee, Gregorio--If we save these unhappy creatures from death, +thou shalt be forgiven,--ay, man, and honoured, too. I understand the +motives that made thee mine ally in wickedness: now understand +mine,--the persuasions of belief that converted me into a +persecutor--the base and devilish persecutor, for such I was--of my +sister's son--of my own flesh and blood. By heaven! I loved him dearly; +nature spoke in my heart,--the instinct of consanguinity was alive +within me; and even the lies of Guzman could not wholly destroy it. +Velasquez the governor," he went on, "has fought me with all weapons, +and with all in vain. Yet did he at last fall upon one, that was made to +wound me to the quick, though it could not make me falter in this +emprise of conquest. My lady, Gregorio, my lady!" he continued, +struggling in vain against the feelings of humiliation, with which he +confessed a weakness so unworthy;--"my lady Catalina is fair and merry, +and, God wot, somewhat over fond of the gingling galliards that ruffle +it at Santiago; and I,--by my conscience, I will be as honest as +thou,--I have had the devil of suspicion sometimes enter my mind; but, I +swear to thee, to mine own dishonour only. Upon this ground, Velasquez +has thrust at me with hints, innuendos, sarcasms, jests, rumours, +accusations, time without end. There has never a ship arrived, that it +has not brought some petard to be shot off on my bosom; and sometimes, I +think, I have been half mad with my dreams. Know, then, that one of +these damnable devices was made to play in the person of my adopted +son,--for such he was,--and my lady's favourite, Juan Lerma. My lady won +him out of prison, and she harboured him during the sickness that +followed. Out of this was constructed a story that tormented me. Yet it +was naught, until Guzman penetrated the weakness, and wrought it, by I +know not what means, into a fierce and fiendish jealousy. The young man +was melancholy, too--he had killed his friend Hilario: but (heaven save +me such madness again!) I deemed it the workings of his conscience, his +sense of ingratitude, operating upon a temper, which, I knew, was +naturally noble and virtuous. Thou canst not think how many little +events were turned, by Guzman's malignant address, into proof and +confirmation of my detestable suspicion. There came for him certain +horses and arms, sent, as I quickly believed, by my wife, now bold in +infidelity--" + +"Alas!" said Gregorio; "I learned from Villafana, that these were the +gifts of Magdalena, who, poor wretch, would have sent him her life, +could that have been made an acceptable present." + +"Thou makest my heart still lighter," said Cortes, "for this was the +only matter I could not myself explain away, so soon as certain passages +with Guzman had opened my eyes to his baseness. His oppressions forced +me to withdraw him from Tezcuco; and, quarrelling with him upon that +subject, as well as in regard to thine own fate, he let fall, in the +heat of contention, certain unguarded expressions, which convinced me +that he had made me his tool,--by heaven, Gregorio, his instrument! +Suspicion once awake, my judgment once informed how much he had to gain, +both of favour and revenge, by destroying my poor cornet, it needed but +mine own reflections, to show me how ruthlessly I had been cajoled. And +to crown all, a new light was shot into my soul, by the recovery, from +an Indian princess, now a captive in my hands, of this trinket; which +thou mayest know, if thou hast indeed ever looked upon the face of my +sister." + +He drew from his bosom the cross and rosary which Juan had flung round +the neck of the Indian princess. + +"I placed it," said Gregorio, "with mine own own hands upon the bosom of +the infant Magdalena--But, good heaven, how came it on the neck of a +savage, unless they have murdered her?' + +"Fear not," said Cortes: "It was given to the princess by Juan Lerma--by +Juan of Castillejo; and was doubtless presented to him by Magdalena, in +the island. From this princess, I learned the first news of Magdalena, +who was kindly treated by the young king, in his palace, for Juan's +sake. Thou must know how this cross wrought upon my heart and brain; for +I did myself give it to my sister, when they took me, but a boy, to see +her in the convent. And as for this princess, Gregorio," continued +Cortes, with an air of pride, "know that she is a daughter of Montezuma, +the descendant of a thousand kings; and the Count of Castillejo will +carry with him to his castle, a bride more noble than ever entered it +before." + +"These things are vanities," said Gregorio, gloomily. "Let my brother's +children be first plucked from the nest of infidels, if it be not too +late." + +"Heaven will not _now_ forsake them, after protecting them through so +many and greater perils," said Cortes, kissing the little cross and +restoring it to his bosom. "The best men in the army, cavaliers and all, +have sworn they will fetch them from the palace, in which they are now +surrounded. And hark thee, Gregorio: The only daughter of the Count of +Castillejo is too noble a prize for a nunnery.--We will have another +dispensation." + +The further disclosures of these two men, both villains, and both +penitents, after their ways, were arrested by the commencement of the +attack upon the palace; and Cortes calling some of his attendants to +support his companion's steps, they descended from the terrace. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +Juan Lerma, or Castillejo--for such we must now call him--yet lay in +confinement. His cell was in a quarter of the palace remote from the +royal apartments; and without being altogether exposed to the +cannon-shots, with which the attack was begun, was yet so nigh the +garden-wall as to make its luckless inhabitant an auditor of all the +fearful yells and outcries, with which the besieged and assailants +contended for possession of the breaches. He was still bound, and some +dozen or more dark-browed pagans kept watch at his doors, one of which +led into a broad passage, and the other he knew not whither. They were +designed rather to protect him from the fury of the warriors, now +concentrated in the garden and palace, than to guard against escape, +which the wounds he had received in the defence of Guzman, had but ill +fitted him to attempt. All that Guatimozin could do to prolong an +existence, now almost insufferably wretched, he did; and at the very +moment of the assault, while taking measures to effect his own retreat +from an empire now utterly demolished, and a post no longer tenable, he +gave hasty instructions to the Ottomi, Techeechee, to secure the escape +of his friend. It will be presently seen in what manner fortune defeated +this plan, as well as all others now devised by the fallen monarch. + +It was with a listlessness amounting almost to apathy, that Juan +listened to the first discharges of the cannon and the roar of hostile +voices. Such sounds had been awakened for several days in succession, +and each day they were nearer and louder. If they promised him +deliverance, they promised little else; for, having reflected upon the +eventful enterprise of the causeway, and digested at leisure and in +gloom, many of those details which had almost escaped his notice, in the +heat and hurry of contention, he saw but little reason to anticipate +from his countrymen, any other reception than such as might be +vouchsafed to a condemned criminal and avowed renegade. He remembered, +that he had been struck down by a Spaniard, while in the very act of +giving life to the Captain-General; and he had a vague suspicion, that +the blow was struck by the Barba-Roxa. If Gaspar (of whose death he was +entirely ignorant), had met him with such vindictive ferocity, what else +could be expected from men who had never looked upon him with +friendship? Yet fear for himself made the lightest weight in his load of +suffering: his thoughts dwelt upon the captive princess, and not less +often, though with perhaps less gnawing anxiety, upon his equally +captive sister. + +Such were the reflections that darkened his mind during the first hours +of conflict, and made him almost indifferent to his fate. Yet, +notwithstanding his gloom, there arose a circumstance at last, which +gave such an appalling character to his confinement, as prevented his +remaining any longer indifferent to his situation. He became suddenly +aware that volleys of smoke were beginning to roll into the apartment, +and perceived, at the same time, that his guards, driven away by fear, +or by an uncontrollable desire to mingle in the conflict, as was more +probable, had fled from the doors, after satisfying themselves that he +was secured in such a manner as to prevent his flying in their absence. +He was indeed bound, or rather swathed, hand and foot, with robes of +cotton, so as to be incapable of rising from the couch on which he lay: +and it was his consciousness of the miserable helplessness of his +condition, left to perish, as it seemed, in a burning palace, without +the power of raising a finger in self-preservation, that stung him out +of his lethargy. + +The smoke was now rolling into the room, in denser masses than before, +accompanied by the stifling odour of burning feathers, which entered so +largely into the decorations of the palace; and he began to apprehend +lest he should be suffocated outright, even before the flames had +extended to his prison. He called aloud for relief; but his voice was +unheeded in the din that shook the palace walls; he struggled to release +his limbs, or to rise to his feet, but in vain; and even the poor +expedient of rolling over the floor, availed him but little, so much +were his muscles cramped by the barbarous bonds. To crown the horror of +the scene, a gush of heated air shook the curtains of the door opposite +to that which communicated with the passage, and was almost instantly +followed by another, whirling smoke and flames. + +But even in this extremity, hope was brought to his ears, in the sound +of a voice not heard for many days, but not yet forgotten. From among +the very flames that came flashing into the chamber, consuming the +door-curtains, and darting upon the little canopy that surmounted his +couch, he could distinguish the eager and clamorous howlings of Befo; as +if this faithful friend were seeking him in his imprisonment. He +answered with a shout, which was responded to not only by the joyful +bark of the dog, but by the wild cry of a woman; and in the next +instant, Magdalena, preceded by Befo, rushed through the flames into his +dungeon. + +"I have come to save you, my brother!" she cried, with accents wildly +vehement and incoherent. "We will fly where never man shall see us more. +Kiss me, Juan; and then look upon me no more, for I have made a vow to +my soul.--Oh, my brother! my brother!" And she flung herself upon his +body, and strove, but in vain, to raise him from the floor. + +Had the agitation of his mind permitted, Juan must have noticed, and +been shocked by, the alteration in her appearance. Her whole figure was +miserably wasted, and she grasped him with a strength feebler than a +child's. Her countenance was hollow, ghastly pale, and mottled only by +such touches of colour as indicate a spirit consuming equally with the +body. Add to this, that her garments were scorched, and even in parts +burned, by the flames through which she had made her way; and we may +understand how much she differed from the beautiful and majestic +creature, that had been deemed at Tezcuco, almost a being of another +world. + +"Cut my bonds, Magdalena," said Juan, eagerly, "or I must die in thine +arms." + +"Let it be so, Juan--We will die together," cried Magdalena, with a +voice of transport, as if the prospect of such a climax to an unhappy +fate filled her mind with actual delight. "Oh yes, Juan, so we will die, +so we will die!" And she flung her arms about his neck, with tremulous +fervour, smothering his voice of remonstrance and entreaty, until +recalled to her wits by a loud howl from Befo. This faithful animal, +limping yet with pain, but acting as if he understood the inability of +Magdalena to give his master relief, now lifted up his voice, whining +for further assistance; and in a few seconds the cry of another human +being was heard, approaching with answering shouts, through the passage. +But before they were yet heard, Magdalena sprang to her feet, and wrung +her hands wildly, staring upon Juan as if upon a basilisk. + +"Sister! sister! will you see me perish?" cried Juan. "Slip me but these +knotted robes from my hands and feet, and I will save thy life. Befo! +what Befo! canst thou not rive them to tatters with thy fangs?" + +"I will free you, Juan,--yes, I will free you," said Magdalena, flinging +herself upon her knees, and essaying with better zeal than wisdom to +loose the knotted folds; "Yes, Juan, I will free you, and then bid you +farewell--Yes, farewell, farewell--a lasting farewell." + +But while she was muttering thus, and striving confusedly with the +knots, a better assistance arrived in the person of the old Ottomi, who +rushed in, yelling, "Fly! fly! The king waits for his brother," and cut +the garments asunder with his macana. + +Juan rose to his feet; but so long had he endured this benumbing +bondage, that he was scarce able either to stand or move. There was no +time, however, for hesitation. The flames were already devouring his +couch, and darting over the cedar rafters of the ceiling. Befo whined +and ran to the door, as if inviting his master to follow; and Techeechee +did not cease to exhort him to hasten. Besides all this, there were now +heard the cries of men and clashing of arms, as if the battle were +raging even in the palace, and approaching the place of imprisonment. + +"Magdalena, dear Magdalena--" + +She flung herself into his arms, and embracing him, as if never to part +from him more, she yet uttered, with wild sobbings, + +"Farewell, Juan, farewell; farewell, my brother--we will never see each +other more!" + +"What meanest thou, my sister? Hold me by the arm--Tarry not, or we +shall perish." + +"I cannot go, Juan--I will remain, Juan--I must die, Juan, I must die. +Weep for me, pray for me, remember me--Now go, now go! Go, Juan, go!" + +It is impossible to express the mingled tenderness and vehemence with +which she uttered these words. Poignant grief darkened in her eyes, in +which glimmered the light of the most passionate love; and all the while +she shed floods of tears. Unable to comprehend an agitation so +extraordinary, and valedictions which he thought little short of +insanity, he grasped her by the hand, and endeavoured to draw her after +him. She resisted even with screams, until, utterly confounded, and +somewhat incensed by opposition so unreasonable and inopportune, he +turned again to remonstrate, and perhaps rebuke. But the reproach was +banished from his lips, before they had given it utterance. She again +flung her arms around his neck, and muttered with tones that went to his +heart, + +"I cannot go with you, Juan--Oh my brother! pardon me, my brother, and +do not curse me. Bid me farewell, Juan, bid me farewell for ever--I love +you Juan, I love you too much!--Now I can live no more, Juan, I can live +no more--Farewell! farewell! farewell!" And flinging from his arms, as +if from a serpent that had suddenly stung her to the heart, she uttered +another shriek, and fled through the burning door by which she had +entered. + +Juan remained fixed to the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt; and +before he could banish the words of the thrice-unhappy victim of passion +from his ears, there rushed into the chamber, with furious shouts, a +rabble of Spanish soldiers, blood-stained, and begrimed with smoke and +cinders, the leader of whom struck the Ottomi dead with a single thrust +of his spear, while the others rushed upon Juan, some crying out to +kill, and others to spare him. + +"Hands off!" cried Najara, throwing himself betwixt them and Juan. +"Remember orders,--the general's orders!--The king, seńor Juan? Where is +the king?" + +"Unhand me, villains!" cried Juan, endeavouring to shake off the +soldiers who held him fast, while Befo attempted vainly to give him +assistance:--"Kill me, if you will, but save my sister, my poor +sister--Quick! for the love of heaven, quick!" he cried, observing some +dart towards the door through which she had vanished: "Cortes will +reward you--save her! save her!" + +"Follow them, Bernal, man," cried Najara to the historian, who had just +plucked his spear from the body of Techeechee--"What dost thou with +slaying gray-headed Indians? Follow La Monjonaza,--five-hundred +crowns,--ay, by my troth, and call them five thousand--to him that +recovers her alive! Ah, seńor Juan! your dog has more brains than +yourself. But for his howling, you must e'en have roasted, man. Come +along, come along--Be of good heart; there is no fear now of either axe +or rope." + +With such words as these, he drew Juan from the chamber, and supporting +his tottering steps between himself and another, and bidding the rest of +the party to surround them, so as to guard against any outbursting of +rage from their excited companions, he bore him from the scene of +bloodshed and conflagration. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +The assault upon the garden and palace of Guatimozin, though the last +blow given to his power, it has not been thought needful to describe in +any of its details. It is well known, that the occasion was used by the +few nobles of the empire who yet survived, to withdraw their monarch +with his family from the island, in the vain hope of reaching the main +land, through a line of brigantines and armed piraguas. It is also well +known, that, notwithstanding the stratagem with which these faithful +barbarians essayed to protect the last of their native lords, by +exposing their own defenceless gondolas to destruction, he was captured, +in consequence of his magnanimous self-devotion, and transferred with +his trembling family, from his royal piragua to the galley of Garci +Holguin. + +Drums, trumpets, falconets, fire-arms, and human voices at once +proclaimed the importance of the capture, and the triumph of the +victors; and with all the speed of sails and oars, the fortunate +cavalier bore his prize towards the nearest landing in possession of the +Spaniards, deriding and even defying the claim set up by Sandoval, as +the superior officer, to the honour of presenting the prisoner to the +Captain-General. Long before he had reached the palace of Axajacatl, it +was known throughout the whole city that Guatimozin was in the hands of +the besiegers. The warriors who still fought in the garden, beheld the +surrender on the lake, instantly threw down their arms, and submitted +with sullen indifference to the fate they had long anticipated. With the +interview betwixt the king and the conqueror all readers are familiar. +The Captain-General, sumptuously dressed, and in the midst of such state +as could be prepared for an occasion so imposing, received the prisoner, +(in whose wasted figure and dejected countenance it was not possible to +recognize the half-forgotten Olin,) in the hall of the palace of +Axajacatl, where his ancestors had been kings and princes, but into +which he now entered a captive and vassal. The Captain-General received +him not only with respect, but with an appearance of sympathy and +kindness. In truth, he could not but admire the fortitude of his +youthful foe; and he reflected, not without exultation, that if his +desperate resistance had increased the pains and perils of conquest, and +frequently dashed all hopes of success, it had made his own triumph a +thousand times more glorious. He descended from his chair of state, and +raising the dejected captive from the floor, upon which he had flung +himself in token of submission, he embraced him with many expressions of +respect and encouragement. + +"Fear not--neither for thy life nor crown," he said. "Thou perceivest, +the king of Spain, my master, is invincible. Reign still in Mexico; but +reign as his vassal." + +He would have replaced on the captive's head the copilli of gold, which +had been brought from the gondola and put into his hand; but Guatimozin +rejected it with a melancholy gesture, saying, + +"It is the Teuctli's--I am no more the king. Malintzin! be merciful to +the people of Mexico: they are now slaves. Have pity also on the women +and children, that come from the palace; for they are of the household +of Montezuma. As for myself, Malintzin, hearken to what I say. The kings +of Mexico have all died; when they gave their breath to heaven, the +crown was on their front, and the sceptres on their bosom. Why then +should I live, who am no longer a king? Malintzin, I have fought for +Mexico, I have shed blood for my country, and now I shed tears; I can do +no more for my people--It is fitting, therefore, that I should die--But +I should die like a king."--He extended his hand, and touched the +jewelled dagger that glittered in the baldric of his foe. The action was +without any sign of hostility, and his countenance, now uplifted upon +Cortes, was bathed with tears. "Let Malintzin do the work--Plunge this +dagger into my bosom, and let me depart." + +There was something affecting even to the iron-hearted conqueror in the +situation and demeanour of the poor infidel, thus beseeching, and +evidently with as much sincerity as simplicity, a death of honour after +a life of patriotism; and Cortes would have renewed his caresses and +assurances of friendship, had not his ears been that moment struck by +voices without, pronouncing the name of Juan Lerma, with brutal +execrations. He signed to those cavaliers who had conducted the monarch +to his presence, to lead him away; and a moment after, Juan Lerma was +conducted up to his footstool. Dejected, spiritless, overcome perhaps by +the ferocious calls for vengeance which had heralded his steps to the +palace, as well as by the exhaustion of long bodily suffering, he did +not raise his eyes from the floor, until he heard the voice of Cortes +pronounce the faltering words,-- + +"Juan of Castillejo, I have done you a great wrong.--Yes," he continued, +with a louder voice, when Juan looked up, surprised not more by his +altered tones than by a name so unexpected and unknown, "Yes, and let +all bear witness to my confession;--I have done thee, not one wrong +only, but many; for which I heartily repent me, and, before all this +assemblage, do beseech thy forgiveness." + +"My forgiveness, seńor!" stammered Juan, while all the rest looked on in +amazement. + +"Thy forgiveness," repeated the conqueror, with double emphasis. "Thou +hast been belied to me, bitterly maligned; but heaven has punished the +slanderer, who slew mine own peace of mind, that he might compass thy +death." + +"Alas, seńor," said Juan; "in his death-gasp, Guzman confessed to me--" + +"Speak not of Guzman--forget him.--Have ye heard, my masters! and well +taken note of what is spoken? Now begone, all, and leave me alone with +my recovered prodigal.--Juan--Juan Lerma,--Juan of Castillejo," he +cried, as soon as the wondering audience had vanished; "if Guzman have +confessed to you, you must know why I have been maddened into wrath and +injustice.--But thy sister, Juan, where is thy sister? my poor +Magdalena? Ah, Juan! it was but a fiendish aberration, that set me +against the child of my sister!" + +With these words, he threw himself upon Juan's neck, and embraced him +with a fervour that indicated the return of all his old affections, +uttering a thousand exclamations, in which he mingled recurrences to the +past with many a reference to the present and future. "This will be a +glad day to Catalina, for she ever loved thee--Dolt that I was, to think +that her love could be aught but a mother's! My father, Juan, my father, +too! his gray hairs will yet be laid in a grave of joy; for he shall +behold the son of his daughter seated in the inheritance of a noble +father. And thy sister--she shall shine with the proudest and +noblest.--I knew thee upon the causeway, too, though I was left in a +coma, and half expiring. We have full proof of thy claims.--And thy +princess, too--dost thou remember the silver cross?" taking it from his +bosom--"Were there a duke's son demanded her, she should be thine.--What +ho! some one bring me--But, nay--Thy sister, Juan! does she not live?" + +Juan was stunned, stupified, bewildered, by a transformation in his own +character and in the feelings of the general, so sudden and so +marvellous. Yet he strove to reply to the last question, and was in the +act of uttering a broken and hasty explanation, when a loud cry came +from the passage, and rushing out, they beheld a party of soldiers +bearing, in a litter of robes torn from the burning palace, the body, or +the living frame, they knew not which, of the unhappy nun, over whom the +penitent Gregorio was bitterly lamenting. + +It was indeed Magdalena, her garments scorched, her face like the face +of the dying. Yet she did not seem to have suffered from the flames. The +soldiers had found her in a part of the palace not touched by the fire, +and scarce invaded by the smoke; and perhaps a subtle physician would +have traced her dreadful condition rather to some overpowering +convulsion of spirit than to any physical, injury. She was indeed dying, +the victim of contending passions, with which the education of a +cloister had so ill fitted her to contend. + +We will not speak of the meeting of Juan and his dark-eyed proselyte. It +took place beside the couch of the dying girl, who, for love of him, had +given up the vows of religion and the fame of woman, and perished with +frenzy, when she discovered that that love was more than the love of a +sister. + +At nightfall, and while she still lay insensible, save that a faint moan +occasionally trembled from her lips, there arose a tempest of lightning, +thunder, and rain, far exceeding in violence any that had before burst +over the heads of the Spaniards, and which Bernal Diaz has recorded in +his history, as having been the most dreadful that ever confounded his +mind and senses. It seemed as if the warlike divinities of Mexico were +now taking leave of their broken altars and subjugated people, with a +display of strength and fury, never more to be exercised. It ceased not +until midnight, and then only when it had discharged a bolt that shook +the island to its foundation, and tumbled many a ruined cabin and +dilapidated palace, upon the heads of their unhappy inmates. + +It was in the midst of this conflict of the elements, that the broken +spirit passed from its weary prison; and what had been beauty and +affection, genius and passion, became a clod, to claim kindred with its +fellow of the valley. It was better indeed that she should thus perish; +for her nature was above that of earth, and even the passion that +destroyed her, pure, enthusiastic, and devoted as it was, was unworthy +the spirit it had subdued. It was such as is the molewarp to the +rose-bush, or the myrtle-tree, which he can destroy by burrowing at +their roots, even when the winter's blast can scarce rive away a branch. + +The remains of this ill-fated being were interred upon a sequestered +hill, west of Mexico, where Gregorio Castillejo built a hermitage, and +mourned over her for the few years he survived her. He left the odour of +sanctity behind him, and the hermitage is now forgotten in the chapel +built upon its site, and dedicated to Our Lady de los Remedios. To this +place Cortes withdrew, with his whole army, in order that the ruined +city might be purified of corses and rubbish, that rendered it horrible +even to a soldier, no longer inflamed by the fire of battle. He soon, +however, removed to Xochimilco, the Field of Flowers, where the time of +the purification was devoted to solemn rejoicings and profane +festivities. + +To all those who may yet be disposed to consider our account of the +strength and splendour of the empire of Montezuma as fabulous, we +recommend no better study than the honest, worthy, and single-minded +historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who lived to complete his _Historia +Verdadera_, fifty years afterwards, in the loyal city of Guatimala, in +which he held the honourable post of Regidor, the venerable, and, at +that period, almost the sole survivor of the followers of Cortes. He has +recorded one striking proof of the vast multitudes of pagans that had +been concentrated within the island of Mexico. After averring, with a +solemn oath, that, after the fall of the city, the streets, houses, +squares, courts, and canals, were so covered with dead bodies, that it +was impossible to move without treading upon them, he relates, that, +Cortes having ordered all who survived, principally women and children, +and the wounded, to evacuate the city, preparatory to its purification, +'for _three days and three nights_, all the causeways were full of the +wretched fugitives, who were so weak and sickly, so squalid and +pestilential, that it was misery to behold them.' Three broad highways, +covered, for the space of three days and nights, by a moving mass of +widows and orphans, the trophies of a gallant achievement! the first +fruits of the ambition of a single individual! + +As Bernal Diaz retained, to the last, a jealous regard for the honour of +his leader, this friendly weakness, taken into consideration along with +the infirmities of memory incident to his advanced age, may perhaps +account for his failure to complete the story of Juan Lerma. He may have +recollected, as is often the case with an old man, the earliest facts of +the story, while the later ones slipped entirely from his mind. + +Of Cortes himself, it is scarce necessary to apprize the reader, that he +lived to subdue other empires, and experience the ingratitude of a +monarch, whose favour he had so amply merited. He fought for renown, for +his king, and for heaven. Heaven alone can judge the merit of his acts, +for men are yet unwilling to sit in judgment upon the brave; his king +requited him with insults and positive oppression; and fame has placed +him among those who have trodden out the wine-press of human desolation, +and live in marble. + +As for the young Count of Castillejo, his claims to the inheritance of +his father were too well substantiated to be resisted; and the crimes of +Gregorio had left none to oppose. As a subordinate in the work of +conquest, there was nothing in him to be feared; and when he bore from a +land he could only remember with sorrow, a bride whose father had borne +the witching name of king, he was received with as much favour, and +distinguished by as many honours, as any other _Conquistador_, who +transplanted among the dames of Castile, a wife wooed within the palaces +of Montezuma. + +The fate of Guatimozin is well known. The crown he was still enforced to +wear did not protect him from the torture of fire; nor could his noble +character and unhappy fall secure him from a death of degradation. Four +years after the fall of his empire, and at a distance of several hundred +leagues from his native valley, he expiated upon a gibbet, a crime that +existed only in the gloomy and remorseful imagination of the Conqueror. +And thus, with two royal kinsmen, kings and feudatories of Anahuac, he +was left to swing in the winds, and feed the vultures, of a distant and +desert land. He merited a higher distinction, a loftier respect, and a +profounder compassion, than men will willingly accord to a barbarian and +INFIDEL. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Infidel, Vol. II., by Robert Montgomery Bird + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Infidel, Vol. II. + or, the Fall of Mexico + +Author: Robert Montgomery Bird + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34530] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. II. *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + +<h1>THE INFIDEL;</h1> + +<h2>OR, THE FALL OF MEXICO.</h2> + +<h3>A ROMANCE.</h3> + +<h2>BY THE AUTHOR OF "CALAVAR."</h2> + + +<h3>SECOND EDITION.</h3> + +<h3>IN TWO VOLUMES.</h3> + +<h3>VOL. II.</h3> + +<h3>Philadelphia:<br /> +CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD.<br /> +1835.</h3> + +<h3>Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year<br /> +1835, by <span class="smcap">Carey, Lea & Blanchard</span>, in the Clerk's Office<br /> +of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.</h3> + +<h3>PHILADELPHIA</h3> + +<h3>C. SHERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, NO. 19 ST. JAMES STREET.</h3> + +<blockquote> +<p>—Un esforcado soldado, que se dezia <i>Lerma</i>—Se fue entre los Indios +como aburrido de temor del mismo Cortes, a quien avia ayudado a salvar +la vida, por ciertas cosas de enojo que Cortes contra čl tuvo, que +aqui no declaro por su honor: nunca mas supimos del vivo, ni muerto, +mala suspecha tuvimos.</p> + +<p><span class="smcap">Bernal Diaz Del Castillo</span>—<i>Hist. Verd de la Conquista.</i></p> +</blockquote> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">No hay mal que por bien no venga,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dicen adagios vulgares.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><span class="smcap">Calperon</span>—<i>La Dama Duende</i>.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX.</a><br /> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI.</a><br /> +</p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE INFIDEL.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2> + + +<p>Before sunrise on the following morning, many a feathered band of allies +from distant tribes was pouring into Tezcuco; for this was the day on +which the Captain-General had appointed to review his whole force, +assign the several divisions to the command of his favourite officers, +and expound the system of warfare, by which he expected to reduce the +doomed Tenochtitlan. The multitudes that were collected by midday would +be beyond our belief, did we not know that the royal valley, and every +neighbouring nook of Anahuac capable of cultivation, were covered by a +population almost as dense as that which makes an ant-heap of the +'Celestial Empire,' at this day.</p> + +<p>While they were thus congregating together, marshalled under their +native chiefs, emulously expressing their attachment to the Spaniard, +and their enthusiasm in his cause, by the horrible clamour of drums and +conches, Cortes was receiving, in the great Hall of Audience, the +compliments and reverence of those cavaliers, distinguished soldiers, +and valiant infidel princes, whom he had invited to the feast, with +which he marked the close of his mighty preparations and the beginning +of his not less arduous campaign.</p> + +<p>A table crossed the room immediately in front of the platform, on which +the noblest and most honoured guests had already taken their stations. +Two others, running from pillar to pillar, extended the whole length of +the apartment, leaving in the intermediate space, as well as betwixt +them and the walls, sufficient room for the passage of revellers and +attendants, of which latter there were many present, bustling to and +fro, in the persons of Indian boys and girls, all branded with the +scarry badge of servitude. The walls, pillars, and ceiling, were +ornamented with green branches of trees and viny festoons, among which +breathed and glittered a multitude of the gayest and most odoriferous +flowers; and besides these, there were deposited and suspended, in many +places, Indian banners and standards as well as spears, bucklers, and +battle-axes, the trophies of many a field of victory. The tables were +covered with brilliant cotton-cloths, and loaded not only with all the +dainties of Mexico, but with some of the luxuries of Europe, among which +were conspicuous divers flagons of wine, on which many a veteran gazed +with looks of anxious and affectionate expectation.</p> + +<p>The peculiarity of the scene, animated as it was by a densely moving +throng of guests in their most gallant attire, was greatly heightened by +a circumstance, for which but few were able to account. Although full +noon-day, the light of heaven was carefully excluded, and the apartment +illuminated only by torches and lamps. This, though it gave +picturesqueness to every object in view, was, to say the least, +remarkable; and those who were most interested to watch the workings of +the commander's mind, beheld in it a subject for many disturbing +reflections. But, to such persons, there was another phenomenon still +more unsatisfactory, in the spectacle of a line of veteran soldiers, +original followers of Cortes, extending round the whole apartment, who +stood against the walls, each with a spear in his hand and a +<i>machete</i>,—a heavy, straight sword,—on his thigh, surveying the +revellers more with the air of sentinels than companions in festivity.</p> + +<p>While the inferior guests stood or lounged about, speculating on these +curious particulars, and expecting the signal to begin the feast, which +seemed to be delayed by the absence of some important guest, Cortes +occupied himself conversing with Alvarado, De Olid, Guzman, De Ircio, +and other hidalgos, who stood with him on the platform, occasionally +extending his notice to the young king of Tezcuco, his brother Suchel, +the Tlascalan chief Chichimecatl, and other noble barbarians, who made +part of the distinguished group. Many curious, and not a few anxious, +eyes were turned upon them from different parts of the hall; and it was +soon observed, and remarked with whispers, that Sandoval, the valiant +and beloved, and Xicotencal, the gloomy, were absent from the party.</p> + +<p>By and by, however, conjectures were put to rest by the sudden +appearance of the cavalier in question, who entered with his garments in +some disorder, his countenance heated and troubled, and his whole +appearance that of a man just released from some exciting and laborious +duty.</p> + +<p>As soon as Cortes perceived him approaching, he commanded room to be +made for him on the platform, welcomed him with a smiling face and a +cordial grasp of hand, and then signed to the guests to take their +places at the tables.</p> + +<p>In the bustle of festivity that followed the command, the revellers +forgot to wonder at the torchlight around them and the presence of the +armed guards. If a few still bent their eyes uneasily on the +commander-in-chief, striving to catch the low accents with which he +conversed with his immediate friends, and particularly with Sandoval, +their efforts were unnoticed by the others; and, in a short time, the +hum of whispers waxed into murmurs of joyous hilarity, so that the +conversation on the platform could only be guessed at by the expressive +visages and gestures of the cavaliers.</p> + +<p>By and by, the feast became still more unrestrained and noisy. Wine was +poured and drunk, jests were uttered, songs almost sung, and care +banished from all but a few, who still turned their looks to the +platform, exchanged glances occasionally with each other, and at every +bustle attending the entrance of any one at the great door, cast their +eyes in that direction with much meaning anxiety.</p> + +<p>Still, however, the feast went on, and enjoyment was becoming revelry, +when the voice of Cortes was suddenly heard. The murmurs of all were +instantly hushed, and all turning their eyes to the platform, they +beheld the Captain-General standing erect, and eyeing them with extreme +gravity of countenance, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a golden +bowl of wine.</p> + +<p>"My brothers and fellow-soldiers," he said, as soon as all were +composed, "it becomes us, as true and loyal Castilians, to remember our +duty to the king our master, whom God preserve for a thousand years! We +are here afar from his sight, but not beyond the reach of his authority, +nor the constraint of our true allegiance. Let it not be thought that +the cavaliers of Madrid will drink his health with more zeal and +humility at the palace-door, than we, his true subjects, in the deserts +of Mexico. A bowl, then, to his majesty our master, Don Carlos of Spain, +Austria, and this New World!"</p> + +<p>As he spoke, he knelt upon one knee, and all present, even the barbaric +king at his side, doing the same thing, allegiance was pledged in the +cup,—which is undoubtedly the best way to make it agreeable.</p> + +<p>From this exhibition of humility, all rose up, shouting lusty <i>vivas</i>.</p> + +<p>"It gratifies me," said Cortes, when this customary ebullition of +loyalty was over, "to perceive that I have about me men so truly +faithful to my very noble and loyal master. For in this, I perceive I +shall be no more afflicted with the painful necessity of exerting those +powers with which his majesty has so bountifully endowed me, even to the +shedding of blood and the taking of life."</p> + +<p>A sudden damper fell upon the spirits of many present, and all who were +not apprized of the secret of Villafana's fate, looked upon Cortes with +surprise.</p> + +<p>"Know, my truly faithful and loyal friends," he went on, speaking with +an appearance of solemn indignation, "that we have had among us a +<span class="smcap">TRAITOR</span>,—a Christian man and a Spaniard, yet a traitor to the king our +master! Yet, in the band of the holy apostles, there was one Judas; and +it does not become us to believe that we, sinful creatures as we are, +and much more numerous, should be without <i>our</i> Iscariot, who would have +sold our lives for silver, and sunk into perdition the interest of his +majesty in this opulent kingdom. It rejoices me to know that we have had +but <i>one</i>. The pain with which I have been filled to discover there were +other knaves for his accomplices, is assuaged by the knowledge that they +were not Castilians, but infidel Indians; to whom perfidy is so natural, +that it is wholly superfluous to lament its occurrence. Know therefore, +my friends, and grieve not to know it, for the evil is past, that +Xicotencal, General-in-chief of the Tlascalan forces, besides secretly +treating with our foes, his own enemies, the men of Tenochtitlan, did, +last night, traitorously abandon our standard, and set out, to throw +himself, as I doubt not, into the arms of the Mexicans."</p> + +<p>"A villain! a very vile traitor! death to the dog of an unbeliever!" +were the expressions with which the revellers protested their +indignation.</p> + +<p>"Think not," said the Captain-General, in continuation, "that the +villain who doth seriously pursue a scheme of disloyalty, shall escape a +just retribution. The toils and sufferings which we have endured in this +land, in his majesty's service, are such that I can readily excuse the +murmurs with which some have occasionally indulged a peevish discontent. +I will never account it much against a brave soldier that he has +sometimes grumbled a little; but he who meditates, or practises, a +treason, shall die. I have said, that among us all there was but <i>one</i> +villain. Perhaps there were two; but of that we will inquire hereafter. +He of whom I speak, was one to whom I had forgiven much semblance of +discontent, and whom I had raised into no little favour. Yet did he +conceive a foul conspiracy, having for its object no less a thing than +the destruction of this enterprise against a rich pagan kingdom, and the +murder of all those who would not become the enemies of Spain. The man +of whom I speak you know. It was—"</p> + +<p>"Villafana!" muttered many, with eager, yet fearful voices; while those +who had hitherto betrayed anxiety at the ominous lights and guards, +turned pale in secret.</p> + +<p>"It was indeed the Alguazil, Villafana," said Cortes, sternly; "and you +shall know his villany. First, the Mexican ambassadors, last night +committed to his charge, he permitted to escape, that they might be no +hinderance to the ambushed infidels, then lying on the lake, ready to +burn my brigantines. Secondly, being the captain of the prison, he +permitted the same to be approached and sacked by other infidels, +whereby a prisoner, convicted of a heavy crime and condemned to die, was +snatched out of our hands, and given into those of the enemy, whom he +will doubtless aid and abet in all the sanguinary resistance which they +are inclined to make. Thirdly, by his persuasions, Xicotencal was +induced to throw off his allegiance, at the very moment when the fleet +and the prison were beset, and desert from the post. And fourthly, the +consummation of the whole villany was to be effected at this very hour, +and on this very floor, in the blood of myself, my officers, and as I +may say of yourselves also; since none were to be spared who were not +his sworn colleagues; and, certainly, there are none here so base and +criminal?"</p> + +<p>The answer to this address mingled a thousand protestations of loyalty +with as many fierce calls for punishment on the traitor. In the midst of +the tumult, Cortes gave a sign to two Indian slaves, who stood behind +the platform; and the heavy curtain being rapidly pulled aside, the +lustre of the noontide sun streamed through the pellucid wall, until +lamp and torch seemed to smoulder into darkness, under the diviner ray; +and the revellers looking up, beheld the ghastly spectacle of +Villafana's body, hanging motionless and stiff in the midst of the +light.</p> + +<p>At this unexpected sight, the guests, inflamed as they were with wine, +anger, and enthusiasm, were struck with horror; and if traitors were +among them, as none but Cortes and themselves could say, it was not +possible to detect them by their countenances, all being equally pale +and affrighted.</p> + +<p>"Thus perish all who plot treason against the king and the king's +officers!" cried the Captain-General, with a loud voice. "The rebel +Xicotencal swings upon an oak-tree, on the wayside as you go to Chalco; +the mutineer Lerma hath fled to the pagans, to become a renegade and +perhaps apostate; and Villafana, the traitor, hangs as you see, upon the +window of our banqueting-room, to teach all who may have meditated a +like villany, the fate that shall most certainly await them.—Hide the +carrion!" he exclaimed to the slaves, and in an instant the frightful +spectacle was excluded, along with the cheerful light of day. The return +to that of the torches was like a lapse into darkness, and for a few +moments, it was scarce possible for the guests to distinguish the +features of those nearest to them. In the gloom, however, the voice of +the Captain-General was heard, concluding his oration:</p> + +<p>"Let no one of this true and loyal company be in fear," he said, with +his accustomed craft. "The paper, on which the villain had recorded the +names of such madmen as would have joined him in his crime, he was +artful enough to destroy. But let the disaffected tremble. There has +been one dog among us, and there may others prove so, hereafter. But I +am now awake; and the treason that may be planted, shall be discovered, +and nipped before it come to the budding.—God save his majesty! Another +bowl to his greatness! And let all fall to feasting again; for, by and +by, the signal gun will be fired for the review, and this is the last +feast ye must think of sharing together, till ye can spread it again in +the halls of Montezuma."</p> + +<p>Whatever relief might have been carried by these words to the bosoms of +the guilty, the spectacle of their murdered associate had sunk too +deeply in their spirits, to allow any festive exertions. The innocent +were equally shocked, and gloom and uneasiness oppressed the hearts of +all.</p> + +<p>It was felt therefore as a relief, when the signal for breaking up the +feast was given by the sound of a gun from the temple-top; and all +rushed out, to forget in the bustle of parade, the sickening event which +had marred their enjoyment.</p> + +<p>On this day, the whole army of Cortes, of which the thousand Christians +made scarcely the three-hundredth part, was marched out upon the meadows +of Tezcuco, and there, with ceremonies of great state and ostentation, +was reviewed, divided, and each division appointed to its respective +duties.</p> + +<p>The first division was assigned to the command of Sandoval, and was +ordered to march southward to the city of Iztapalapan, which commanded +the principal causeway, or approach to Mexico. The second was given to +the ferocious De Olid, whose destination was to Cojohuacan, a city +southwest of Mexico, the dike from which led to that betwixt the +metropolis and Iztapalapan. The third was appointed to the Capitan del +Salto, or Alvarado, who was to take possession of Tacuba, which +commanded the shortest of the causeways. The two last divisions were +ordered to proceed in company, around the northern borders of the lake, +destroying the towns on the route, and separating at Tacuba.</p> + +<p>The fleet Cortes reserved in his own hands, intending, besides +commanding the whole lake, so to act with it, as to give assistance to +each division, as it might be needed. The royal city of Tezcuco was to +be entrusted to the government of the young king Ixtlilxochitl, the +cavalier Don Francisco de Guzman remaining, though somewhat reluctantly, +to guide and control his actions, under the appearance of adding to his +state and security.</p> + +<p>These preliminaries arranged, the remainder of the day was devoted to +festivities. The great work of conquest was to begin on the morrow.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + + +<p>The extraordinary and exciting events which took place in the prison, +that night which Juan Lerma esteemed the last he should spend upon +earth, had reduced to exhaustion a body already enfeebled by inaction, +and a mind almost consumed by care. Hence, when, having struggled for a +time with the restlessness and delirium which, in such cases, usher in +sleep with a thousand phantasms—apparitions both of sight and +sound,—he at last fell asleep, his slumbers were profound and +dreamless. The loud alarms, which drove the executioners of Villafana +from the Hall of Audience, made no impression on his ear; and even the +yells, that accompanied the attack on his dreary abode, were equally +unheard. The guards were routed, the doors were forced, and he was +lifted to his feet by unknown hands, almost before he had opened his +eyes; and even voices, that, at another time, would have attracted his +attention, and words that would have inspired him with the joy of +deliverance, were all lost upon him. Nay, such was the stupor which +oppressed his mind, that he was dragged from the dungeon, and hurried +rapidly along through a host of infidels to the water-side, before he +was convinced that all was not really a dream. Then, indeed, the bustle, +the din of shrieks and Indian drums, mingled with the sounds of trumpets +and fire-arms, the howl of winds and the plash of waves, though they +recalled him to his wits, yet left him confounded, and, for a while, +incapable of understanding and appreciating his situation. In this +condition, he was deposited in a canoe of some magnitude, which +instantly putting off from the shore, under the impulse of thirty +paddles, he soon found himself darting over the lake at a speed which +promised soon to remove from his eyes, and perhaps for ever, the scene +of his late humiliation and suffering.</p> + +<p>The darkness of the night was almost palpable, and, save the few torches +that could be seen hurrying through the alarmed city, no other light +illuminated the scene, until the moment when the four brigantines, fired +by the assailants, burst up in a ruddy blaze. At this sight, a shout of +triumph burst from his capturers, and altering the course of the canoe, +it seemed as if they were about to rush into the thick of the conflict.</p> + +<p>As they approached the burning ships, Juan was able in the increasing +glare, to examine the figures of his companions, and beheld the dark +visages and half-naked bodies of thirty or more barbarians, each, +besides his paddle, having a weighty battle-axe dangling from his wrist, +and a broad buckler of some unknown material hung over his back. Two men +sat by him, one on each side, and he soon discovered that these, whom he +had thought mere guards for his safe-keeping, were no other than the +Ottomi Techeechee and the young prince of Mexico, the latter now freed +from his disguise.</p> + +<p>"Guatimozin," said he, no longer doubting the purpose for which he had +been snatched from the prison, and resolved at once to express his +disapprobation, "dost thou think to make me a renegade to my countrymen? +I swear to thee—"</p> + +<p>"Peace, and fear not," replied the royal chief. "Thou shalt have very +sweet vengeance."</p> + +<p>"I ask it not, I seek it not; and surely I will not accept it, when it +makes me the traitor I have been so falsely called. Am I thy prisoner?"</p> + +<p>"My friend," replied Guatimozin, quickly, starting up, seizing a paddle +from the hands of the nearest rower, and himself urging the canoe +towards the nearest vessel, which was, by this time, so close at hand, +that Juan could clearly perceive the figures, and almost the faces, of +the Spaniards on board, contending, and, as it seemed, not +unsuccessfully, both with the flames and the assailants. A great herd of +Mexicans was seen fighting hand to hand with the Christians; but it was +manifest, from the cheery cries, with which the latter responded to the +yells of the former, and from the frequent plunges in the water, as of +men leaping or cast overboard, that, in this brigantine at least, the +battle went not with the pagans. This Guatimozin remarked as clearly as +Juan, and as he struck the water more impetuously with his paddle, he +shouted aloud, "Be strong, men of Mexico, be strong!"</p> + +<p>All this passed in the space of an instant. A loud cry, the rush of +other canoes against the ship, and the frantic exertions of the +combatants already on board to maintain their places, made it apparent +that the voice of the prince was not unknown or unregarded. Still, the +Spaniards fought well and fiercely, and their cries of "God and St. +James! Honour and Spain!" kindled its natural enthusiasm in the breast +of the young islander. Forgetting his late wrongs and oppressions, and +the mournful truth, that, at this moment, the Christians were more his +enemies than the Mexicans, he determined, if possible, to make his +escape. Watching his opportunity, and perceiving that many ropes, +sundered by the flames, were hanging over the sides of the vessel in the +water, he chose a moment, when the canoe was within but ten or twelve +fathoms of her, and but few of those savages who had leaped overboard +were swimming near, he rose to his feet, and shouting aloud, "Help for +an escaping captive! and good courage to all!" he plunged boldly into +the lake.</p> + +<p>To one, who, like Juan, had rolled in his childhood among the breakers +on the northern coast of Cuba, and to whom it was as easy a diversion to +dive for conches in such depths as would have tried the wind of a +pearl-diver, as to gather limpets and periwinkles from the beach, it was +no great exploit to leap among the puny billows of Tezcuco, and swim to +an anchored vessel, even when the path was obstructed by enemies, +themselves not unfamiliar with the water. His escape was so sudden and +unexpected, and the prince, Techeechee, and the rowers, were so occupied +with the scene of combat into which they were hurrying, that it is +possible it would not have been noticed, had it not been for his +exclamation. Then, perceiving him in the water, all were seized with +confusion and fury, some striking at him with their paddles, some +leaping over in pursuit, and all so confounded and divided in action, +that the canoe was on the very point of being overset. In this period of +confusion, they soon lost sight of him; for it was not possible to +distinguish him among the mass of infidels that were swimming about in +all directions.</p> + +<p>The cry of Juan was perhaps not heard by his fellow-Christians in the +brigantine; but there was one friend aboard, and that a brute one, whose +ears were far quicker to detect his call, and whose heart was much +prompter to obey. This was the dog Befo, who, having been taken from the +prison on the day of the trial, and afterwards been refused admission, +he so annoyed the guards by his whining and howling, and indeed all in +the palace, likewise, that they were glad to send him aboard a vessel, +to have him out of the way, until after the time of execution, when, it +was apprehended, from his remarkable affection for the prisoner, he +might give additional trouble. His services were turned to good account +by the sailors, during the attack; for, being instantly loosed, he +sprang upon barbarian after barbarian, tumbling them into the water, or +among the Spaniards, who despatched them. His appearance, fiercer than +that of the largest beasts of prey in Mexico, and his savage bark, not +less frightful than the yell of the jaguar or the puma, were perhaps +still more effectual than his fangs; for at the sight and sound, the +Mexicans, climbing over the bulwarks, recoiled, and with screams of +dismay, jumped into the water, and swam again to the nearest canoes.</p> + +<p>In the midst of the conflict, Befo heard the cry of his master, and +loosing a barbarian whom he had caught by the throat, he sprang to the +side of the vessel, thrust his paws and nose over the gunwale, and +looked eagerly into the lake, whining all the time, and barking, as if +to attract Juan's notice. He then ran to the after-deck, where were +several sailors busily engaged in knotting a rope that seemed to pass to +the shore, or to another brigantine nearer to the lake-side; and +flinging himself over the railing here as before, he looked out and +whined loudly again. As he peered thus into the darkness, a faint groan, +as of one strangling in the water, came to his cars; and the next +moment, he sprang, with a wild howl, into the flood.</p> + +<p>That groan came from Juan Lerma, who, that instant, was struck a violent +blow, he knew not by whom or with what, which, for a time, deprived him +of all sensation, and left him drowning in the lake.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + + +<p>When Juan recovered his senses, he found himself lying in the bottom of +a little canoe, urged by a single boatman, and already far from the +conflict. The blow, inflicted by some blunt weapon, perhaps a club or +paddle, had stunned him, yet had not wounded; and he became soon aware +that he was not seriously injured. As he raised himself a little on his +arm, his companion, pausing an instant from his toil, exclaimed, in the +well remembered tones of the Ottomi,</p> + +<p>"Izquauhtzin knows his friend: there are none to do him harm."</p> + +<p>"Techeechee!" cried the youth: "What is this? where are we going? Have +they killed Guatimozin, the king? If thou art the friend thou hast so +often proved, row me to the shore. Methinks we are in the middle of the +lake!"</p> + +<p>"Guatimozin is the Great Eagle's friend," said Techeechee, again plying +his paddle; "he says the Great Eagle is his brother; and because of his +fear of the armed people, he says, 'Let the Great Eagle sail alone with +Techeechee, the old man, who has no weapons, and loves the Great Eagle +very much.'"</p> + +<p>"I am then again a prisoner?" said Juan, sadly. "Perhaps it is +better,—certainly I cannot control my destiny, and very surely I +perceive that Guatimozin is friendly to me. But how is this, Techeechee? +I sprang from the prince's boat,—I was knocked on the head—How comes +it that I am in this canoe?"</p> + +<p>"The king picked his brother from the water," replied the Indian; +"saying, 'Why should my brother drown, when he has escaped Malintzin, +him who eats blood?' 'Therefore,' said the king, 'take him to my house, +for did he not carry me to his? Put upon him the robe of a king's son, +with the red crown of a Teuctli, as one who is great among the nobles +and fighting men; and the people shall call him the king's brother.'"</p> + +<p>To this revealment of a fortune so magnificent, Juan answered only by a +deep sigh, muttering within the recesses of his breast, 'The noble's +gown or the victim's shirt,—but I will live and die both a Christian +and Spaniard.'</p> + +<p>Then, contenting himself with this resolve, for he no longer perceived +any hope of escape, unless by killing the old man, and perhaps began to +be aware how useless would be freedom, he cast his eyes about him, and +endeavoured to learn his situation. The sounds of battle came but +faintly to his ears, and the burning ships, which were still visible, +seemed to be left far behind. Yet in the estimate he was thus enabled to +make of his distance from the fleet, there was no little deception; for +the flames were expiring, and the wind, blowing from the west, conspired +with the plashing of the water to deaden the sounds of combat. In every +other quarter, all was silence and gloom. An impenetrable darkness lay +upon the lake. The sky was concealed by a dense canopy of clouds, and he +began to wonder at the precision and understanding with which Techeechee +impelled the canoe towards a point indicated by no beacon on earth or in +heaven, until he perceived, immediately over the prow, what seemed a +little star, as red as blood, glimmering on the very edge of the +horizon. But this, he became soon convinced, was no heavenly luminary. +Faint as it was, it shone steadily, and, once seen, there was no +difficulty in preserving it always in the eye. He even began to be +sensible, after a little time, that it increased in magnitude as he +approached it; and, by and by, he was at no loss to believe it was a +beacon-light, kindled upon some eminence in the pagan city, to guide the +fleet of canoes on its return from the battle.</p> + +<p>While he was arriving at this just conclusion, the sounds of contention +dying further away in the background, he was struck by a wailing note +behind, like the cry of some animal, swimming in the lake. He listened, +distinguished it a second time, and commanded the Ottomi to cease +paddling.</p> + +<p>"If I know the voice of a friend, that is the whine of Befo!" he +exclaimed, looking eagerly, but vainly back. "I remember me now, that I +heard him bark on board the ship. Put back, Techeechee, put back! The +dog is following me, and to his destruction, if we take him not up. Put +back, put back!"</p> + +<p>"'Tis the big tiger," said the Indian, very seriously. "We found him +eating you in the water—he had you by the head; and now he is +following, like a wolf, who never leaves the deer, after having once +tasted of his blood."</p> + +<p>"Good heavens, eating me!" said Juan. "It was he, then, that held me up, +when I was strangling? I remember to have felt some one pull me by the +hair, before I was utterly senseless. Faithful Befo! faithful Befo! +there is no friend like him! And I leave him drowning, who saved me from +the same death, and now follows me with affection? Put back, put +back!—Nay, thou art sluggish,—old and sluggish:—I will paddle myself. +What, Befo! Befo!"</p> + +<p>Thus exclaiming, and using the paddle, which he had snatched from +Techeechee, with no little skill, it was soon clear that he was drawing +nigh to the animal, which, hearing his voice, replied with loud +whinings, that were both piteous and joyful.</p> + +<p>"Alas, poor dog, thou art weary enough. Hast thou not another paddle, +Techeechee? the dog is drowning."</p> + +<p>"Techeechee fears not the ocelotl," replied the savage, with a voice +somewhat quavering; "he killed one with his spear, and the great king +Montezuma said, 'The Ottomi is brave: he is Ocelotzin.' The Spanish +tiger eats poor Ottomies. Techeechee has only his arrows and a macana."</p> + +<p>"Use them not, and fear not," said Juan, already catching a sight of the +struggling beast. "What, Befo! Befo! true Befo! courage, Befo!"</p> + +<p>The dog was evidently wholly exhausted; yet at the cheery cry of the +youth, and especially at the sight of him, he yelped loudly, and raised +himself half out of the water, while Juan, making one more sweep of the +paddle to his side, caught him by the leathern collar, and strove to +drag him into the boat. But Befo's great weight and his own feebleness +rendered that impossible; and it was some time before he could prevail +upon Techeechee to give him assistance, and actually lay his hand on the +dreaded monster.</p> + +<p>"Dost thou not see that he loves me?" cried Juan by way of argument; "He +loves me because I have done him good deeds, and treated him kindly. He +is like a man, not a tiger: he remembers a benefit as long as an injury. +Give him this help, and he will love thee also."</p> + +<p>Thus persuaded, the Ottomi timorously extended his hand, and greatly +emboldened to find it was not immediately snapped off, plied his +strength, which, notwithstanding his age, was yet considerable, until +Befo was safely lodged in the boat. The poor dog had scarce strength +left to raise his head to his master's knee, but devoured his hand with +caresses, while he sank trembling, panting, and powerless, into the +bottom of the skiff.</p> + +<p>"Thus it is with the dog, whom you call a tiger," said Juan, in a +moralizing mood, as he surveyed his faithful friend: "Black or white, +red or olive-hued, whom he once loves, he loves well. Happy or wretched, +proud or lowly, it is all one: he asks not if his master be a villain. A +tiger in courage, in strength, and vindictiveness, he is yet a +lamb,—the fawn of a doe,—in the hands of his master. Feed him, he +loves you—starve him, he loves you—beat him, still does he love you. +Once gain his affection, and you cannot cast it off: the rich man cannot +bribe his love with gold, and bread will not seduce him away;—nay, he +will sometimes pine away on your grave. His name has been made a by-word +for all that is base and villanous—I know not why, unless it is +because, being the fondest and most confiding of living creatures, he is +therefore the worst used: but the word is a satire upon our own +injustice. Look at him, Techeechee, and at me: I have been ever poor and +well nigh friendless—I gave him to one who is as a prince among men: +yet when he—his then master,—struck at me with his sword, this dog +seized the weapon with his teeth; he came to me when I lay in prison, he +sprang to me when I was dying in the lake, and he perilled his life, as +thou hast seen, that he might have the poor privilege to follow me. I am +a beggar and an outcast, a man degraded and, it may be, soon +outlawed:—yet does this poor creature love me none the less. Ay, Befo! +it is all one to thee, what I am, and whither I go!"</p> + +<p>To this eulogium, which the desolate youth pronounced with much feeling, +Techeechee answered not a word; for though the expressions were Mexican, +their purport was beyond his comprehension.</p> + +<p>He merely stared with much admiration upon the good understanding which +seemed to exist between his companion and a creature that was in his +eyes so terrific. But the endearments mutually shared by two creatures +of a race so different, and yet in heart so much alike, had the good +effect to deprive him of many of his fears, so that he plied his paddle +with good-will, and, the wind abating, rapidly shortened the distance +that still divided them from the island city.</p> + +<p>He had already put a wide sheet of water between him and the battle, and +when the Indian fleet, beaten off, or satisfied with the mischief done, +began to retreat, followed by such of the brigantines as were in plight +to pursue, it was easy to preserve so much of the distance gained as to +be beyond the reach of danger. The flash of a falconet occasionally +burst dimly behind, its heavy roar startling back the breeze; and +sometimes a cannon ball came skipping over the surges close by. But, the +wind being against the Spaniards, it was soon seen that there were left +no Indians upon whom to exercise their arms, unless such as had, in +their consternation, lost sight of the dim beacon, and remained paddling +about the lake at random.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + + +<p>When morning broke over the lake, the voyagers were still at a league's +distance from the city. The wind had died away, the clouds parted in the +heaven, and long before the sunlight trembled on the snows of +Iztaccihuatl, the morning-star was seen peeping over its summit. It bade +fair for a goodly day, and Juan, despite his situation, which, rightly +considered, was in every point of view, wretched enough, began to feel a +sensation of pleasure, as he breathed the fresh air at liberty, and +looked around him on the fair prospects, disengaging themselves each +moment from the rolling mists. Though the tops of the higher mountains +of the east were visible, the lower borders of the lake in that quarter, +as well as to the north and south, were yet concealed under vapours. In +the west, however, the view was but little obstructed, and he could +behold, distinctly enough, the dense masses of edifices, which covered +the whole island of Mexico and many a broad acre of water around it. The +huge pyramids, with their tower-like sanctuaries, rose proudly, as of +yore, high above the surrounding buildings; the turrets and pinnacles, +that crowned the royal palaces and the houses of nobles, still gleamed +in the morning air; and, as he drew nigh, he could see the gardens of +shrubs and flowers on the terraces, which gave to the whole city a look +of verdure strange and beautiful to behold.</p> + +<p>As soon as objects became distinct, Techeechee, observing that Juan's +garments were yet dripping with wet, took from the prow of the canoe a +little bundle, from which he drew a broad, richly ornamented tilmaltli, +or cloak, a <i>maxtlatl</i>, or cloth to wrap round the loins, sandals for +the feet, fillets for the hair, and a fan of feathers to protect the +eyes from sunshine. These he proffered to Juan, giving him to understand +that he should forthwith doff his Christian weeds, and appear in the +guise of a Mexican noble; telling him, at the same time, that they had +been provided by Guatimozin, in anticipation of his deliverance. Yet +neither remonstrance nor entreaty could prevail upon him to do more than +throw off his reeking surcoat, and supply its place by the Indian cloak, +which was of sufficient capacity, when folded about his person, almost +to conceal his under attire, now in a great measure dried by the warmth +of his body. This being accomplished to his satisfaction, Techeechee +resumed his paddle, and fixing his eyes upon the imperial city, began to +mumble, in an under voice, certain snatches of native airs, which, both +in quality and pitch, bore no little resemblance to the suppressed +growlings, or rather the groaning of an imprisoned lion, and which, had +Juan required any such testimony, would have proved how little his +commerce with the Conquerors and his personal affection for himself, had +withdrawn his heart from the people and the faith of Montezuma. As he +advanced still nearer to the city, his air grew more confident, his +tones more resolute and animated; and, by and by, without seeming to +regard the presence of the young Spaniard, he launched boldly into a +sort of national anthem, in which the military pride of the Mexicans was +mingled with the gloom of their ferocious superstitions. The melody was +rude and savage,—or rather it was no melody at all, but a chant or +recitative, which was relieved from monotony only by the variations of +emphasis, which became stronger and stronger, as the distance waxed less +and less to the city. To express the words employed in any of the +metrical modes of civilized song, would be to rob the roundelay of its +identity; for rhythm and melody were equally set at defiance;—at least, +so it would have seemed to an ear accustomed only to the natural music +of iambics and dactyls. We will therefore express them in unambitious +prose, only premising that before the barbarian had proceeded far in the +chant, the song was caught up and continued by the warriors in the fleet +of canoes, now paddling out of the mists behind, and by many infidels +who watched its approach from the shore, and from an island crag, +strongly fortified, that lay a little to the east of the city.</p> + +<p>"Mexitli Tetzauhteotl,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> o-ah! o-ah!" thus sang the pagan,—"the son of +the woman<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> of Tula. 'Mother, I will protect you.'<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> The green plume +is on his head, the wing of the eagle is on his leg, his forehead is +blue like the firmament; he carries a spear and buckler, and with the +fir-tree of Colhuacan,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> he crushes the mountains. 'Mother, I will +protect you.' Am not I the son of Mexico? and is not Mexico the daughter +of Mexitli? O-ah, o-ah! Mexitli Tetzauhteotl!</p> + +<p>"My father ate the heart of Xochimilco! Where was Painalton, the god of +the swift foot, when the Miztecas ran to the mountains? 'Fast, warrior, +fast!' said Painalton, brother of Mexitli. His footprint is on the snows +of Iztaccihuatl, and on the roof of Orizaba.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Tochtepec and Chinantla, +Matlatzinco and Oaxaca, they shook under his feet, as the hills shake, +when Mictlanteuctli, king of hell, groans in the caverns. So my father +killed the men of the south, the men of the east and west, and Mexitli +shook the fir-tree with joy, and Painalton danced by night among the +stars.</p> + +<p>"Where is the end of Mexico? It begins in Huehuetapallan in the north, +and who knows the place of Huehuetapallan?<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> In the south, it sees the +lands of crocodiles and vultures,—the bog and the rock, where man +cannot live. The sea washes it on the east, the sea washes it on the +west, and that is the end—Who has looked to the end of the waters? +It is the land of blossoms,—the land of the tiger-flower, +and the cactus-bud that opens at night like a star,—of the +flower-of-the-dead,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> that ghosts come to snuff at, and of the +hand-flower,<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> which our gods planted among the hills. It is a land +dear to Mexitli.</p> + +<p>"Who were the enemies of Mexico? Their heads are in the walls of the +House of Skulls, and the little child strikes them, as he goes by, with +a twig. Once, Mexico was a bog of reeds, and Mexitli slept on a couch of +bulrushes: our god sits now on a world of gold, and the world is Mexico. +Will any one fight me? I am a Mexican.—Mexitli is the god of the brave. +Our city is fair on the island, and Mexitli sleeps with us. When he +calls me in the morning, I grasp the quiver,—the quiver and the axe; +and I am not afraid. When he winds his horn from the temple, I know that +he is my father, and that he looks at me, while I fight. Sound the horn +of battle, for I see the spear of a foe! Mexitli Tetzauteotl, we are the +men of Mexico!"</p> + +<p>With such roundelays as these, echoed at a distance by the rowers in the +fleet and by many barbarians from the buildings that projected into the +lake, Techeechee urged the light canoe through a sluice in the northern +dike, and approached that long neck or peninsula, once the island of +Tlatelolco, but long since united to that of Tenochtitlan, which gave +its name to the fifth quarter of the city, and, as it afterwards +appeared, was the site of the noblest of the many palaces, built at +different periods, by the kings of Mexico. A large portion of the +peninsula, midway between its extremity and the ancient bank of the +island of Tenochtitlan, was occupied by a garden, divided from the lake +by a wall lofty enough to secure it against the assault of a foe, and +yet sufficiently low to expose to the eye of a spectator on the lake, +the rich luxuriance of groves, among whose waving boughs could be traced +the outlines of a spacious edifice, profusely decorated with turrets and +observatories, some of which were of great height and singular +structure.</p> + +<p>Against this wall, through a fleet of fishing canoes, now paddling out +into the lake, Techeechee seemed to direct the little skiff, much to +Juan's surprise, until, having drawn nigher, he perceived that it was +perforated by several gateways or sally-ports, very low, and evidently +designed to give entrance only to the humble vessels which composed the +Mexican navy. The largest was wide enough to admit two or three of the +largest piraguas abreast, and the smaller ones seemed intended only for +the private gondolas of the royal family. All were defended by stout +wickets, which, as Juan soon perceived, were raised and let fall from +within, somewhat in the manner of a portcullis.</p> + +<p>The tranquillity that seemed to reign within this sanctified recess, +betrayed at once its royal character. In every other quarter of the +city, as he passed it, Juan could hear a roaring hum, as if proceeding +from a vast multitude pent within the narrow island,—as was indeed the +case, the whole military strength of the empire being concentrated +within the limits of the island and the shore-cities that commanded the +causeways. But here all was a profound calm, broken only by the songs of +birds, and, occasionally, by what seemed the cry of some tamed and +domesticated beast of prey.</p> + +<p>As Techeechee urged the canoe towards one of the smaller gateways, Juan +beheld the wicket ascend from the water, but without seeing by whom or +in what manner, it was raised. An instant after, he was on the very +point of entering the narrow chasm, perhaps never more to repass it. He +turned his eye back again to the lake, and strove to discover the dim +lines and masses of shore and city, palace and pyramid, among which he +had so lately dwelt in sorrow and confinement. The mists were nearly +dispersed, and the sky was clear; but the fiery track of the rising sun +over the lake, dazzled his eyes, and, with a veil of radiance, hid the +towers of Tezcuco. He caught an indistinct view of two or three +brigantines, becalmed at a distance from the shore, which they were +endeavouring to regain by the force of oars; but the city of the +Acolhuacanese was no longer visible; and by and by, the whole prospect +of the lake was shut out by the garden wall, under which he had passed. +He had scarce turned away his eyes, when the wicket sunk, with a plunge, +into the water. He looked back: but those who had loosed it, were +already hidden among the shrubbery. It seemed as if the falling of that +portal had shut him out for ever from the society of his countrymen. His +companions were now to be found among the uncivilized and the godless.</p> + +<p>A narrow canal, bordered with banks of flowers, conducted the canoe from +the gateway to a little stone basin, planted round with trees, at the +roots of which were placed carved blocks of stone, as if designed for +seats. Here Techeechee sprang ashore, followed by Juan and Befo, the +latter now completely refreshed, and, though evidently somewhat +surprised, and even daunted, by the novelty of his situation, without +showing any symptoms of having repented his change of masters.</p> + +<p>"The Great Eagle is in the house of the king, his brother," said the +Ottomi, "and his enemies cannot reach him,—no, not even if they were +the Tlatoani of the great city. Sit down then, and be at peace; for +presently the king will come from the lake, and speak to his brother. +Techeechee will go to the wall and look out. The big tiger,—the +dog,—Pepo."—He had already acquired the dog's name, or as near an +approach to it as his organs could overmaster, and was not a little +pleased, when the animal, raising his head at the sound, stalked +amicably towards him, rubbing his nose against him in token of +good-will. "Pepo! amigo, friend, good rascal!" he said, affectionately, +but not without some nervousness—"very pretty Pepo, Techeechee's +brother. Guatimozin is the Young Eagle's brother; Techeechee will be +Pepo's!" Then, Befo having returned to Juan, he continued, "Let not Pepo +roam through the garden; the watchmen on the walls would think him a +tiger escaped from his cage, and shoot him with arrows. This is the Pool +of the Full Moon: here the king will come to his brother."</p> + +<p>So saying, Techeechee glided away through the shrubbery, and was +presently seen ascending the wall, by certain steep steps constructed +for the purpose, up to a ledge, undoubtedly prepared to give footing to +defenders, from which he could overlook the outer parapet, and enjoy an +extensive view of the lake.</p> + +<p>And now the outcast Juan, after giving way, for a few moments, to a +grief that was the stronger perhaps, from the opportunity thus offered +of indulging it in secret, began gradually to be moved by other +feelings, in which curiosity soon became predominant; and looking about +him, he beheld with his own eyes an example of the strange and barbaric +magnificence which characterized the royal gardens of Anahuac.</p> + +<p>The sun was already high in the east, and the last rain-drop was +exhaling from the leaf. The sky was cloudless, the waters were at rest. +It was such a day as lent beauty to objects not in themselves fair; and +to the green brilliance of foliage and the harmonious hues of flowers it +imparted a loveliness as dear to the imagination as the senses. It was +the spring time, too,—the season of Nature's triumph and rejoicing.</p> + +<p>The Pool of the Full Moon, as Techeechee had called it, doubtless, from +its circular shape, and its diminutive size, was surrounded by a wall of +trees as dense as that which enclosed the memorable pond in the garden +of Tezcuco. But besides the addition of the stone seats and basin, it +was ornamented with banks of the richest flowers, behind which rose a +thick setting of shrubbery; and from the branches of the trees hung rich +tufts and festoons of that gray moss—the Barba de Espańa, which gives +an air of such indescribable solemnity to the forests of the lower +Mississippi. A few little birds warbled among the boughs, and the +field-cricket chirped in the bushes. In other respects the place was +silent and wholly solitary; and as its green walls shut out almost +altogether the spectacles disclosed from other places, Juan left it, +after seeing that Techeechee maintained his stand on the wall, as if the +fleet were still at a distance.</p> + +<p>He now perceived that the garden, though very beautiful, was a +labyrinth, or rather, as it seemed, a wilderness of groves, glades, and +fountains, some of which last burst from mounds of stone, that were the +pedestals of rude and fantastic statues, perhaps idols, and some spouted +up into the air, from the mouths of porphyry serpents and dragons, as if +the science of hydraulics had already begun to dawn upon the minds of +the Mexican artisans. The noblest cypresses rose over the humblest vine, +and many a convolvulus rolled its cataract of flowers over the tops of +lesser trees, and many an aloe, from a vast pyramid of leaves, reared up +its lofty pillar, crowned with a yellow canopy of blossoms. All the +splendour of the vegetable world known to Anahuac, found its place in +this magnificent retreat: and the plants of the lower zones, and even +the palms of the coast, had been made to thrive side by side with those +productions which were natural to the elevated valley.</p> + +<p>Besides these ornaments and a thousand similar, the animal kingdom was +made to add a charm, and, as it soon appeared, a horror to the royal +garden; for Juan had no sooner left the pool, than he beheld, besides a +thousand birds of every dye among the trees, some half dozen deer +frisking over the glades, and heard at but a little distance, the roar +of fiercer animals, such as came to his ears, while he was yet on the +lake.</p> + +<p>At a sound so hostile, Befo bristled and uttered a low bark, as if to +apprize his master of the presence of danger; but Juan knew enough of +the habits of the Mexican kings to understand that their gardens, +besides enclosing all that was beautiful among plants, contained also +aviaries and menageries, in which were collected the birds and beasts of +their empire;—in other words, they were Zoological Gardens, such as the +advance of science is now establishing in the countries of Europe. A +little fawn, feeding hard by, started with more terror at this unusual +cry of Befo, than at any of the howls to which it had been long +accustomed, and ran timidly away. As it fled, Juan remarked that its +neck was encircled by a chaplet of flowers, as if lately put on by some +caressing hand.</p> + +<p>At this sight a new impulse seemed to seize the youth. He faltered, +hesitated, cast his eye to the wall, on which Techeechee was yet +standing, and then marking the quarter whither the little animal had +fled, he beckoned to Befo to take post at his heels, and immediately +followed.</p> + +<p>He soon found himself among a maze of copses, among which were scattered +divers cages or baskets, of great strength, secured to the trunks of +trees, and little paddocks equally strong, each containing some +ferocious or untameable beast, many of them brought from the most +distant provinces. Thus he beheld,—besides an abundant display of pumas +or mitzlis, (the maneless lion,) jaguars, wolves, ounces, and wild +dogs,—the bison of Chihuahua staggering in his pen, the antelope or +prong-horn of the north, and even the great bear from the ridges of the +Oregon or Rocky Mountains. The tapir of Guatemala rolled by his fenny +pool, and the peccary herded hard by. Here were apes, ant-eaters, +porcupines, and a thousand other animals; and among them, imprisoned +with the same jealous care, in suitable cages, were the reptiles of the +country,—lizards and adders, and all the family of the Crotalus, from +the common rattlesnake of America to that frightful one of Mexico and +South America, which has been distinguished as especially the Horrid. +Here was the phosphorescent <i>cencoatl</i>, whose path through the bushes +and grass by night is said to be indicated by the gleaming light of his +body; the <i>tlilcoa</i>, or great black serpent of the mountains, and the +still more formidable and gigantic <i>canauhcoatl</i>, or Boa-Constrictor, +which, like his neighbour, the cayman or crocodile, from the same +boiling fens of the coast, made his prey upon the largest stags, and +even human beings. With these were many smaller snakes, distinguished +for their beauty, and sometimes their docility, some of which latter, +entirely harmless, were allowed to crawl about at liberty.</p> + +<p>It would require a book by itself, to particularize and describe all the +members of this fearful convocation of monsters; of which it was +afterwards written by Bernal Diaz, that when the beasts and reptiles +were provoked and irritated, so as to howl and hiss together, 'the +palace seemed like hell itself.' It is very certain that Befo lost much +of his dignity of carriage at the mere sight of such assembled terrors, +creeping along reluctantly and with draggling tail; and Juan himself was +not without some sensations of alarm, as he found himself now startled +by the growl of an angry mitzli, now perturbed by the sudden rustling of +a boa among the dried reeds of his couch. The rattlesnakes shook their +castanets at his approach, the cayman tumbled, with a sudden plunge, +into his muddy pool, the wolf showed his sharp teeth, and the ape darted +towards him from the tree, with a wild, chattering, and half hostile +scream. But he had remarked that the little fawn directed its course +immediately through the thickest of the assemblage; and if that +circumstance did not convince him of the safety of the path, he was +certainly ashamed to show less courage than the young of a doe. He +therefore trudged onwards, and, in a few moments, exchanged the scene +for one less frightful, though not less striking.</p> + +<p>He was now among the birds of Mexico. A grove,—it might have seemed a +forest,—of lofty trees, was covered over with a curious contrivance of +nets, some of which were confined to their tops, while others were made +to surround the shrubbery at their roots, in all which were confined the +noisy prisoners. Other nets were flung over little pools, whose banks +and surface were enlivened by the presence of water-fowl. In some places +cages were hung upon the trees, containing the more precious or +unmanageable captives. Through this grove one might penetrate in all +conceivable directions, and seem to be confined along with its feathered +inhabitants, and yet be really separated from them by the nets.</p> + +<p>The outer portion or border of the grove, was devoted to the endless +tribe of parrots, whose magnificent colours gave a beauty to the +treetops, not to be lessened even by the horrid clamour of their voices. +The singing birds were confined within the silent recesses of its +centre.</p> + +<p>If curiosity and a mere love of barbarous display, without other motive, +had collected together in the gardens of Mexico her beasts and reptiles, +utility had some little influence in the selection of her birds. Their +feathers were devoted to a thousand purposes of ornament, and among +others, to the construction of those very singular Mosaic works, or +pictures, which have won the admiration even of European painters and +virtuosos. But while thus providing for the supply of one of the most +elegant of wants, the Mexican kings secured to themselves the means of +adding the loveliest and most natural feature to their gardens. It would +be impossible to convey any just idea of the splendid creatures that +went wandering and leaping, like sunbeams, among the leaves and over the +grass. Eagles and kites sat on the trees, and storks, herons, and +flamingos stalked through the pools. Here the macaw flashed, screaming, +through the boughs; there the wood-pigeon sat cooing by his mate. The +little <i>madrugador</i>, or early-riser, the happiest of his species, who +chirps up his companions, when the morning-star peeps from the horizon, +repeated his jovial note; the white-sparrow, the calandra, the cardinal, +the sable-and-golden orible, and the little spotted tiger-bird, added +their charming voices; and the Centzontli, or mocking-bird, as it is +trivially called, for it is worthy of a name much more poetical and +dignified, whistled and sang with such a power and variety of +melody, as left all other songsters in the background. The little +<i>chupa-rosas</i>,—rose-pickers, or humming-birds,—darted about from +blossom to blossom, needing and acknowledging no bonds save those of +attachment to their favourite flowers.</p> + +<p>Through this delightful grove Juan stepped, enchanted with its music; +and following a pleasant path, over which there echoed no notes louder +than those of the little wood-pigeon, such as the traveller yet hears +cooing in the copse that surmounts the mouldered pyramid of Cholula, he +was soon introduced to a spectacle more striking, more lovely, and to +him far more captivating, than any he had yet beheld.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + + +<p>In a green nook, exceedingly sequestered, and peculiarly beautified by +banks of the richest flowers, were five Indian maidens, three of whom +danced under the trees on the smooth grass, to the sound of a little +pipe or flute, that was played by a fourth. The other, half kneeling, +reclined hard by, fastening a chaplet of flowers round the neck of a +fawn, younger and tamer than that which had fled from Befo, and which +was now seen frisking uneasily, or perhaps jealously, about its +companion.</p> + +<p>Young, pretty, and robed with such simplicity as might have become the +Hamadryads of Thessaly, revelling around the green oaks with which their +fate was so inseparably connected, the dancers might indeed have been +esteemed nymphs of the wood, as they moved gracefully and a-tiptoe over +the velvet grass, all unconscious of the presence of any person or +anything to make them afraid. Their naked feet and arms glimmered with +ornaments of gold and native rubies; and the white <i>cueitl</i>, or cymar, +with a peculiar vest or jacket of brilliant colours, while allowing +unrestrained motion to their limbs, gave almost a classic and statuary +beauty to their figures. The youthful musician leaned against a tree, +pleasantly absorbed in the melody she was drawing from the pipe; while +the fifth maiden, for whose amusement the diversion was obviously +continued, was too much occupied with the pet animal, whose ambition +seemed rather to be to browse upon the chaplet than to wear it,—to give +much attention to either the dance or the roundelay.</p> + +<p>The whole scene was one of enchanting innocence and repose; and even +Befo, who was wont to indicate the presence of a stranger with a growl, +betrayed no token of dissatisfaction, so that Juan stood for a little +time gazing on, entirely unseen. His looks were fastened upon her to +whom the musician and the dancers were but attendants, and who, from +other circumstances, had a stronger claim on his regard.</p> + +<p>In her he beheld the young infidel, whose influence over his mind, +operating upon it only for good, had altered the whole current of his +fortunes, and changed what had once seemed a destiny of aggrandisement +and renown, into a career of suffering and contumely. He was now in the +presence of one, for whom he had incurred the hatred of a vindictive +rival, (for all his miseries were dated from the period of his quarrel +with Guzman;) for whose sake he had refused the intercession, and +spurned the affection, of the still more unhappy Magdalena; and for whom +he now thought that even the last and greatest of his griefs, his exile +from Christian companionship, was a happiness, since it promised her the +inestimable gift of a faith, which he would have gladly purchased her +with his life. How far a barbarian and the daughter of a barbarian was +worthy of, and capable of inspiring, an affection so romantic and so +noble, we must inquire of our hearts, rather than our reason.</p> + +<p>She was of that age, which, in our northern climes would have +constituted her a girl, but which, in a tropical region, entitled her to +the name of woman. Her figure was neither mean nor low, but of such +exquisite proportions as, in these days of voluntary degeneration, are +seldom found except among the children of nature. Her skin was, for her +race, wonderfully fair; and yet there were, even among the men of +Mexico, skins much lighter than those of some of the Spaniards, of which +Guatimozin was a famous example. Her dress was similar in fashion to +that of the other damsels, but consisted of many more garments, +according to the mode of the very wealthy and noble maidens, who were +accustomed to wear one cueitl over another, each successive one being +shorter than the preceding, so that the borders of each could be +distinguished. Thus, when they were of different colours, as was often +the case, the whole figure, from the ankles to the waist, seemed +enveloped in one voluminous garment, distinguished by broad horizontal +stripes, exceedingly gay and brilliant. The colours upon the garments of +this maiden were of a more modest character, and richness was given to +them rather by borders singularly embroidered in gold and gems, than by +any splendour of tints. A little vest or bodice of very peculiar fancy +was worn over the shoulders and bosom, secured by a girdle that might +have been called a chain, since it was composed of links of gold. Her +arms were bare like the others', and her feet, not entirely naked, as +was the case with the rest, were protected by a sort of pretty shoes, +too complete to be called sandals, and yet too low to be moccasins. With +this graceful figure, was a face, singularly sweet and even beautiful, +with eyes so broad, so large, so dark, so lustrously mild and saintlike +in expression, that they rivalled those of the young fawn she was +caressing, and perhaps, more than the trivial circumstance presently to +be mentioned, had contributed to obtain for her a name, by which her +countrymen seemed to compare her to the lights of heaven. Among the gold +ornaments and gems of emerald and ruby, with which her hair was +interwoven in braids, was a large jewel of pearls, the rarest, and +therefore the most precious, of trinkets in Tenochtitlan. It was in the +form of a star, to which it bore as much resemblance among the sable +midnight of her hair, as does the snowy blossom of the great Magnolia +amid the dusky obscurity of its evergreen boughs.</p> + +<p>Upon this vision Juan could have gazed for hours; but the fawn which he +had followed to the retreat, perceiving the formidable Befo so close at +hand, bleated out a hasty alarm, and thus directed upon him the eyes of +the whole party. The dance and the music ceased; the maidens screamed, +and would have fled, but for the sense of duty which constrained them to +await the bidding of their mistress. She, though much alarmed at the +sight of neighbours so unexpected, yet mingled with her terror feelings +which kept her chained to the spot, while the attendants clustered +around her, confused, and anxious to fly.</p> + +<p>As soon as Juan perceived the alarm of the party, and saw the eyes of +the princess directed upon him, he bent a knee half to the earth, as if +in the presence of a princess of Christendom, saying gently,</p> + +<p>"I am Juan Lerma, a Castilian—an exile from the Spanish camp, +entreating welcome from my enemies, and yet am no enemy. Fear me not, +daughter of Montezuma; and fear not this animal, who shall be to thee as +harmless as the young fawns."</p> + +<p>At these words, pronounced in their own tongue, and with a voice so mild +and conciliating, the maidens recovered somewhat from their fright, and +assuming at once an air characteristically sedate, cast their eyes upon +the earth, while the young princess stood regarding Juan, with a +countenance indicative of many changing emotions. Seeing, when he had +finished, that he preserved an attitude of submissive respect and +expectation, she stepped timidly forward, and presenting him the garland +which she had failed to secure around the neck of the favourite, said +artlessly, and yet with both dignity and decision,</p> + +<p>"The king is the Great Eagle's friend; the daughter of Montezuma is his +bondmaid—he is welcome to Mexico. I remember the friend of Montezuma my +father,—I remember the good acts of the Christian.—He is welcome."</p> + +<p>Then putting the chaplet into his hand, and taking this into her own, +with a confidence that was perhaps as much the result of unsophisticated +feelings as of peculiar customs, she touched it with her +forehead,—indicating by her words, her gift, and her act of ceremonious +salutation, that, with her welcome, she confessed the obligation of +friendship and gratitude for acts of past kindness.</p> + +<p>"I will wear the garland upon my breast," said Juan, with a look of +purer satisfaction than he had shown for many long days; "and if heaven +grant me fulfilment of the hope that is nearest to my heart, I will wear +it there for ever. Noble and lovely maiden, I am here by the will of +Guatimozin,—I know not well for what purpose, nor how long I shall be +suffered to remain in your presence. This, at least, is certain: the +dark day of war has arisen, and this happy garden may soon become a +theatre of fierce contention, in which the fairest and the best may +perish at the same hour with the worst. Let not that day find Zelahualla +without the Christian's cross on her bosom."</p> + +<p>"Guatimozin will drive the wicked from the land," said Zelahualla, +mildly. "Has my lord the Great Eagle forsaken his wicked people, and +will he yet cling to their gods? After a time, Centeotl, the mother of +heaven and the earth, will prevail over Mexitli, and redeem men from +sorrow: then will men bleed no more on the pyramids, but flowers and +fruits will be the only sacrifices demanded by heaven. How is it with +the gods of Spain? do they not call for victims for ever? The gods of +our land are more just and merciful."</p> + +<p>"Alas," said Juan, "this is a delusion brought upon you by our sinful +acts, not by any defects of our holy religion. Know, Zelahualla, that +there are no gods but <span class="smcap">ONE</span>, and He is both just and merciful,—the god +alike of the heathen and the Christian. But of this I will not speak to +you now; though perhaps I may never have opportunity to speak again. If +death should come upon you suddenly, call then, in that grievous hour, +upon the name of the Christian's God, and he will not refuse to hear +you, who are in ignorance, and therefore sinless. And wear upon your +neck this cross, given to me by one who was a beloved friend." (It was +the gift of Magdalena.) "Look upon it with reverence, and heaven may +vouchsafe a miracle in your favour. Let it not be forgotten, when danger +comes to you."</p> + +<p>The spirit of the Propaganda had infected the minds of all the Spaniards +in America. The ambition of conversion was inseparably linked with that +of conquest; and on all occasions, except those of actual battle, the +rage of making proselytes was uppermost in the minds of many. This was +undoubtedly fanaticism, and, in the case of the fierce and avaricious, +it developed itself with all the odious features of superstition. With a +few of more gentle and kindly natures, it was a nobler and more +benignant passion. While others sought proselytes for the glory of the +church, these thought only of doing good to man. The best, the most +enthusiastic and successful missionaries, were those whose efforts were +prompted by affection. The first impulse, therefore, of Juan, who had +long since felt and cherished, even among distant deserts, a strong +interest in the fate of this young princess, was to secure to her the +blessings of salvation, which his religious instruction could not lead +him to hope for any one dying in unbelief. It was a consequence and +evidence of affection; but a still stronger proof was given, when he +drew from his breast a little silver cross, which, up to this moment, he +had treasured with the most jealous regard, and proffered it to +Zelahualla. It was, as has been mentioned, the gift of Magdalena, +presented before the evil acts of Hilario and Villafana had interrupted +the affection fast ripening in Juan's heart, and accepted because it +possessed little value beyond that imputed by consecration and +superstition. It was, indeed, as Magdalena had told him, the gift of her +deceased mother, and she had always been taught to believe it possessed +some of the extraordinary virtues of a talisman. In these virtues Juan +was sufficiently benighted to believe; and it was perhaps for this +reason, rather than from any grateful memory of the giver, that he had +from that day worn it in secret upon his bosom, so that it had even +escaped the hands of his jailers in Mechoacan, and from the eyes of his +Spanish companions. It was a proof of the pure and disinterested nature +of his regard for the Indian princess, as well as of his reliance upon +its heavenly protection, that he could rob himself of a relic so prized, +in order that its presence might secure to her the benefits of a belief +she neither understood nor professed.</p> + +<p>If such were his own superstition, it could not be supposed that +Zelahualla's was less in degree. On the contrary, she received the +humble trinket with a look of respect as well as gratitude, saying with +the greatest simplicity,</p> + +<p>"What the Great Eagle loves must be good, and Zelahualla will listen +when his god speaks to her."</p> + +<p>"Is it possible," thought Juan, while flinging the chain of silver beads +by which it was secured round his neck, "that a creature so beautiful +and so good—so pure, so innocent, so lovely to the eye and the +thought—should be really a pagan and barbarian?"</p> + +<p>The question was indeed natural enough. A sweeter impersonation of +beauty both mental and corporeal, could scarcely be imagined; and the +light of her eyes was so mild and seraphic, that one might wonder whence +it came, if not from the operation of that divine belief, which chases +from the heart the impurer traits of nature.</p> + +<p>What further thoughts might have crowded into Juan's breast, and what +might have been the conclusion of an interview so interesting, it is not +necessary to imagine. While he was yet securing the chain around the +bended neck of the princess, a step, previously heralded by the growl of +Befo, rang upon the walk, and the Lord of Death, followed at a little +distance by Techeechee, stalked into the covert, arrayed in all the +Mexican panoply of war and knighthood. Instead of a tunic of cotton +cloth or other woven material, he wore, doubtless over some stronger +protection, a sort of hauberk of dressed tiger's skin, fitting tight to +his massive chest, and bordered by a skirt of long feathers, reaching +nearly to his knees. On his head was a helmet or cap which had once +adorned the skull of the same ferocious animal, the teeth and ears +flapping about his temples, and the skin of the legs, with the talons +remaining, hanging at the sides over his shoulders and breast, waving +about in connexion with his long black locks and the scarlet tufts among +them. His shield of stout cane-work, painted, and ornamented with a long +waving penacho of feathers, hung at his back, and a macana of gigantic +size swung from his wrist. His legs were swathed, merry-andrew-wise, +with ribands of scarlet and gilded leather, that seemed to begin at his +sandals; and his arms, otherwise naked, were ornamented up to the elbow +in a similar way. On the whole, his appearance was highly formidable and +impressive, and not the less so that many marks of blood, crusted about +his person, as well as divers rents in his spotted hauberk, told how +recently and how valiantly he had borne his part in the terrors of +conflict.</p> + +<p>As he entered the covert, his step was bold, springy, and majestic, such +as belongs to the native American warrior, when he treads the prairie +and the mountain, beyond the ken of the white man. It happened that his +ear being struck by the growl of Befo, his attention was not immediately +directed to the princess and her companion; but, seeing the dog, and +conceiving at once, though not without surprise, the cause of his +presence, he turned round in search of his master, and beheld him +engaged securing the relic around the neck of the daughter of Montezuma.</p> + +<p>At this sight, his countenance changed from the haughty joy of a +soldier, and darkened with gloom and displeasure. He even grasped his +macana, and took a stride towards the pair, who were unconscious of his +intrusion, until Befo made it evident by a louder growl, and by taking a +stand, ready to dispute the warrior's right of approach.</p> + +<p>The person of the Lord of Death was at first unknown to Juan; but he +beheld enough in his visage to convince him it was not that of a friend. +Still, he knew too much of the almost slavish reverence with which even +the highest nobles regarded their king and the child of a king, to +apprehend any danger from the warrior's wrath. In this belief he was +justified by the act of the barbarian, who, perceiving Zelahualla look +towards him with surprise, released the weapon from his grasp, and +sinking into the lowest obeisance of humility, kissed the earth at her +feet. Then rising and surveying her with a melancholy, but deeply +respectful look, he said,</p> + +<p>"What am I but a slave before the daughter of Montezuma? The young man +of the east is the king's brother. I speak the words of Guatimozin: 'My +brother shall look to-day upon the king of Mexico, with the crown upon +his head, at the rock of Chapoltepec, among the people.' These are the +words of the king. Shall the king's brother obey the king?"</p> + +<p>"Doth Guatimozin call the Eagle his brother?" exclaimed Zelahualla, with +a look of the greatest satisfaction. "Then shall no evil befall him +among the people. Let my lord the Christian and Great Eagle depart, and +fear not: for the men of Mexico know that he was good to the king and +the king's daughter, when the king was a captive; and therefore +Zelahualla will remember what he says of the god of the silver cross."</p> + +<p>Thus summoned, and thus dismissed, Juan withdrew his eyes from the +beaming and singularly engaging countenance of the maiden, and looked to +the Lord of Death, as if to signify his readiness to depart. But the +Lord of Death seemed for a moment to have lost his powers of locomotion. +He remained gazing upon the princess with an aspect increasing in gloom, +and once or twice seemed as if he would have spoken something in anger +and reprehension. Yet deterred by the divinity of royalty that hedged +about her, or more probably by the divinity of her beauty, he roused up +at last, and, after making another deep reverence, which was as if a +lion had bowed down at the feet of a doe, he strode away without +speaking, followed by Juan and Techeechee.</p> + +<p>From Techeechee Juan learned what he had in in part gathered from the +obscure expressions of the noble: He was summoned to witness the +coronation of the young king in form before the assembled Mexicans, on +the consecrated hill of Chapoltepec, on which occasion he was to be +honoured and his person made sacred, by the king bestowing on him the +title of friend and brother.</p> + +<p>The path led Juan as before through the royal menagerie; and while +passing among the wild beasts, Techeechee signified to the Christian +that the presence of Befo among the Mexicans would subject him to much +difficulty, if not danger; and would certainly, the moment he was seen, +produce a confusion in the assemblage, indecorous to the occasion, and +highly displeasing to the king and the Mexican dignitaries. To this Juan +justly assented, and not knowing in what other manner he could dispose +of his faithful attendant, he agreed, at Techeechee's suggestion, to +confine him in one of the several empty cages, wherein he was assured +and believed, he would remain in safety. This being accomplished, and +not without trouble, he endeavoured with caresses to reconcile the +animal to his novel imprisonment, and then left him.</p> + +<p>He found the Lord of Death at the pool, with a piragua, very singularly +carved and ornamented, in which were six Mexicans, known at once by +their dress to be warriors of established reputation, the rules of +Mexican chivalry not allowing any soldier, even if the son of the king, +to wear, in time of war, any but the plainest white garment, until he +had accomplished deeds worthy of distinction. These were arrayed in +escaupil, variously ornamented with plumes and gilded leather; they had +war-clubs and quivers, and their appearance was both martial and +picturesque.</p> + +<p>At a signal from Masquazateuctli, they seized their paddles and began to +urge the piragua towards the water-gate of the wall, and Techeechee +leaping into the little canoe, Juan prepared to follow after him. He was +arrested by the Lord of Death, who touched his arm, though not rudely, +and looking into his face for awhile, with an expression in which anger +seemed to struggle with melancholy, said,</p> + +<p>"The Great Eagle is the brother of Guatimozin,—Masquazateuctli is but +his slave. Where would the king's brother have been this day, had the +king not taken him from the prison-house?"</p> + +<p>"In heaven, if it becomes me to say so—certainly, at least, in the +grave," replied Juan, in some surprise. "In this capture, or this +rescue, as I may call it, the king will bear witness, I did not myself +concur; for such concurrence I esteemed unbecoming to my state as a +Christian and Spaniard. Yet I am not the less grateful to Guatimozin, +and I acknowledge he has given me a life."</p> + +<p>"It was a good thing of the king," said the barbarian; "but what is +this? Are you a Spaniard in Mexico, and alive? neither upon the block of +the pyramid, nor in the cage at the temple-yard? The king feeds you in +his house, he gives you water from his fountain, and robes from his +bed,—he takes you by his side, and, among his people, he says, 'This +man is my brother; therefore look upon him with love.' Is not this good +also of the king?"</p> + +<p>"It is," replied Juan, gravely; "and I need not be instructed, that it +becomes me to be grateful, even by a warrior so renowned and noble as +the Lord of Death."</p> + +<p>The eyes of the barbarian sparkled with a fierce fire while he +continued,—</p> + +<p>"What then should you look for in Mexico, but shelter and food?—a house +to hide you from the angry men of Spain, and bread to eat in your +hiding-place? Where are the quiver and the macana? Will the king's +brother fight the king's enemies?"</p> + +<p>"If they be my countrymen, the Spaniards, <i>no</i>," replied Juan, with great +resolution, yet not without uneasiness; for he read in the question, an +early attempt to seduce him into apostacy. "I am the king's guest,—his +prisoner, if he will,—his victim, if it must be,—but not his soldier."</p> + +<p>"Hearken then to me," said the Indian, with a stern and magisterial +voice: "The king is the lord of the valley, the master of men's lives, +and the beloved of Mexico; but he has not the heart of the old man gray +with wisdom, and he knows not the guile of the stranger. Why should his +brother do him a wrong? The king thinks his brother a green snake from +the corn-field, to play with;<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> but he has the teeth of the rattling +adder!"</p> + +<p>"Mexican!" said Juan, indignantly, "these words from the mouth of a +Spaniard, would be terms of mortal injury; and infidel though you be, +yet you must know, they bear the sting of insult. What warrior art thou, +that canst abuse the helplessness of a captive, and do wrong to an +unarmed man?"</p> + +<p>"Do I wrong thee, then?" replied the Lord of Death, grimly. "Lo, thou +art here safe from thy bitter-hearted people, and wilt not even repay +the goodness of the king, by striking the necks of his enemies, who are +also thine! Is not this enough? Put upon thee the weeds of a woman, and +go sleep in the garden of birds, afar from danger,—yet call not the +birds down from the tree; hide thee in the bush of flowers, yet pluck +not the flowers from the stem. Let the guest remember he is a guest, and +steal not from the house that gives him shelter.—Does the king's +brother understand the words of the king's slave?"</p> + +<p>"I do not," said Juan, with a frown. "They are the words of a +dreamer;—" and he would have passed on towards the canoe, which he now +perceived was waiting him near the wicket, but that the Lord of Death +again arrested him.</p> + +<p>"The king is good," he said with deep and meaning accents, "but the +wrong-doer shall not escape. Perhaps,"—and here he softened the +severity of his speech, and even assumed a look of friendly +interest,—"perhaps the Great Eagle has left his best friend among the +fighting-men of Tezcuco? Let him be patient for a little, and his friend +shall be given to him."</p> + +<p>"You speak to me in riddles," replied Juan, impatiently. "Let us be +gone."</p> + +<p>The Mexican gave the youth a look of the darkest and most menacing +character, and uttering the figurative name which Guatimozin had already +applied to the princess, said,</p> + +<p>"The Centzontli is the daughter of Montezuma,—the bird that is not to +be called from the tree, the flower that is not to be pulled from the +stem.—The king is good to his brother; but Mexico is not a dog, that +the Spaniard should steal away the daughter of heaven."</p> + +<p>Then, clutching his war-axe, as if to give more emphasis to his warning, +the nature of which was no longer to be mistaken, he gave the young man +one more look, exceedingly black and threatening, and strode rapidly +away. The next moment, he leaped, with the activity of a mountain-cat, +into the piragua, and speaking but a word to the rowers, was instantly +paddled into the lake.</p> + +<p>Juan followed, not a little troubled and displeased by the complexion +and tone of the menace, and stepping into the canoe, was soon impelled +from the garden. He perceived the piragua floating hard by, and the Lord +of Death standing erect among the rowers. As soon as the canoe drew +nigh, the warrior-noble made certain gestures to Techeechee, signifying +that he should conduct the youth on the voyage alone. Then giving a sign +to his attendants, the prow of the piragua was turned towards the east, +and, much to the surprise of Juan, and not a little even to that of the +Ottomi, was urged in that direction with the most furious speed. As they +started, the rowers set up a yell, as if animated by the prospect of +some stirring and adventurous exploit.</p> + +<p>Techeechee gazed after them for a moment, and then handling his paddle, +he directed the canoe round the point of Tlatelolco, and was soon lost +among a multitude of similar vessels, all proceeding to the southwest, +in the direction of the hill of Chapoltepec.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + + +<p>The review, division, and minute organization of the vast army now at +the disposal of the Captain-General, occupied nearly the whole day, +which was unexpectedly propitious, as the rainy season might be said to +have already commenced. Clouds, indeed, gathered over the sky, in the +afternoon, giving a melancholy aspect to the hills and meadows; and a +thick fog rose from the lake and spread around, until it had pervaded +the lower grounds on its borders. Yet not a drop of rain fell during the +whole day, and, by sunset, the clouds dispersed, without having +disturbed the firmament with thunder; and the lake was left to glimmer +in the light of a young moon, and the multitude of stars.</p> + +<p>The whole native population of Tezcuco had been drawn to the meadows, to +witness the glories of military parade, and the city was deserted and +solitary. Nay, even the watchmen on the walls, forgetting the audacious +assault of the past night, and anxious to share a spectacle from which +their duties should have separated them, stole, one after another, from +their posts, until the northern gates were left wholly unguarded. The +vanity of the Commander-in-Chief could not permit the absence of a +single effective Spaniard from the scene of display, and the walls had +been left to Tlascalans.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon, and when the mists were thickest, and the hues of +the fields most mournful, a single individual passed from that gate at +which Juan Lerma, eight or nine weeks before, had terminated the first +chapter of his exile. A friar's cassock and cowl enveloped his whole +form, yet the dullest eye would have detected in the vigour and +impetuosity of his step, the presence of passions which could not belong +to the holy profession. His eye was fixed upon a shadowy figure, almost +lost among the mists, that went staggering along, as if upon a course +not yet defined, or over paths difficult to be traced; and while he was +obviously watching and pursuing the retreating shape, it seemed to be +with a confidence that feared not the observation of the fugitive. Thus, +when the figure paused, he arrested his steps, and resumed them only +when they were resumed by the other; and, in this manner, he followed +onwards, with little precaution, until Tezcuco was left far behind, +hidden in the fog. As he moved, he muttered many expressions, indicative +of a deeply disturbed and even remorseful mind.</p> + +<p>"All this have <i>I</i> done," he exclaimed, bitterly, and almost wildly. +"Mine own sin, though black as the soot of perdition, is stained a +triple dye by the malefactions it has caused in others—<i>Mea culpa, mea +culpa, mea maxima culpa!</i> Cursed avarice! cursed ambition! There <i>is</i> a +retribution that follows us even to the grave; sin is punished with +sin,—the first fault lays fire to the train of our vices, and in their +explosions we are further stained,—punished, destroyed. That sin! and +what has come of it? Where is the gain to balance it? Cajoled by the +demon that seduced me, cheated and flung aside—suspected, degraded, +demoralized—a wanderer, a villain, a cur—the friend of rogues, and +myself their fittest fellow—Heaven is strong, and justice +oppressive.—<i>Munda cor meum ac labia mea!</i> for I blaspheme!"</p> + +<p>Thus muttered the distracted Camarga, for it was he who gave vent to +such troubled expressions. Some of these were uttered so loudly, that +they seemed to reach the ear of the fugitive, who turned round, looked +back for a moment, and then diving into a misty hollow, was for a short +time concealed from his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Ay,—fly, fly!" he muttered, gnashing his teeth; "fly, wretch, fly! But +wert thou fleeter than the mountain-deer, thou couldst not escape the +fiend that is already tearing at thy vitals. Fling thyself into the +lake, too, and after death, open thine eyes upon a phantom of horror, +that will sit before thee for ever!"</p> + +<p>Then pursuing with greater activity, he again caught sight of the +fugitive, who was ascending the little promontory of the cypress-tree, +on which Juan Lerma had first beheld the faces of his countrymen.</p> + +<p>"And Hernan Cortes will yet have me speak the story!" he murmured. "Be +it so—live she or die she, he shall hear it, and curse the curiosity +that compelled it. Ay! and his anguish will be some set-off to the joy +of having triumphed over the poor wretch he persecuted. God rest thee, +Juan Lerma! for thou at least hast died in ignorance; and but for this +mischance,—this fatal mischance,—hadst been worthy of a better fate, +and therefore saved from destruction."</p> + +<p>As he uttered these broken words, he perceived La Monjonaza,—for it was +this unhappy creature whom he followed,—steal over the mound to the +right hand, as if turning her steps from the lake landward. But being +aware that she had beheld him, and suspecting this to be merely a feint, +designed to mislead him, he directed his course to the water-side, and +stepping among the rocks and brambles at the base of the hill, passed it +in time to behold Magdalena stalking, with a countenance of distraction, +towards the lake, as if impelled by some terrible goadings of mind, to +self-destruction.</p> + +<p>"Wretched creature!" he cried, springing forwards, and staying her +frenzied steps, "what is this you do? Fling not away the grace that is +in wait.—<i>You</i>, at least, may live and be forgiven."</p> + +<p>To his great surprise, the unhappy girl, whose countenance had indicated +all the iron determination of desperation, offered not the slightest +resistance, while he drew her from the water-side; but turning towards +him with the face of a maiden detected in some merry and harmless +mischief, she began to laugh; but immediately afterwards, burst into +tears.</p> + +<p>"Good heavens!" said Camarga, with compassion, "are you indeed brought +to this pass? What! the mind that even amazed Don Hernan—is it gone? +wholly gone? Miserable Magdalena! this is the fruit of sin!"</p> + +<p>At the sound of a name, so seldom pronounced in these lands, the lady +rose from the rock, on which she had suffered herself to be seated, +although it was observable that she showed no symptoms of surprise. She +gazed fixedly at Camarga for an instant, and a dark frown gathering on +her brows, she turned to depart, without reply. Camarga, however, +detained her, and would have spoken; but no sooner did she feel his hand +laid upon her mantle than she turned suddenly round, with a look of +inexpressible fierceness, saying, with the sternest accents of a voice +always strikingly expressive,</p> + +<p>"Who art thou, that comest between me and my purpose? If a priest or an +angel, fly,—for here thou art with contamination; if a man, and a bad +man, still fly, lest thou be struck dead with the breath of one deeper +plunged in guilt than thyself.—If a devil, then remain, and claim thy +prey from the apostate and murderess. Dost thou forbid me even to die?"</p> + +<p>"Ay—I do," replied Camarga, trembling, yet less at her terrible +countenance than her fearful expressions: "I am one who, in the name of +heaven,—a name which is alike polluted: in thy mouth and in +mine—command thee to recall thy senses, if they have not utterly fled, +and bid thee, thinking of self-slaughter no longer, leave this land of +wretchedness, and, in a cloister, and with a life of penitence, obtain +the pardon which heaven will not perhaps withhold."</p> + +<p>"Pardon comes not without punishment," said Magdalena, sternly; "and I +would not that it should: and for penitence,—the moaning regret that +exists without torture and suffering,—know that it is but a mockery. +Kill thy friend, and repent,—yet dream not of paradise. Scourge +thyself, die on the rack or gibbet, and await thy fate in the grave. +Begone; or rest where thou art, and follow me no more."</p> + +<p>"Till thou die, or till thou art lodged within the walls of a convent," +said Camarga, grasping her arm with a strength and determination she +could not resist: "thus far will I follow thee, rave thou never so much. +Oh, wretched creature! and wert thou about to rush into the presence of +thy Maker, unshriven, unrepenting, unprepared?"</p> + +<p>Magdalena surveyed him with a look that changed gradually from anger to +wistful emotion; and then again shedding tears, she dropped on her +knees, saying, with a tone and manner that went to his heart,</p> + +<p>"I will shrive me then, and then let me go, for thy presence persecutes +me.—Well, and perhaps it is better; for it is long since I have looked +upon a man of God—long since I have spoken with any just Christian but +<i>one</i>,—and him I have given up to the murderers. Hear me then, and then +absolve or condemn as thou wilt, for I judge myself; and I confess to +thee, only that my words may drive thee away, as would the moans of a +coming pestilence. Hear me then, friar, and then begone from me."</p> + +<p>"Arise," said Camarga, "I seek not thy confession, at least not now: I +have that will draw it from thee, at a fitter time and place. In this +distant spot, thou art exposed to danger from the infidels."</p> + +<p>"If thou fearest them, away! Why dost thou trouble me? If thou stayest, +listen to my words; for though they come too late, yet will they cause +thee to do justice to the name, and say masses for the soul, of Juan +Lerma."</p> + +<p>"Speak of Juan Lerma," said Camarga, with a trembling voice, "and I will +indeed listen to thee. <i>In nomine Dei Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus +Sancti</i>, speak and speak truly. Cursed be thou, even by my lips, if thou +speakest that which is false, or concealest aught that is true!"</p> + +<p>"Truth, though I die,—and let me die when it is spoken," said +Magdalena, placing her lips with the instinctive reverence of habit to +the cross which Camarga extended. As she kissed it, her heart seemed to +soften, and she shed many bitter tears, while pouring forth her broken +and melancholy story.</p> + +<p>"Know, father," she said, not once doubting that she had a true father +of the church before her, "that it was my misfortune never to have known +the kindness and care of a parent."</p> + +<p>"Let that be passed," said Camarga, hurriedly. "Speak not of the sins of +thy youth, a thousand times confessed, and a thousand times absolved. +Speak of thy coming to the island,—of thy broken vows,—thy—" But here +perceiving that Magdalena started with a sort of affright, at finding +how far his knowledge had anticipated her divulgements, he continued, +with better discretion, "Thus much do I know—<i>how</i> I know, ask not; and +yet thou mayst be told, too, that much of thy fate was interwoven with +that of Villafana."</p> + +<p>"<i>My</i> fate, and that of Villafana!" cried Magdalena, with a withering +look of contempt. But instantly changing to a more submissive air, she +exclaimed, "My <i>story</i>, indeed, father, but not my fate. If he have +confessed to you, then do you know enough,—perhaps all. He told you, +then, that his avarice, gratified at the expense of a horrible +crime,—the destruction of the ship, and the lives of all within it, +abbess, nuns, sailors, and all,—was the cause of all my calamities, +since it was my hard fate not to perish with the rest. He robbed the +ship of the golden and silver church-vessels, when we were near to the +port, and made his escape to the shore, leaving us to sink in the midst +of a storm then rising. Our pilot having no hope but in running upon the +shore, then within sight, ran the vessel among certain rocks, where it +was beaten to pieces. Father, it chanced to be my fate, and mine alone, +to be plucked out of that roaring sea, by one to whom, when lying in a +gulf ten times more hideous, I refused to stretch out my hand. Father! +last night a word from my lips would have saved the life of Juan Lerma, +and I did not speak it!"</p> + +<p>"Dwell not on this," said Camarga, sternly. "Rather thank heaven that +thou wert rendered unable by any exercise of criminal love, to preserve +on the earth's surface a wretch, at whose footstep it shuddered."</p> + +<p>"Hah!" cried Magdalena, starting up in a transport of indignation, and +sending daggers from her eyes, "who art thou, that speakest so falsely +and foully of Juan Lerma? Wert thou, instead of a pattering friar, a +canonized saint in heaven, still wert thou but a thing of dross and +earth, compared with him thou malignest!"</p> + +<p>Before Camarga could rebuke this burst of passion, she sank, as before, +to the earth, weeping afresh; for she was in that pitiable state of +mental feebleness, in which life seems only to continue in impulses,—a +chain of convulsions and exhaustions. "Alas, father," she continued, +with sobs, "you have been taught, like the rest, to misconceive and +belie the best and most unfortunate of men;—for such is Juan +Lerma;—and you have perhaps joined with the rest to compass his +destruction. Has he wronged you? no—you have imagined a wrong. Has he +wronged Cortes? no—he has wronged no one; but the ear of Cortes was +open to his enemies. Hear me, father, and while you condemn me, listen +to the refutation of slander. Father, when I opened mine eyes to the +light, and in the presence of him who had saved me, I forgot my vows; +nay, I thought that heaven had absolved them in the wreck, and ordained +that I should be happy in a new existence. Never before had I looked +upon the world, and the people of the world,—never before had I looked +upon Juan Lerma. When had I seen one smile upon me with affection? +Father, for a second such smile, I would have moaned again on the wreck, +seeing my companions swept from me one by one. I grew cunning and +deceitful, and when they asked me of the ship and people, I told them +falsehoods, lest they should bring me the veil and the priest, and carry +me from his presence. Alas! and my deceit availed not; he smiled no +more; and when Hilario spoke of affection—affection for me,—Juan Lerma +withdrew without a sigh, without a struggle."</p> + +<p>"Saints of heaven!" cried Camarga, starting with horror, gasping for +breath, and, in the sense of suffocation, forgetting his assumed +character so much as to fling back the cowl that had concealed his +features. "Dost thou speak me the truth? On thy life,—on thy hopes of +heaven's forgiveness,—on thy love even for this lost, perhaps this +dead, youth,—I charge thee speak me the truth. Went there no more than +this between you? And Juan Lerma loved you not? and Villafana belied ye +both? And you are not—"</p> + +<p>He paused in agitation, unable to utter another word; and Magdalena, +surprised as much at his extraordinary interest in her story, as well as +confounded by the absence of the tonsure, and the glittering of an iron +gorget about his throat, seemed for a moment unable to answer his +questions. But summoning her spirits at last, she said,</p> + +<p>"Thou art not a priest, but a layman, a stranger, and a man of sin! But +be who thou wilt, friend or foe, thou knowest now enough of my history +to be entitled to know all. Never did man couple my name with shame, and +think of any but him who died under the dagger of Villafana. As for Juan +Lerma, not even Cortes, his bitterest enemy, would dare accuse him of a +deed of dishonour. Stranger, if thou art interested in the betrayed and +murdered Juan, know at least that he died innocent of any wrong to +Magdalena."</p> + +<p>"Now God be praised for this good word!" said Camarga, dropping on his +knees, and speaking with what seemed a distraction of fervour and +delight: "God be praised that I may not think, at my death-hour, that my +sins have caused among my children the crime of incest! God be praised! +God be praised!"</p> + +<p>"Incest! <i>Thy</i> children!" exclaimed Magdalena, wildly. "What art thou? +What is this thou sayst?"</p> + +<p>"What do I say I and why need I say it?" cried Camarga, springing up and +wringing his hands—"have we not slain him among us? Oh, wretched +Magdalena, if, by thine influence, he was brought to this pass, know +that thou hast slain thine own brother!"</p> + +<p>At this strange and exciting revelation, Magdalena, who had, in the +ecstacy of expectation, seized upon Camarga's hands with a convulsive +grasp, uttered a scream, wild, loud, and thrilling, and yet how unlike +to that which rose from her breaking heart in the prison! It was some +such cry as might be supposed to come from a despairing Christian, who +finds that the gates, which he thinks are conducting him to hell, have +suddenly ushered him into the walks of paradise. It mingled fear and +astonishment with joy, but joy predominant over the others; and though +it sounded as if coming from a bursting heart, it was as if from one +bursting in the over-bound and expansion of a breast released from a +mountain of oppression. It echoed over the lake, and seemed to have +called up the spirits thereof; for before its last hysterical echo had +vibrated on the ear, there sprang up, as if they had risen from the +earth or the waters, six or seven athletic barbarians, flourishing heavy +macanas, who rushed at once upon the pair.</p> + +<p>At the sight of such unexpected and formidable antagonists, though taken +entirely by surprise, Camarga snatched his concealed sword from the +scabbard, leaped with great intrepidity betwixt Magdalena and the +nearest savage, who seemed the leader of the party, and made a blow at +him, while calling to her,</p> + +<p>"Fly! fly! and tell Cortes that thy brother—" But his lips finished not +the sentence. Whether it was that he was rendered helpless by long +continued disease, was embarrassed by the friar's cassock, or was really +unskilful in the use of weapons, it is certain that his blade dropped +harmless on the macana of the warrior. Before he could recover his +guard, the battle-axe of the Mexican fell upon his head with deadly +violence, and he rolled, to all appearance a dying man, on the ground.</p> + +<p>At the same instant, another warrior clutched upon Magdalena, who, +though pale as death, and agitated by a long succession of passions, yet +drew the dagger she always carried at her girdle, and aimed it at the +breast of the infidel. Before it could do him any harm, it was snatched +out of her hand, and she herself caught up as by the grasp of a giant, +in the arms of the leader, and hurried to the water. In an instant more, +she was placed in a piragua, which her capturers drew from a reed-brake +hard by, and secured, though not rudely, beyond the possibility of +further resistance, among the infidels. They caught up their paddles, +uttered a wild yell, and the next moment dashed from the shore, and were +hidden among the mists of the lake.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + + +<p>Are the refinements and delicate sensibilities of the spirit confined to +the highborn and polished? They are undoubtedly the offspring of nature: +Education supplies their place only by the substitutes of affectation. +Though poverty may crush, though wretchedness and evil habits may +corrupt and extinguish them, yet they throb in the breasts of the lowly, +during the days of youth, and are not always banished even by the +rigours of manhood. They dwell under the painted lodge of the barbarian, +and they burn even in the heart of the benighted heathen.</p> + +<p>Let us fancy the moonlight streaming over the lake of Tezcuco. The moon +is in her first quarter, and the evening-star, almost her rival in +lustre and magnitude, precedes her in the blue paths of the west. The +golden radiance of sunset trembles no more on the mountain peaks; but +the thin vapours floating through the zenith, are yet gleaming faintly +with the last expiring glories of day. The birds are at rest in the +garden of Mexico,—all save the little madrugadores, that yet chirp +merrily in the trees, and the centzontli, who leaves her ravishing +melody, to mock them with their own music, made yet more musical. The +breeze sleeps among the boughs, or it stirs only through the poplar +leaves, and its rustling sound is mingled with the hum of a thousand +nocturnal insects. In such a night, one forgets that man is not an +angel. We see not the frown of malevolence in the sky; we hear not the +step of the betrayer on the grass; nor does the dew-drop, falling from +the leaf, admonish us of the tears that are streaming, hard by, in +sorrow. In such a night, the feelings of the kind are kindest, the +thoughts of the pure, purest; youth gathers about it the mantle of hope, +and hope whispers in the voice of affection. At such a time, it is good +to look into the hearts of the youthful, and forget the excitements of +years. A draught from the waters of Clitorius was fabled to extinguish +the thirst for wine.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> He who can creep into the bosoms of the young, +and drink of the fountain of innocent affections, will turn with +loathing from the impure and maddening currents, that convert the human +family into a race of moral Bacchanals.</p> + +<p>Can we think that among the worshippers of the ferocious Mexitli, and +the fierce invaders of his people, there were none with natures worthy +of a better belief, and a nobler cause? Destiny had thrown together two, +at least, whose spirits were but little tainted with the evil of their +place and their day,—in whom, perhaps, feeling rather than reason, had +set a talisman that left them incorruptible. A good heart is to man what +the galvanic bar of the philosopher was to the ship's copper-sheathing. +It gives this protection, at least, that, through the whole voyage of +life, it preserves the integrity of the vessel. The barnacle and the +remora will indeed deaden its course, but the metal remains clean and +bright: the billows of the world waste their corrosive powers only on +the protector. Morality itself is two-fold; it is of the head, and of +the heart. The first belongs to the philosopher, the second to the poet. +The one is an abstraction of reason; the other an exhortation of +passion. The morality of the head is the only one that is just; but it +is loveliest and best when the heart enforces its precepts. With good +hearts, Juan Lerma and the princess of Mexico, moved among the +corruptions of superstition, uncorrupted; and preserved to themselves, +unabated and unsullied, the pure and gentle feelings, which nature had +showered upon them at their birth.</p> + +<p>The moon, falling aslant upon the garden, lighted the countenances of +the young Spanish exile and the orphan child of Montezuma, as they +rested upon the summit of a little artificial mound, ornamented with +carved stone seats and rude statuary, constructed for the purpose of +overlooking the walls. The visage of the Christian was illumined by +pensive smiles, and his lips breathed gently and fervently the accents +that were sweetest to the ears of the Indian maiden. But did he +discourse of worldly affection and passion to one so ignorant and +artless? A nobler spirit animated the youth. He spoke of the faith of +Christians, and laboured with more than the zeal, though not perhaps +with the wisdom of the missionary, to impress its divine truths upon the +mind of his hearer. If his arguments were somewhat less cogent and +logical than might have been spoken, it must be remembered that his +religion was like that which will perhaps belong to the majority of +Christians to the end of the world,—a faith of the heart, which the +head has not been accustomed to canvass.</p> + +<p>He directed her eyes to the moon, to the evening star, and to those +other celestial wanderers, by which the heart of man was 'secretly +enticed,' even before the days of the perfect man of Uz.</p> + +<p>"They are the little bright heroes that hang down from the house of +Ometeuctli, king of the city of heaven," said the poor infidel,—"all +save Meztli," (the moon) "who is the king of night, brother of +Tonatricli," (the sun) "god of the burning day. This is what they say of +the two gods: There were men on the earth, but wicked: the ancient gods, +the sons of Ipalnemoani killed them. Then Ometeuctli sent forth from the +city of heaven his sons, who descended to Mictlan,—the dark hell,—by +the road that leads between the Fighting Mountains, and the Eight +Deserts,—and stole the bones of men, that Mictlanteuctli had heaped up +in his cavern. The sons of Ometeuctli sprinkled the bones with their +blood; and these men lived again, and the sons of Ometeuctli were their +rulers and fathers. But the earth was dark,—it was night over the +world, and the only light was the fire which they kindled and kept +burning in the vale of Teotihuacan. The sons of Ometeuctli pitied the +men they had revived; and, to give them light, they burned themselves in +the fire. Ometeuctli, their father, then placed them in the +sky,—Tonatricli the first born, to be the sun, Meztli to be the moon, +and the others to be stars. So they hang in heaven, turned to fire: and +men built pyramids to them, on the place of burning, Micoatl, the Field +of Death.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> They are very good gods, for they shine upon us."</p> + +<p>"Forget these idle fables," said Juan, with a gentleness much more +judicious than any zeal could have been. "Forget, too, Mexitli, +Painalton, Quetzalcoatl, Centeotl, and the thousand vain beings of +imagination, with which your priests have peopled the world. Think only +of the great <i>Teotl</i>, whom you have called Ipalnemoani,—the great God, +the only God,—for there is no other than He, and the rest are but +fables. Yonder moon and stars are not divinities, but great globes like +this on which we live; and to worship them is a sin—it angers +Ipalnemoani, who is the only God,—the Creator,—whom all men worship, +though under different names. Worship but Ipalnemoani, and in mode as I +will tell thee, and thou art already almost a Christian."</p> + +<p>"But is not Christ another god of the Spaniards?" said the maiden, +doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"The Son of God, a portion of God, and God himself," replied the +Christian, launching at once into all the theological metaphysics with +which he was acquainted, and succeeding in confounding the mind of the +poor barbarian, without being very sensible of the confusion of his own. +But if he could not teach her how to distinguish between categories, not +reducible to order and consistency by the poor aids of human language, +he was able to interest her in the fate and character of the divine +Redeemer, by no other means than that of relating his history. And it is +this, to which men must chiefly look for instruction, belief, and +renovation, without reference to dogmas and creeds; for here all find +the unanimity of belief and feeling, which entitles them to the claims +of fraternity.</p> + +<p>When Juan had excited her sympathy in the character of the Messiah, he +began to discourse upon the object and the ends of his mission. But +unfortunately the doctrine of original sin, with which he set out, had +in it something extremely repugnant to the rude ideas of the child of +nature. It inferred a native wickedness in all, to be banished only by +belief; and it seemed at once to place <i>her</i> in an humble and degraded +light, in the eyes of the young Christian.</p> + +<p>"What has Zelahualla done," she said, with maidenly pride, "that the +king's brother should make her out wicked?"</p> + +<p>At this application of the doctrine, Juan was somewhat staggered in his +own belief. He looked at the mild eyes of the catechumen, beaming as +from a spirit without stain and without guile, and he said to himself, +'How can this be? for she has known no sin?' His imagination wandered +among the moral and religious precepts stored in his memory, and settled +at last with the triumph of a controversialist, as well as the +satisfaction of a Christian, upon the first rules of the +decalogue,—broken in ignorance, and therefore he doubted not, easily +atoned. He told her that the worship of false gods was a sin, and homage +shown to idols of wood and stone a deep iniquity; and these being common +to all benighted people, he satisfied himself, and perhaps her, that +they were unanswerable proofs of the existence of natural depravity. But +a stronger light was thrown upon the maiden's mind, when he showed its +effects in the scene of bloodshed, commenced long since in the days of +her sire, and now about to be terminated in a war of massacre.</p> + +<p>"He of whom I speak," he said, "came into the world, in order that these +things should cease. He offers men peace and good-will; and when men +acknowledge him and follow his commands, peace and good-will will reign +over the whole world. Think not, because my countrymen are sometimes +unjust, and often cruel, that our divine Leader is the less divine. +These are the wickednesses of their nature, not yet removed by full or +just belief; for the belief of some is insufficient, of others +perverted, and some, though they profess it, have no belief at all. +Know, then, that our religion, justly considered, and with a pure mind +not selfish, has its great element in <i>affection</i>. It teaches love of +heaven, and, equally love of man. It denounces the wrong-doer, who is as +a fire, burning away the cords that bind men together in happiness; and +it exalts the good man, who unites his fellows in affection. It punishes +vicious deeds and forbids evil thoughts; for with these, there can be no +happiness and peace. This it does upon earth; and it prepares for the +world beyond the grave, in which no human passion or infirmity can +disturb the perfect purity and enjoyment, of which the immortal spirit +is capable."</p> + +<p>Thus he conversed, and thus, guided by the native bias of his mind, +dwelt upon that feature of our heavenly faith, of which it requires no +aid of enthusiasm to perceive the amiableness and beauty. "<i>Peace and +good-will to all!</i>"<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> There is a charm in the holy sentence, at once +the watchword and synopsis of religion, that thrills to the hearts even +of those, who, to obtain the base immortality of renown, are willing to +exchange it for the war-cry of the barbarian, the <i>Vć victis!</i> of a +hero.</p> + +<p>Thus far, then, the heart of the Indian maiden was softened, and +tears,—not of penitence, for it never entered her mind that she had +anything to repent,—tears of gentle and pleasurable emotion stole into +her eyes, as she listened to tenets explained by one so revered and +beloved.</p> + +<p>"The religion that my lord loves, is good; and Zelahualla shall know no +other."</p> + +<p>"God be praised for this then," said Juan, fervently; "for now is the +desire of my heart fulfilled, mine errand accomplished; and I will die, +when I am called, cheerfully; knowing that thou wilt follow me to +heaven. Now do I perceive that heaven works good in our misfortunes. The +miseries that I have lamented,—the hatred of Don Hernan, the malice of +my foes, my downfall, my condemnation,—what were they but the steps +which have led me to effect thy conversion and salvation? God be praised +for all things! and God grant that the seeds of the true faith, now sown +in thy heart, may grow and flourish, till transplanted into paradise!"</p> + +<p>Thus saying, Juan fell upon his knees, and invoked blessings upon the +proselyte, who knelt beside him, confirmed greatly in her new creed by +the evident pleasure her conversion, if it could be so called, had given +him.</p> + +<p>"Know now, Zelahualla," he said, as he raised her from the ground, and +folded her in an embrace that had more of the gentle affection of a +brother, than the ardent passion of a lover, "that now thou art dearer +to me than all the world beside. While thou wert a worshipper of idols, +I wept for thee; now that thou art a Christian, I love thee; and through +this storm of war, that is gathering around thee, I will remain to +protect thee, and, if need be, to perish by thy side."</p> + +<p>"What my lord is, that will I be," said the young princess, with such +looks of confiding affection as belong to the unsophisticated child of +nature—"Yes, Zelahualla will be a Christian,—Juan's Christian,"—for +she had been long since instructed to pronounce the name of her young +friend—"and she will think of none but him—"</p> + +<p>She paused suddenly, and disengaged herself from the arms of the +Castilian, who, looking round, beheld almost at his side, surveying him +with manifest satisfaction, the young king of Mexico. The gorgeous +mantles of state were upon his shoulders, the golden sandals and +<i>copilli</i>, or crown, bedecked his feet and head; and though no +sceptre-bearers or other noble attendants followed at his heels, his +appearance was not without dignity, and even majesty.</p> + +<p>He stepped forward, and taking the princess by the hand, said to Juan,</p> + +<p>"The Centzontli is the king's sister;—thus said I, when Montezuma lived +no more; for the Spaniards have killed the sons of the king, and who +remains to be her brother? It is enough—the Eagle of the east is the +king's brother.—The king will speak with his brother."</p> + +<p>At this signal, the maiden stooped humbly over Guatimozin's hand, kissed +it with mingled love and respect, and immediately stole from the mound.</p> + +<p>"My brother beheld me among my people," said Guatimozin, as soon as she +was gone. "What thinks he of the warriors of Mexico?"</p> + +<p>"They are numerous as the sands and leaves. But hear the words of him +who knows the Spaniards as well as the Mexicans. Before a blow is +struck, speak good things to Cortes. Acknowledge thyself the vassal of +Spain, and rule for ever."</p> + +<p>"Is my brother yet a Spaniard? and does he tell me this thing?"</p> + +<p>"If I anger thee, yet must I speak! for I speak with the heart of one +grateful to thyself and friendly to the race of Montezuma. As a true +Spaniard, I should counsel thee to resist; for resistance would excuse +rapacity. How wilt thou fight upon this island, with thine enemies round +about thee? They will sit down and sleep, while the king perishes with +hunger."</p> + +<p>"The houses are garners," replied Guatimozin, proudly: "There is food +provided for many days; and how shall the big ships see the peasant's +canoe, when it brings corn in the night-time?"</p> + +<p>"The lake is broad, but thou knowest not of all the craft and skill of +thy foes. Think then of <i>this</i>: Can a man drink the water of the salt +lake and canals? Are the pipes of Chapoltepec under the mountains? The +Spaniards will tear them up from the causeways; and the warriors will +despair for drink."</p> + +<p>"Is Guatimozin a fool?" exclaimed the royal barbarian, with a laugh. +"The rains have begun to fall; and for seven<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> months, the sky will be +my fountain. Is not Malintzin mad, that he should besiege me at this +season? He is not a god!"</p> + +<p>"Were it for thrice seven months," said Juan, "be assured that Cortes +will still remain by thy city, awaiting its downfall."</p> + +<p>"And what shall be done by the warriors of Mexico? Will they look from +the island, and wring their hands, till he departs? For every grain of +corn in the garners of Tenochtitlan, there is an arrow in the quivers of +the warriors. Count the bones that lie in the ditches of Tacuba,—number +the bearded skulls that are piled on the Huitzompan, the trophies +gathered from the Spaniards in the night of their flight,—there are not +so many living men in the camp of Malintzin, as perished that night when +we drove them from Mexico."</p> + +<p>"Dost thou hold, then, for nothing the two hundred thousand Tlascalans, +Tezcucans, Chalquese, Totonacs, and other tribes, that follow with +Cortes?"</p> + +<p>"There are but three roads to Mexico.—Can they hurt me from the +shores?"</p> + +<p>"The ships are fourteen more; and by and by, there will be no canoe that +swims the lake, but will bear the soldiers of Don Hernan. Think not +resistance can do aught but protract the fate of thine empire, and +incense the miseries of its subjects. Its history is written. Heaven is +angry with your gods and with your acts. The blood of human sacrifices, +detestable in the eyes of divinity, calls for revenge. Alas, thou didst +this day condemn a poor Spaniard to the altar, and thus stain thine +installation with cruelty! God will punish the Mexicans for this."</p> + +<p>The eyes of Guatimozin flashed in the moonlight with indignation.</p> + +<p>"Is not the prisoner," he cried, "the prey of the victor? The Spaniard +burns the captive in the shoulder, and makes him a slave. Which is +cruel? The prisoner and the felon we give to the gods—it is good. Did +the Eagle ever behold a Mexican chain men to a stake, and burn them with +fire? Yet he saw Malintzin burn the Chief of Nauhtlan and the fifteen +warriors, in the palace-yard, in a great fire made with Mexican bows and +arrows! Which, then, is cruel?"</p> + +<p>"This act I will not defend," said Juan, "and it was my presumption in +censuring it, that made Cortes my enemy. But, prince, let us speak of +these things no more, for our arguments shake not each other's minds. +Let me speak of myself, for it is just thou shouldst know my resolve. I +am thy friend, but I will not lift my hand against my countrymen."</p> + +<p>The countenance of the king darkened:</p> + +<p>"Is not the Great Eagle brave? He fears his enemies!"</p> + +<p>"I fear <i>nothing</i>," said Juan, with conscious dignity, "else would I +speak no words to lose thy favour. I will be thy prisoner, thy +sacrifice, if thou wilt.—I lament the fate that is coming upon thee, +but I cannot fight in thy cause."</p> + +<p>Guatimozin eyed him earnestly, as if to read his soul; and then said, a +little softly,</p> + +<p>"The Great Eagle knows all things: he shall rest in the palace all day, +and at night, speak wise things to the king."</p> + +<p>"Neither in this can I aid thee," replied Juan, resolutely. "What I know +of religion and moral duties,—nay, all that I know of civilized arts, +that are not military,—this much I am free to communicate; but nothing +more. I can no more help thee to fight with my knowledge, than with my +arm."</p> + +<p>This was a declaration of principles somewhat above the powers of the +infidel to appreciate, and it filled him, as Juan saw, with serious +displeasure. He took him by the arm, and spoke sternly and even +menacingly:</p> + +<p>"The faith of a Christian is not that of a Mexican. The Indian kills his +foes and the foes of his friend: the Christian forgets his friend, when +his friend is in trouble."</p> + +<p>Juan was stung by the reproach, and replied with emphasis:</p> + +<p>"The king took me from the prison-house of Tezcuco: the block was in +waiting for me. Who talked to me of prisons and of blocks, before Olin +came to the garden?"</p> + +<p>Guatimozin grasped his hand, and spoke with impetuosity,—</p> + +<p>"I have said the thing that was false, and my brother does <i>not</i> forget +his friend. He did a good deed to Olin; why should he turn his face from +Guatimozin? Was Olin in greater distress than the king, beset by enemies +who cannot be counted? My brother has looked in the face of the +Centzontli, my sister.—The princes of the city, and the kings of the +tribes, have said, each one, 'Give me the daughter of Montezuma, and I +will die for Mexico.' But the king thought of his brother. Thus it shall +be: the Great Eagle shall take the princess for his wife, and be a +Mexican; and then, when Guatimozin entreats him to strike his foe, he +will call upon his god of the cross,—the Mexitli of the Spaniards,—and +strike with all his force. Is it not so?"</p> + +<p>"Prince!" said Juan, sadly, "even this cannot be. According to our +thoughts, there are sins of the deepest turpitude in acts which your +customs cause you to esteem virtues. The Spaniard may change his +country, but he cannot become the foe of his countrymen. What wouldst +thou think of one of thine own people,—thy friend, thy subject—whom +thou shouldst find among the Spaniards, and aiming his weapon against +thee?"</p> + +<p>"There are many thousands of them," said Guatimozin, giving way to +passion. "Malintzin fights with weapons more destructive than the big +thunder-pipes. He goes among the serfs that pay tribute, and he says, +'Pay no more—Is it not better to be free?' Thus he seduces them. But my +brother shall think of this again. And now he shall eat and sleep."</p> + +<p>So saying, and perhaps thinking it unwise to pursue his designs at the +present moment, he drew Juan from the mound, and was leading him towards +the palace, when the sound of voices and footsteps came from the bottom +of the garden, accompanied by the fierce barking of Befo, who was still +confined in the cage.</p> + +<p>"Now do I remember me," said Juan, with a feeling of shame, "that I have +suffered the noble animal—"</p> + +<p>But his words were cut short by an unexpected circumstance. No sooner +had his voice sounded, than a wild cry burst from a neighbouring copse, +and a female figure, pursued by Mexican warriors, rushed forwards, +calling upon him by name, and by a title that had never before blessed +his ears.</p> + +<p>"Juan! Juan! my brother! oh, my brother!"</p> + +<p>It was Magdalena,—her hair disordered and drooping in the damp air of +evening, her face, as far as it could be seen in the imperfect light, +pale and distracted. No sooner did her eyes behold him than she +redoubled her speed, and throwing herself upon his neck, she cried, with +transports of emotion, while the pursuers gathered round in no little +amazement.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Juan! my brother! pardon me and forgive me; for I am your +sister,—yes, your sister, your own sister,—and I have come to die with +you!"</p> + +<p>Confounded as much by the strange declaration as by her presence, Juan +endeavoured gently to disengage himself from her embrace, but all in +vain. She clasped his neck with tenfold strength, weeping and exclaiming +he scarce knew what; and, though much affected, he began to think that +sorrow and passion had turned her brain. What therefore was his +surprise, when he gathered from her incoherent exclamations, that +Camarga, the masking stranger, who had, on three several occasions, +betrayed such an unaccountable desire to take his life, had, even with +his dying lips, pronounced them brother and sister. His heart thrilled +at the thought; for his affection for the singular being whose destiny +of mourning was so like his own, had ever been great, though chilled and +pained by the belief of her unworthiness. He pursued the idea with a +thousand questions, the answers to which provoked his curiosity, while +they damped his hope. Was Camarga their father? and was he dead? What +did he say? What,—no more than <i>this</i>—'He was her brother?' No more? +And no one alive to confirm the story? "Alas," he said, his thoughts +reverting to what he remembered of his childhood; "this fancy has made +me as distracted as thyself. Camarga was a dreamer—an evident madman. +<i>My</i> father died at Isabela in the island; for was not I at his side? +This cannot be, Magdalena;—deceive thyself no longer."</p> + +<p>"Speak not to me of deceit, my brother—for my brother thou art," said +Magdalena, vehemently. "Can my heart deceive me? Is it not the work of +heaven, seen in our whole life? Heaven kept thee—yes, Juan, while +heaven punished <i>me</i> the sin of neglected vows with the torments of +unavailing affection—it kept thee from loving me as much, because thou +wert my brother. Yes, this it is! The angels spoke with the lips of that +man, who now lies dead on the lake-side! But what of that, Juan? We will +go to Cortes—I can win thy forgiveness. Alas, alas! I could have saved +thee before, but thou madest me mad. Why didst thou treat me so, Juan? I +was innocent—indeed I was; and Hilario's recantation—oh believe me, I +knew not of his murder, till it was accomplished! Villafana killed him +from fear, for Hilario had discovered how he scuttled the ship; and thus +it was that Hilario gained Villafana to corroborate the falsehoods he +spoke of me. I can make all clear to thee, indeed I can.—But now, dear +Juan, cast me not off again,—for you are my brother. We will go to +Cortes,—he will pardon thee. We will find out the friends of Camarga, +and it must needs be that we shall discover all. And then I will go to a +convent again,—and then I care not what befalls me; for I shall have a +brother in the world left to love me."</p> + +<p>While Magdalena was pouring forth these wild expressions, for a time +almost unconscious of her situation in the heart of the pagan city, and +in the presence of so many barbarians, Guatimozin, who had looked on +with an astonishment that was soon converted into the darkest +displeasure, turned to the capturers of Magdalena, who had ceased their +pursuit the moment they beheld the king, and flung themselves reverently +at his feet. The Lord of Death, who made the like prostration, had +assumed an erect posture, in virtue of his high rank. But his looks +wandered from the king to the Christian pair, whose endearments he +watched with exceeding great satisfaction, and indeed with exultation.</p> + +<p>"What is this that I see?" said the king, in a low but stern voice; "and +who hath brought this woman to my garden?"</p> + +<p>Masquazateuctli bent his head to the earth, replying with the +complacency of one who has achieved a happy exploit,—</p> + +<p>"The king made the Great Eagle of the East his brother; he took him to +the hill of Chapoltepec that his people might know him, and do him +honour. Shall not Masquazateuctli do a good thing to the king's brother? +He was sorry because of his loneliness in the king's garden, and the +Maiden of the East was afar in Tezcuco. I thought of this, and I crept +to the gates of Tezcuco: and I said, 'I will take a prisoner for the +king, and perhaps I shall find a maiden with white brows; which will +gladden the heart of the king's brother.' Mexitli was with me. But I +killed the man that came with her, for I saw she was that daughter of a +god, with eyes like the full moon, of whom the king had spoken, when he +came from Tezcuco alone, and my heart was very joyful. The Eagle is +glad—he will not ask the king for the daughter of Montezuma!"</p> + +<p>Guatimozin muttered a fierce interjection betwixt his teeth, but replied +with dignity,</p> + +<p>"The Lord of Death should have spoken this to the king; but if he be +angry, he remembers that Masquazateuctli was Montezuma's soldier. By and +by, I will speak with him in the palace.—I have said."</p> + +<p>The Lord of Death, thus dismissed, and not a little mortified at such +insufficient thanks, beckoned to his followers and departed.</p> + +<p>Guatimozin strode up to the Christians, and touching Juan on the +shoulder, said, with a stern voice,</p> + +<p>"What shall the king say of his brother, to the daughter of Montezuma?"</p> + +<p>The colour rushed into Juan's cheeks; but he replied immediately, and +even firmly,</p> + +<p>"That he brings her his sister, to whom, for his own sake, he prays her +to be kind and gentle."</p> + +<p>"Does my brother tell me this?" said the king, starting. "The Great +Eagle said he was alone in the world, with none of his kin remaining."</p> + +<p>"And so I thought, until this hour," said Juan, not without +embarrassment: "and now must I tell the king, that though I call this +maiden my sister, and pray heaven she may prove so, yet neither she nor +I have aught upon which to found our belief, but the words of one whom +the Lord of Death killed, when he seized her."</p> + +<p>Guatimozin intently eyed the maiden, who watched with painful interest +the changes of his countenance and Juan's, for she understood not a word +of their speech; and then said,</p> + +<p>"Let it be so: Guatimozin will think of this. The Spanish lady is +welcome—the Eagle shall speak with her a little, and then give her up +to the women, that they may be good to her.—The king's house is very +spacious."</p> + +<p>He then turned gravely away, signing to the outcast pair to follow him.</p> + +<p>They were suffered to be alone together for a brief hour, in which +Magdalena, rejecting impetuously and passionately all Juan's doubts, +poured out all the secrets of a life full of unhappiness, but not of +crime; and Juan himself, forgetting the weakness of all her claims of +consanguinity, melted into belief, and learned to call her his sister. +There were indeed certain circumstances of mystery about his birth, +which might have often disturbed his thoughts, had he been of an +imaginative turn. The man whom he had called and esteemed his father, +had died a violent death in the islands, while Juan was yet very young. +He could recollect little of him that was agreeable to remember; and all +that had afterwards come to his ears, only served to chill his +curiosity; all persons, who had not forgotten him, representing the +elder Lerma as a most depraved and infamous man. No one knew whence he +had come, or if he had any relatives left in the world; and Juan +remembered well, that the planters had, on several occasions, when the +unnatural parent, if parent he was, had maltreated and abandoned him, +taken him away from Lerma, and comforted Juan with the assurance that +the villain had undoubtedly <i>stolen</i> him from some one. It is, however, +very certain that Juan never seriously thought of doubting that this man +was his parent; nor would he have recalled such trivial circumstances to +his mind, had he not been staggered by the impetuosity of Magdalena, and +by his own feelings of affection, into a credulity almost as ample as +her own. That he should desire also to find a relative in one, who, +considered without reference to the weakness shown only in her love for +him, was of a soul as stainless as it was noble, is not to be doubted; +and such love he could be rejoiced to return. In truth, his reasons for +admitting her claims were as flimsy as hers for making them, as he came +to discover, when left to examine them in solitude. They made, however, +a deep and lasting impression upon his mind. Perhaps the impression +would have been still deeper, had the two been permitted to remain +longer together; but before Magdalena had yet been able to speak with +composure, there came a train of maidens, bearing chaplets of flowers, +and rich ornaments of feathers, giving Juan to understand, that it was +the king's will his companion should now leave him.</p> + +<p>Magdalena turned pale, when this command was announced to her by Juan, +and seemed at first as if resolved never to be parted from him more. But +being persuaded by Juan that she had nothing to fear—that the king was +his friend—that they should certainly meet again,—she at last +consented. She strode to the door—she listened to his words of +farewell, and she sobbed upon his breast; and then departed with the +happy but delusive hope of seeing him again on the morrow.</p> + +<p>It was the last night of peace that ever darkened over the Mexico of the +pagans.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + + +<p>To one whose perverted imagination can dwell with pleasure on 'the pomp +and circumstance of glorious war,' no better study can be recommended +than the history of the siege of Mexico, which may be considered as one +single battle, lasting for the space of ninety-three days, counting from +the time when the different divisions of the besieging army had taken +their positions in form, upon the different causeways. This does not +include the period occupied in the march of these bodies from Tezcuco, +and which was not devoted to inactivity. On the contrary, the +Captain-General took advantage of the occasion to discipline his naval +force, by sweeping over the lake from bay to bay, and town to town, +destroying every piragua that made its appearance, as well as such +chinampas, or floating gardens, as he could approach, and frequently by +cannonading the imperial city itself. Besides this, he assaulted and +took, on each occasion after a most sanguinary combat, certain +fortresses upon two island rocks, one of which rose near to Iztapalapan: +the other, though no longer insulated, still lies a little to the east +of the republican city, and is called the Peńon, or Crag, of Montezuma.</p> + +<p>The preparations of the Mexicans were extensive and anticipative of all +the peculiar evils which they thought it in the power of their great +enemy to inflict. They had cut through the causeways numberless ditches, +each of which was furnished with a light bridge, to be withdrawn, when +about to fall into the power of the Spaniards; and the earth and stones +thus removed, were built up before and behind the chasms, into strong +ramparts, which were still further strengthened with palisades. In this +manner, while opposing the greatest obstructions to the passage of the +foot-soldiers, they made it impossible for horses to be brought against +them,—a precaution that, for a long time, robbed the Spaniards of their +greatest advantage.</p> + +<p>The beginning of the siege of Mexico, then, lay in the struggles of the +besiegers to obtain possession of the ditches, which were to be filled +up, by levelling the ramparts. This was a work both of infinite danger +and toil, the besieged fighting from behind the advanced barriers with +unexampled resolution, and, however overpowered, never retreating beyond +the ditch, until their companions had left but a single plank for their +passage, which was immediately afterwards withdrawn. After this, the +Spaniards were forced to overturn the first barrier into the chasm, +before they could rush across the slough of mud and water, to attack the +second; and all this was to be done not only against violent opposition +in front, but with a most dangerous and audacious species of annoyance +practised on one flank or the other, and sometimes on both. Wherever the +shallows admitted, the Mexicans drove into the bottom of the lake, and +at but a short distance from the dike, strong piles, to which they +secured their canoes, furnished with high and thick bulwarks of planks, +almost musket-proof; and from these they drove arrows, darts, and stones +against the soldiers with destructive effect. Nay, with such wisdom had +the young king of Mexico devised means to embarrass his adversary, that +he had even secured his little flotillas from the possibility of +approach, by sinking rows of piles in the lake, parallel with the +causeways, through which the brigantines could not pass, to disperse +them. It was to but little purpose that Cortes battered them from a +distance with his falconets; the following morning saw replaced every +loss of men and canoes. The soldiers were excited to fury by an +annoyance so irritating, and some were found at times frantic enough to +leap into the lake, where the waters happened to be sufficiently +shallow, and endeavour to carry the flotillas, sword in hand.</p> + +<p>The narrowness and obstructed condition of the dikes making it +impossible that all the forces could act upon them together, the vast +multitudes of native allies were left in reserve, with the cavalry, on +the shore,—where they were not idle, the numbers, as well as the +boldness of the Mexicans being so great, that they frequently sent +armies to the shore by night, who, at the dawn, fell upon the reserved +troops with all the rancour of opponents in a civil war.</p> + +<p>This was the condition of the war at its commencement. The grand +desiderata,—the removal of the flotillas, and the profitable employment +of the confederates, were not effected until Cortes had seized all the +piraguas of the shore-towns, and sent them, manned with Tlascalans, +against the palisaded posts, where, besides doing what execution they +could upon the enemy, the allies tore away the piles, and thus admitted +some of the lighter brigantines among the canoes.</p> + +<p>Aided in this manner, the soldiers were able to advance along the +several dikes, until they got possession of certain military stations, +on each, which might have been called the gates of Mexico.</p> + +<p>It has been already said, that the causeways of Iztapalapan and +Cojohuacan, coming respectively from the south and southwest, united +together at the distance of less than a league from Mexico. At the point +of junction, the causeway expanded into a mole or quay, where was a +strong and lofty stone wall, the passage through which was contrived by +the overlapping of the walls, in the manner described at Tezcuco. This +rampart was defended by very strong towers and by a parapet with +embrasures, from which the defenders could easily repel any enemy, +inferior in strength and determination to the Spaniards. The point was +called Xoloc, and when wrested from the hands of the Mexicans, became +the head-quarters of Cortes.</p> + +<p>A similar expansion of the dike of Tacuba, fortified in the same way, +and at the distance of two miles from the city, and one from the shore, +afforded a resting-place and garrison for the forces under Alvarado, +whose first act, after reaching Tacuba, was to destroy the aqueduct of +Chapoltepec, which consisted of a double line of baked earthenware +pipes, carried across the lake on a dike constructed only for that +purpose, and therefore so narrow and inconsiderable, that it does not +appear that the Spaniards derived any advantage from the possession of +it.</p> + +<p>The division of De Olid united with that of Sandoval at the point Xoloc; +the latter of whom was afterwards directed to take possession of the +northern dike of Tepejacac, the remains of which may yet be traced +between the city and the hill of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on which was a +fortification resembling the others.</p> + +<p>These positions being thus assumed, the Captain-General divided the +fleet of brigantines among the three captains, to whom they were of vast +service, by protecting the flanks of their divisions.</p> + +<p>From this period, the siege may be considered to have been begun in +form; and it was continued with a fury of attack and resistance almost +without parallel in the history of conquest. Foot by foot, and inch by +inch, the invaders advanced, staining the causeways with their blood, +and choking the lake with the bodies of their foes. Ditch after ditch +was won and filled, and almost as often lost and re-opened. The day was +devoted to battle, the night to alarms. The only periods of rest were +when the daily tempests, for it was now the heart of the rainy season, +burst over the heads of the combatants, as if heaven had sent its floods +to efface the horrible dyes of carnage, and its thunders to drown the +roar of man's more destructive artillery. Then, the exhausted soldier +and the fainting barbarian flung themselves to rest upon the trodden mud +of their ramparts, within sight of each other, regardless of the wrath +of the elements, so much less enduring than their own.</p> + +<p>At first, the Spaniards after winning a ditch and filling it, were +content to return for the night to the fortified stations, to shelter +themselves in the towers, and in miserable huts of reeds which they had +constructed, from the rains, that, usually, continued until midnight. +But finding that the infidels, more manly or more desperate, devoted the +night to repair the losses of the day, by again opening the chasms, they +denied themselves even this poor solace, and threw themselves to sleep +on the spots where they fought, ready to resume the conflict at the +first glimmer of dawn.</p> + +<p>Thus, day by day, the approaches were effected, and by the end of the +second month, the besiegers had advanced almost to the suburbs, which +jutted out into the lake along the three causeways, supported upon +foundations of piles, and sometimes piers of stone. The houses stood +apart from each other, but were connected, in seasons of peace, by light +wooden drawbridges, running from terrace to terrace; so that the +<i>streets</i> of these quarters may be said to have been on the tops of the +houses,—and the same thing was true of the gardens. The communication +below was effected always by means of canoes. Among these edifices, the +water was often of sufficient depth to float the brigantines of lighter +draught, which sometimes entered them, to fire the buildings, that were +so many fortresses, from which the soldiers on the causeways could be +annoyed.</p> + +<p>The labours and sufferings of the besiegers were constant, and almost +intolerable; yet they endured them with a patience derived from the +assurance of a certain though tardy success. The toils and distresses of +the Mexicans were greater, and endured with heroism still more noble, +because almost without hope; and it may be said with justice of these +poor barbarians, whose memory has almost vanished from the earth, that +never yet did a people fight for their altars and firesides with greater +courage and devotion. They saw themselves each day confined to narrow +limits,—they fought the more resolutely; they beheld all the marine +forces of the neighbouring towns, late their feudatories, led against +them,—they sent navies of their own to chastise the insurgents, and +still kept their ground against the Spaniards.</p> + +<p>It was certain that Cortes had found in the young king an antagonist far +more formidable than he had expected. The resistance at the ramparts, +the sallies by night that were often made with fatal effect, the secret +expeditions against the shores, and the stratagems put in execution to +cripple the brigantines, all indicated, in the infidel prince, a +capacity of mind worthy of his unconquerable courage. A single exploit +will prove his daring and his craft. He decoyed two of the largest +brigantines into a certain bay, where many of his strongest piraguas lay +in ambush among the reeds. With these, he attacked, boarded, and carried +the two vessels, and had he possessed any knowledge of the management of +sails, would have conducted them in safety to his palace walls. As it +was, they were maintained against an overpowering force, sent to retake +them, and not yielded until the captors had destroyed every Christian on +board, fifty in number, as well as the sails and cordage, and cast the +falconets into the lake.</p> + +<p>Another stratagem of a still more daring character, and infinitely more +fatal to the Spaniards, was conceived and executed, almost at the moment +when they thought the young monarch reduced to despair. But of that we +shall have occasion to speak more at length hereafter. The thousand +conflicts on land and water, that marked the progress of a siege so +extraordinary, have but little connexion with the adventures of the two +outcasts; and we are glad of the privilege to pass them by.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + + +<p>When Magdalena was led from the presence of Juan, she was conducted +through many chambers and passages, which gave her an idea of the +immense extent of the palace, to the quarter especially appropriated to +the women, and which was as carefully guarded from the approach of the +other sex as the harem of an oriental monarch. It consisted of a series +of dormitories and other small apartments, as well as a vast hall, +covered with pictured tapestry and knots of flowers, in which the daily +labour of the loom and spindle was shared by all, the princess and the +slave alike, mingled with the more elegant occupations of embroidery and +feather-painting.</p> + +<p>But the toil of the day had been long since over, and when she entered, +the maidens were amusing themselves, some talking and laughing, and +others dancing to the sound of flutes, and all unconscious or heedless +of the perils that were about to hem them in.</p> + +<p>The appearance of a vision so strange, so often imagined, yet never +before seen—a woman of the race of the invaders, and one at once so +majestic and lovely as Magdalena—produced an immediate sensation +throughout the merry crew. The dancing ceased, the music of the pipe was +exchanged for a murmur of admiration, and all eyes were turned upon the +novel apparition. But it was observable, that the maidens indulged in no +rude demonstrations of curiosity or surprise. They neither thronged +about her, nor uttered any loud exclamations; and however ardently they +gazed, when unperceived, each cast her looks modestly to the floor, the +moment she found the eyes of the stranger directed upon her.</p> + +<p>Troubled as were Magdalena's thoughts by the strangeness of her +situation, and conscious of her inability to exchange a word with these +new companions, she yet felt a sort of relief, and even pleasure, to +find herself once more surrounded by individuals of her own sex, who, as +was evident from their appearance, were neither rude in manners nor +degraded in mind.</p> + +<p>In this happier frame of feeling, she suffered herself to be conducted +to a chamber, where two young female slaves attended her with +refreshments of meats, fruits, and confections, and pointing to a couch +of robes, upon a little platform under a canopy, left her to her +meditations.</p> + +<p>She rose from a troubled and dreamy slumber at the dawn, and waited +impatiently for the moment when she should be led to Juan. The slaves +again made their appearance, bearing, besides food, which they set +before her, rich garments of the most splendid hues, which they desired +her by signs to substitute for her monastic attire. To this she acceded, +after some hesitation, thinking it needful to humour the wishes of those +upon whose friendship her existence, as well as that of Juan, so +obviously depended. She exchanged, at least, the gray veil for a broad +mantle embroidered with feathers and gold, and placed over her other +dress three several tunics, each of a different hue, and each gorgeously +ornamented. Her toilet was completed when the slaves had encircled her +arms and neck with jewels, and wreathed her hair with chains of gold; to +all which she passively, yet impatiently, submitted.</p> + +<p>Thus dressed and decorated, she was conducted again to the great hall, +and seated upon a throne cushioned over with feathers of every hue, +when, to her great surprise, she found herself the object upon whom was +to be showered marks of the most extraordinary honour. The crowd of +maidens was huddled in the farther end of the apartment, where they +stood with downcast eyes, giving place to a female, evidently of exalted +rank, who came from among them, followed by five or six girls, much more +splendidly dressed than the others, one of whom bore in her arms a +sleeping infant.</p> + +<p>The Indian lady was distinguished from her attendants by apparel similar +in hues and splendour to that worn by Magdalena, and she had on her head +a little cap or caul of emeralds, mingled with pearls. Her face was +prepossessing, her figure well proportioned, and her bearing not without +dignity. Yet there was in her aspect something of trouble and +hesitation, and she went through the business of salutation, or rather +homage, for so it appeared, with visible reluctance. She approached the +throne, and kneeling before it, took Magdalena's hand, and laid it upon +her head, speaking a few words which the Christian did not comprehend. +Then taking the infant from the girl who bore it, she laid Magdalena's +hand upon its innocent brows, in the same manner; after which she +stepped aside, and the young attendants went each separately through the +same ceremony. This accomplished, she stole from the apartment, and in a +few moments, the spindle rolled, the shuttle of the simple loom rattled, +and the fingers of the embroiderers and feather-painters moved over +their tasks.</p> + +<p>The morning passed away, and Magdalena still expected a summons to the +presence of Juan. The evening darkened, the fragrant torches were +lighted, the pipe and dance were again summoned to close the labours of +the day, and Magdalena was, a second time, conducted to her chamber, to +muse with fear and distrust over her singular situation.</p> + +<p>The second day beheld the same ceremonies, succeeded by the same labours +and diversions, and still not a movement indicated the approach of a +messenger. She looked upon the maidens around,—their faces were grave +and placid. They gazed upon her no more, except when her eyes were +averted. She imagined a thousand reasons to account for her seclusion. +Was her brother, notwithstanding his assurances to the contrary, in a +state of as much restraint as herself? Or—was it possible?—did it not +depend upon himself?—was it possible, he did not desire to see her? She +thought of his slowness to admit her claim of consanguinity; she thought +of the words of Camarga,—of their wildness—Had not Juan said he was +insane?—of their insufficiency. Nay, she remembered that Juan spoke of +<i>his</i> father, whom he well remembered; and among the tears she shed of +doubt and disappointment, she blushed at the boldness and warmth with +which she had advocated her claims.</p> + +<p>Another day came,—another, and still another; and her heart sickened +and her cheek grew pale with suspense and humiliation. Then impatience +waxed into anger, and she stalked among the maidens with looks of +determination, as if she would have commanded them to lead her from what +she justly conceived to be imprisonment. But <i>how</i> command them? Her +language was as the language of the gods to them, and their words were +to her as unmeaning as the songs of the birds at the windows. Eyes can +speak many things, but not all; and signs are of too arbitrary a nature +to serve as the medium of communication betwixt two hemispheres. If she +strove to depart from the chamber, she was followed by the two slaves, +who seemed to be specially devoted to her service, and who, attending +her from room to room, yet arrested her with humble and supplicating +gestures, when she seemed to be overstepping the limits of the harem. If +she persisted, she found herself in the power of certain antique +beldames, who prowled around the sacred chambers, bearing wands to +indicate their authority, and who opposed themselves, though without +rudeness, to further egress. If she still made her way through these, +she found herself stopped by passages, in which were armed barbarians, +who did not hesitate to block up the avenues with their shields and +spears. In other words, she found that she was a prisoner, confined to a +society as recluse, as peaceful, and perhaps as happy as that from which +it had been her misfortune to be released. The pride and energy of her +nature were here lost; for there was nothing with which to contend, +except her feelings, and nothing to excite, save a sense of wrong, +inflicted she knew not by whom, nor why.</p> + +<p>This was precisely the state of things to tame her spirit into +submission and inaction; and, almost insensibly to herself, she began to +accommodate her deportment to her condition, substituting anxiety for +anger, and despondence for decision. She began to think that Juan was, +like herself, a prisoner; and the apprehension of his distresses weighed +on her heart more heavily than the sense of her own; and, as with all +her strength of mind and passion, there was a tinge of superstition +running through all her thoughts, she beheld, in the singular train of +calamities that had brought her so often to his side, a revelation and +proof that she was ordained, finally, to rescue him from this, as well +as the other ills, which oppressed him. Another thought brooded also in +her bosom. Hitherto, whatsoever efforts she had made for his good, had +ministered only to his griefs; and what had they brought to <i>her</i>? From +the moment in which she had first attempted deceit, by concealing the +sanctity of her profession, her life had been but a history of agony and +shame. Had she avowed herself, immediately after the shipwreck, the +bride of the cross, Hilario had not died under the knife of the +assassin, Juan Lerma had not forfeited the favour of his general, and +she herself had, perhaps, closed her life in the peace with which it had +begun. She began to picture to herself the sinfulness of her evasions of +vows, and to consider these the causes of her sufferings. Such thoughts +as these, and a thousand others, divided and harassed her mind by turns, +and confounded while they tormented. But one idea never left her—and +that was, the uncertainty of the fate of Juan Lerma, and the hope that +it might be reserved for her to free him from the bondage of infidels. +But how was this to be effected? She knew not.</p> + +<p>Her first vague desire was to gain a friend among the grave and +passionless creatures, by whom she was surrounded. She examined all +their countenances, and soon fixed upon several in which she thought she +could trace kindly feelings and simplicity of character. She strove also +to acquire a little of their language,—an effort which she soon gave +up, not so much from the difficulty of acquisition, as from the +remoteness of any benefit to be derived in that way.</p> + +<p>She perceived that the Mexican lady who, each morning, for the first +fortnight of her captivity, (after which time she was seen no more,) +commenced the ceremonies of salutation, so humble, and indeed to her so +irksome, must be of the highest rank,—perhaps the queen of Guatimozin +himself; though it seemed improbable that one so exalted would +condescend to homage so servile. She was conscious also, that the six +maidens who attended upon this princess were of no mean rank; for though +they frequently remained in the hall, engaged in labour, like the rest, +it was clear that the others looked upon them with the greatest +deference. Of these she had long singled out one who was superior to the +others in beauty and mildness of countenance; and it seemed to her that +this one, in going through the morning ceremony, endeavoured to make her +sensible that she did so with sincerity and feeling. Thus, besides +placing Magdalena's hand on her head, she carried it also to her lips, +expressing as much desire as her countenance could convey, to be +esteemed the Christian's friend.</p> + +<p>These things almost escaped Magdalena's notice at first; but she +afterwards remembered them, and strove to respond with manifestations of +similar inclination. She observed, however, that the maiden gradually +changed from tranquillity to melancholy, as if something preyed upon her +spirits. She repeated, indeed, her salutation each morning, but it was +no longer with smiles, and with a disposition to linger about +Magdalena's person. On the contrary, she retired without delay to a +little nook under a window, where she continued her task among feathers +and flowers, seldom stirring from the spot. It was evident to the +penetrating eye of Magdalena, that the Indian maiden was wasting away +under some grief as poignant and enduring as her own; and though she +attributed it only to some of the evils of war, the commencement of +which had long since been indicated by the distant explosions of +artillery, she was the more favourably impressed by the damsel's +emotion, since none of the others seemed to share it, nor to betray +either fear or anxiety.</p> + +<p>She attempted then to come to some understanding with this maiden. She +sat down by her in her little nook, and watched, with what, had she been +in a better frame of mind, would have been admiration, the progress of +her toils, as well as the effects of previous labours. She beheld, with +surprise, garlands and bouquets of flowers, constructed of feathers, and +imitated with such wonderful precision, that when they were mingled with +a few natural ones, and impregnated with their odours, it seemed almost +impossible that they could be artificial. The same art has existed in +other parts of the continent, and is practised to this day, in some of +the nunneries of Brazil. There were also pictures, worked with the same +beautiful materials, upon a groundwork of prepared cloth, which were +chiefly confined to the representation of flowers and birds. When +Magdalena first visited the maiden, she found her engaged upon what +seemed a wood-pigeon, surrounded by a little wilderness of flowers and +leaves. The design, though simple, was pretty and spirited; yet the +maiden seemed dissatisfied with her work, and altered it daily, as if +each day still more displeased; until, at last, she seemed to have hit +upon a plan more to her taste, when she pursued her task with what +seemed a morbid ardour. When Magdalena looked at it last, she found the +whole design and character of the work changed. The flowers had been +displaced by stones and brambles; an arrow was represented sticking +through the neck of the bird; and the story of a wounded heart was told +in the metaphor of the poor flutterer, harmed by some wanton bolt, and +left dying in a desert place.</p> + +<p>When Magdalena beheld this painted sentiment, she took the hand of the +artist, and pressing it as if with sympathy, pointed to her bosom. A +faint tinge of blood passed over her embrowned visage, but she looked +confidingly into Magdalena's face, as if not ashamed to confess her +grief. When Magdalena was persuaded she was understood, she directed the +painter's eyes to the bird, and then pointed expressively to her own +bosom, as if to signify that she also was unhappy. The maiden bowed her +head upon her breast, and Magdalena saw that tears were stealing from +her eyes. She thought they were the tears of sympathy; and when the +damsel looked up, she cast off all reserve, and indicated as plainly as +she could, by gestures, that she desired to make her way into the +garden.</p> + +<p>The maiden shook her head, and would have departed, but that Magdalena, +rendered indiscreet by her impatience, arrested her, to make trial of a +new appeal. She took the jewels from her hair, and without reflecting +that the rank of the maiden, indicated by gems quite as valuable as her +own, might render her inaccessible to such temptation, she made as if +she would have thrown them upon her head and neck. She was sorry for the +act; for as soon as the maiden understood what she designed, she drew +back with a look of offended dignity, and with cheeks burning at once +with mortification and anger. Then, gathering up her little picture, her +bodkins, and basket of coloured feathers, she left the apartment, and +returned to it no more that day.</p> + +<p>Amid all her grief at the disappointment of her hopes, Magdalena had yet +generosity enough to appreciate the spirit of the young pagan, and to +lament having outraged her feelings.</p> + +<p>That night, when the female slaves had departed from her chamber, and +she was musing disconsolately in the light of a little night-lantern, +consisting of a taper of resinous wood, surrounded by thin plates of +gold, perforated with holes in many fantastic figures, which transmitted +the light, she was roused by a sigh; and looking up, she beheld, to her +great surprise, the young artist standing before her, in an attitude of +sad and patient humility. As soon as the visitor perceived that she was +seen, she approached, and knelt at Magdalena's feet, who now saw, with a +touch of shame, and, at first, even of resentment, that, as if in +requital of the insult of the morning, she held in her hands all the +jewels that had decorated her hair and person, and offered them for her +acceptance. But Magdalena's displeasure soon passed away; for the jewels +were proffered with the deepest humility, and the damsel's eyes were +suffused with tears. She murmured out some words, too, and the tone was +expressive of grief.</p> + +<p>All this was mysterious to Magdalena, who puzzled herself in vain to +account for the act and the donation. She restored the jewels, and the +maiden being wholly submissive, she replaced them about her person with +her own hands; and then, taking advantage of the opportunity, made +another effort to come to a better understanding with her. She +remembered that her companion was a painter, and being herself a little +skilled in the art, she drew with a bodkin from her hair, upon the soft +wood of the table that supported her lamp, the figure of a man in +Spanish costume, bound in a cell. The representation was awkward, yet it +appeared that the damsel understood it; for she took the bodkin, and +immediately, though with a trembling hand, completed the picture by the +addition of another figure, representing a Mexican, with a crown like +that Magdalena had seen on the head of Guatimozin, who, with one hand, +extended to him the handle of a macana, while threatening him with +another, brandished above his head.</p> + +<p>This was expressive enough, and Magdalena's alarm for the safety of the +young man was only removed when the maiden drew what was plainly +designed for a buckler, interposed between the weapon and his head.</p> + +<p>Magdalena then, without further hesitation, leaped to the grand object +of her desires, by drawing the figure of a man paddling in a canoe. This +also her companion understood, and replied to it significantly enough, +by surrounding the little vessel with many others, filled with Indians, +or other human beings, who attacked it with showers of arrows and darts.</p> + +<p>"Alas! is there no hope for us then? no hope for my poor brother?" +exclaimed Magdalena, wringing her hands. "Maiden! maiden! carry me but +to him!—Alas, I speak as to a stone statue!"</p> + +<p>She then resumed the bodkin, and returning to the first sketch, she drew +the figure of two women, entering the cell. The response to this ended +her hopes immediately. The Indian girl sketched the outlines of men, +armed with spears, circling around the whole cell.</p> + +<p>Magdalena sank upon the couch in despair, and almost in a frenzy. The +maiden, frighted by the vehemence of her grief, endeavoured to soothe +her, by pressing her hand to her bosom and forehead, and covering it +with kisses and tears; after which she stole quietly from the chamber.</p> + +<p>It was many weeks before Magdalena beheld her again. She vanished from +the hall, she came no more to kneel on her footstool in the morning, and +display her melancholy visage to the stranger. Magdalena's heart died +within her. She was in a solitude among living creatures,—the most +oppressive of all solitudes. Her suspense was intolerable, and preyed +upon her health, until she was wasted to a shadow, and the pagan damsels +eyed her, when she appeared among them, with looks of pity. She +succumbed at last to her fate; the fever of her mind extended to her +body; and she was missed from the hall, as well as the young artist. She +became ill, and she threw herself upon her couch, to waste away with +passion and delirium. But there was still a gleam of happiness to break +upon her.</p> + +<p>One night, when the dancing,—now no longer pursued with spirit, for the +cannon of the Spaniards sounded each day louder and nearer,—had ceased, +and the flutes were breathed upon no more, she felt her hand pressed +with a gentle grasp. She looked up, and beheld the Indian girl at her +side, eyeing her with compassion. She sprang to her feet, in an ecstacy +of delight, and embraced her; for she hailed her appearance as the +herald of joy.</p> + +<p>"Oh, maiden! maiden!" she cried, "what news of my brother?"</p> + +<p>The damsel replied with the only words in her power, but the best she +could have used, had she been acquainted with the whole speech of +Castile. She looked sadly but firmly into Magdalena's face, and murmured +softly,</p> + +<p>"Juan Lelma"—</p> + +<p>The accent was imperfect and false, but the sounds were music to +Magdalena. She clasped the young barbarian again in her arms, but her +caresses were only responded to by tears and sobs, which seemed to +increase in proportion to her own raptures. But Magdalena was too wild +with hope to think of the sorrows of her friend. She saw that the Indian +held in her hand, two long and capacious mantles of a plain stuff, +which, she knew, were to veil them from evil eyes, while they crept to +the cell of her brother. But the maiden checked her impetuosity. She +removed the trinkets from her head and person, and again offered them to +the Christian; and persisted to do so, though still most gently and +humbly, until Magdalena, thinking this might be some important ceremony, +a proof perhaps of friendship offered and received, and perceiving, what +was more influential still, that it was necessary to hasten the +proceedings of her visitor, consented to receive them. She yielded to +her importunities, and the Indian girl clasped around her ankles, arms, +and neck, and twisted in her hair, all the jewels that had decorated her +own person, besides hanging round her neck the silver cross and +rosary,—Magdalena's own gift to Juan,—which she received with rapture, +not doubting that he had sent it to her as a token and a full warrant to +submit herself to the guidance of the young infidel. This accomplished, +she assisted Magdalena to secure the larger mantle about her figure, and +wrapped herself in the other. Then beckoning the Christian to follow, +and signing to her to preserve silence, she led the way from the +chamber.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + + +<p>A short passage through which they stole, darkly, for it was not +lighted, conducted them to a chamber, where the guide paused a moment, +as if in doubt and fear. A strong light beamed through the curtained +door. They listened for a time, until hearing no one stir within, the +Indian maiden pulled the curtain timidly aside, and then beckoned +Magdalena to follow her. It was a spacious apartment, richly tapestried, +and lighted by many such masked torches as Magdalena had seen in her own +chamber. The hangings were even continued over the ceiling, so that it +resembled a pavilion rather than the sleeping apartment of a king,—for +such it was. In the centre was suspended a magnificent canopy, wrought +with feathers, overhanging a couch blazing with gold, and bedecked with +the richest spoils of the parrot and flamingo, with little pedestals +both at the head and foot, on which incense was burning before golden +idols. Upon this lay sleeping the Indian lady, whom Magdalena had so +often seen during the two first weeks of her durance; and the infant +slept clasping her neck. Magdalena doubted no longer that she beheld the +queen of the young monarch. But she crept softly after her guide, and +was soon buried again in darkness. After many turnings and windings, +which made her fancy the palace was a great labyrinth, she suddenly +found herself conducted into the open air, by a door exceedingly narrow, +and concealed by a mass of trailing vines. But secret as this entrance +appeared, it was not unguarded. A tall savage with a spear, started up +from the bushes, as if to dispute their right of egress. But a word from +his companion, low as the whisper of a breeze, removed his opposition. +He flung himself upon the earth, as if to his divinity, and thus +remained, until the maidens had passed.</p> + +<p>It was by this time midsummer—for so long a period had elapsed since +the departure from Tezcuco; but it was the season of the rains, and the +chill winds from the lake penetrated Magdalena to the heart. The sky was +overcast, the grass loaded with moisture, and every gust shook down a +shower from the trees.</p> + +<p>It was very dark, and she knew not well to what quarter she was bending +her steps. But she could see a line of fires running as it seemed across +the lake, from a point in the city to the right hand, and lost in the +distance or obscurity of the left. This was, in fact, the northern +causeway, or dike of Tepejacac, the nearest point of which was scarce a +mile distant from the garden. It was occupied by the troops of Sandoval, +who had extended his approach already within the limits of the water +suburb. Two or three of his brigantines were also perceived anchored +near to the calzada,—at least, their lanterns were seen shining from +their prows.</p> + +<p>While Magdalena was yet stealing along after her guide, her eyes fixed +upon this line of fires, she heard suddenly a great tumult begin among +them, in which the yells of men were faintly distinguished amid the +crash of fire-arms and artillery. Shocked and frighted as she was, at +being thus made a witness, though afar, of the terrors of human wrath, +she soon began to look upon the conflict as of good omen for herself. It +would certainly be a more attractive spectacle to any wandering infidels +in the garden than might be furnished by the obscure figures of herself +and companion.</p> + +<p>Apparently the Indian maiden thought so too; for she increased her pace, +and instead of skulking as before, among green-arched and shadowy +alleys, she walked boldly along in a broad exposed path, that led +directly to a corner of the palace. But from this very corner they saw +rushing a tumultuous throng of barbarians, some of whom ran directly +towards them, though the course of others was in another direction.</p> + +<p>The young guide drew Magdalena into a sheltered walk, and crept +timorously along until she reached the palace wall, when she sank down, +from fatigue or fear, signing to Magdalena to do the same thing, and +thus remained, until the last of the barbarians had vanished. The path +now seemed clear, but still the Indian maiden remained cowering on the +earth; and Magdalena, whose impatience distracted her mind and almost +hardened her heart, perceived that she was sobbing bitterly. She touched +her arm. The guide shrank away, but seemed to collect her spirits and +courage at the sign. She rose up, and led the way to a broad door, where +an armed Indian stood, holding a flambeau. He seemed alarmed, though not +surprised at the sight of the pair, and spoke earnestly to the guide, as +if to dissuade her from entering. She passed him, however, with a word, +and the next moment stopped, in great agitation, before the curtain of a +door. Magdalena looked eagerly to her to confirm her hopes; but before +the maiden could lift her finger, signing to her to enter, she heard, +from within the apartment, the well known growl of Befo.</p> + +<p>"Juan! dear Juan!" she exclaimed, and darted through the curtain.</p> + +<p>The young man was pacing to and fro, not bound hand and foot, as her +fears had anticipated, but evidently excited in the most painful degree +by the distant firing. He turned at the sound of her voice, and threw +himself into her arms.</p> + +<p>"Sister! for I believe thou <i>art</i> my sister," he cried,—"else how could +I love thee with a love so unlike that of man for woman? God be praised +that I have seen thee once again: for it is time thou wert wrested out +of this place. But what is this? Thou art wasted and thin! very thin: +thy hands burn, thy cheek is hot—Sister, dear sister, thou art ill!"</p> + +<p>"Think of it not," said Magdalena, with the delight of a maiden, +listening for the first time to the voice of affection, and caressing +him without reserve: "Oh, Juan, I could die twice over, to hear you +speak so; and I care not if I do die, so you are but saved; for you have +made me very happy.—You are a prisoner, Juan,—we are both prisoners. +An Indian girl brought me here—she will help you to escape, for you can +speak her language. You can go to Cortes, and tell him you are the +brother of Magdalena. He will not wrong you then,—no, he will not +dare—Or perhaps we can fly together—we can fly in a canoe. The maiden +will help us, the good maiden: She is at the door—I will call her in."</p> + +<p>At this moment, the Indian girl, driven in, immediately after Magdalena, +by some sudden alarm, stood at a distance, near the door, muffled in her +cloak, and shrinking almost within herself. A single dim and half +expiring torch twinkled in the apartment; and its light scarcely +reaching her, she remained unobserved, a spectator of every thing, but +of course unable to understand a word of the conversation.</p> + +<p>"Go not, dear Magdalena," said Juan, folding her in his arms; "for it +may be that we have but a moment more to share together. Tarry, and hear +what I have to say. I am, as I may say, a prisoner; yet it seems, if I +can believe the young king, more because I have incurred the wrath of +the Mexicans than his own. Thus it is: the king rescued me from prison +in Tezcuco, first, because I had not long before given him liberty, to +my own great misfortune, and secondly, because he doubted not, that the +wrongs I have suffered would incense me to take part with him, and fight +against my countrymen; whereby, as he thinks, he would gain an +invaluable auxiliary. On the day of his coronation, he presented me to +his people, and called me his brother; nevertheless, they gave me but +sour looks, for bitterly do they hate the sight of a Spaniard. If I will +fight with them and for them, I win their love,—so he assures me, and +so I can well believe; but this is clearly impossible. I have not +fought, and I will not; and they say, therefore, that the king should +give me up to be sacrificed; and twice already, after having suffered +some severe losses, they have come turbulently to the palace, to demand +me. For this reason, I dare not appear among them, unless to be torn to +pieces.—Tremble not, fear not," he continued, as Magdalena clasped him, +as if to shield him from approaching weapons: "I have seen thee bold and +resolute among roaring breakers,—else how could I have saved thee, dear +sister?—Heaven pardon Hilario! and heaven pardon me, my sister, that I +imputed his death to thy warrant!—I have seen thee bold and intrepid. +Now summon back what courage thou hast; and, if heaven will, I will save +thee yet again from destruction. I can myself escape, but not with +thee—"</p> + +<p>"Think not of me, Juan, think not of me," said Magdalena, earnestly and +fondly. "Thou canst do nothing to make me so happy, as to tell me how I +can die for thee. Fly, then; pause not a moment, but fly; and know, +that, if I meet thee not again but in heaven, yet thou wilt leave me in +heaven, even upon earth, knowing that thou art saved, and that I have +ministered somewhat to thy liberation."</p> + +<p>"Be of this heart, Magdalena," said Juan, "and rest assured that I will +soon return, if I have life, with such a force as will rescue thee +likewise from thraldom. My plan of escape involves duplicity, nay, even +perfidy; yet are mine ends all pure, honourable, and humane. I perceive +that Guatimozin is incapable of resisting much longer. His people are +slain by thousands each day, and thousands must soon perish from want. +Cortes has already his foot upon the island; and house by house, the +city is tumbled into ruins. The poor king is distracted, and resolved to +die, burying himself and his whole people under the ruins of his +capital. This may be excused in a soldier, and in men; but the town is +thronged with poor women and children; there are thousands of them—tens +of thousands; and they must perish, if the siege be longer continued. To +save them—to save the king himself (for thus only can he be saved,) I +will break faith with him; and thus also will I save thee. My only fear +is, that his anger may fall upon thee, when he finds I have deceived +him; yet this he may not discover. There is one here, with whom, could I +but find speech, I could secure thee a protector. Magdalena, I have one +friend here, who will be thine. An unfortunate attempt to escape has +perhaps robbed me of her assistance. Yet I spoke of thee to her, +and—But, dear Magdalena, thou art sick and feeble!—I talk to thee too +much. If thou art alarmed, I will not leave thee: we will await our fate +together."</p> + +<p>"I <i>am</i> sick, Juan, and I know not what is the matter with me," said +Magdalena, faintly, suffering the young man to place her upon a seat. +"But who is this of whom you speak? Your friend, Juan—surely I shall +love <i>your</i> friends."</p> + +<p>At this moment, Juan, as he bent over her, caught sight of the jewels +which the Indian maiden had placed upon her head and neck, and among +others, beheld the star of pearls which had gained for the daughter of +Montezuma the name of Zelahualla, or the Lady of the Star, and the +silver crucifix.</p> + +<p>"Good heaven!" he cried, "do you wear her jewels, and yet ask me who she +is?"</p> + +<p>Magdalena started to her feet, and both turning together, they beheld +the Indian princess, shrinking in the shadow of the room, behind Befo, +who seemed to consider her an old friend, her arms crossed upon her +breast, her head drooping, and her whole attitude and appearance +indicative of a spirit entirely crushed and broken.</p> + +<p>"Zelahualla!" cried Juan, with a voice of delight; and rushing towards +her, he folded her in his arms, and strove to draw her towards his +sister. "Why didst thou not speak to me, Zelahualla? Why dost thou turn +from me, Zelahualla?"</p> + +<p>The maiden sobbed, and strove to disengage herself from his embrace, +saying,</p> + +<p>"There is no Zelahualla now—The bright lady of the east is Zelahualla. +Juan and the bright lady shall go. Why should Juan think there are +<i>two</i>?"</p> + +<p>In these broken expressions, Magdalena, had they not been in an unknown +tongue, would have traced the workings of jealous and wounded affection. +They filled Juan with surprise.</p> + +<p>"What is this you say to me, Zelahualla?" he cried, "and what do you +mean? Did not Zelahualla promise she would love my sister?"</p> + +<p>"She did," replied the princess, without abating her grief: "she will +love Juan's sister, and any one that Juan loves; and she has brought the +bright lady to Juan, and she has given her her jewels, that Juan may +love her more, and forget Zelahualla,—and the cross of his God, too, +that he may not be sorry."</p> + +<p>"Alas, Zelahualla, what evil-eye has struck thee? Dost thou think I +deceive thee? Wilt thou not believe this is my sister?"</p> + +<p>The princess looked at him doubtfully and sadly:</p> + +<p>"It is all as Juan says: but the king has asked questions, and the +nobles have spoken to him with the words of captives; and they say, he +has spoken falsely of the bright lady."</p> + +<p>"Wilt thou believe <i>them</i>, and not <i>me</i>?" said Juan, not without +emotion, for he was touched by the deep and unreproachful sorrow of the +young princess, though greatly surprised to find how her ear had been +abused. "I swear to thee, and may heaven judge me according to my truth, +that, in this matter, I deceive thee not. There is but one Zelahualla, +and she is the daughter of Montezuma."</p> + +<p>The maiden sank upon his breast, sobbing, but now with rapture. Then +running to Magdalena, who had surveyed the scene with varying and +extraordinary emotion, she threw herself at her feet, and embraced her +knees.</p> + +<p>Magdalena stood like one entranced, until Juan, raising up the princess, +placed her in her arms, saying,</p> + +<p>"Dear sister, give her thy friendship; for there is no one more pure or +noble of spirit, though artless, than this poor ignorant maiden; and let +the cross again hang on her bosom, for she has confessed her Redeemer. +She will watch thee and guard thee while I am gone;—nay, she will nurse +thee too, for thou art very ill, and needest kind nurture."</p> + +<p>Magdalena returned the embraces of the Indian maiden, but it was with a +wildness of manner, that greatly disturbed her brother, and even +frighted the princess. He took her hand,—it was hot and trembling. He +kissed her, and found her lips burning with fever; and he perceived that +excitement had wrought her indisposition into a degree of illness that +might prove serious.</p> + +<p>"Compose thyself, dear Magdalena," he said. "All now depends upon thy +coolness and courage. If thou becomest ill, my scheme must needs +miscarry—Nay, I cannot attempt it, until thou art better; for it seems +to me now thou art almost delirious."</p> + +<p>"Delirious, Juan? No, I am not delirious. Yet I am ill,—very ill, I +think. Thou goest alone, dost thou not? Tarry not a moment.—We will +leave thee,—we will not stay longer, lest the guards should return and +find us."</p> + +<p>"Listen to me, Magdalena," said Juan, earnestly, as if he feared lest +her senses should wander. "If I fall into the Spaniards' hands alive, I +will come to this garden in canoes, with a proper force, and enter it by +surprise. If it be possible, I will seize the person of the king, having +previously secured him such terms from Cortes as shall protect him in +person and in his government, as the vassal of Spain. This will end the +war at once. But in this I may not succeed, yet be able to liberate both +thee and the princess. Through her address, thou wilt be enabled to walk +often in the garden. Walk therein, as near to the lake as possible, +especially late in the day, and in the first hours of the evening. The +dog Befo I will leave in a cage: when you are in fear, give him +liberty.—The princess hath often fed him, and he will guard you well; +and his voice, if I come in the night-time, will show me where to seek +you.—Do you understand me, dear sister? Struggle but a little against +this fever, and perhaps it may leave you. At all events, the thought of +your suffering will arm me with double strength, when I return, bringing +you relief. Alas, Magdalena, I am sorry to see you thus!"</p> + +<p>"It shall be as you say, Juan," said Magdalena, a little incoherently. +"I will be governed by this maiden, and for your sake, I will love her +well. We will walk in the garden, too. Yet think not of us. If you are +safe, we will be content."</p> + +<p>"Farewell, Magdalena, dear Magdalena," said Juan. "Walk, if thou art +able, even to-morrow; for in the morning I will essay to depart. At any +rate, be thou sick or well, if thou hearest a bugle winded in the +garden, at any hour, be it morn or midnight, then be sure that you sally +out, and Zelahualla with you.—Farewell, sister, farewell!—and +farewell, thou, dear princess. When thou thinkest of me, let the cross +be in thy hands and on thy lips!"</p> + +<p>With these words, and having tenderly embraced them both, Juan led them +to the door, and putting their hands together, he had soon the +satisfaction to hear them step from the passage into the open air.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + + +<p>What Juan had said in relation to the cause of his confinement, was +true, although he was not aware of the whole extent of the truth. In +releasing him from impending death at Tezcuco, the young infidel did not +doubt, in the simplicity of his heart, that he was adding a powerful +engine of defence to his preparations, as well as requiting the +obligation, which, he believed, had been the principal cause of Juan's +downfall. He reckoned confidently upon Juan's desire for vengeance, the +absence of which feeling, after wrongs so stirring and manifold, his +nature did not allow him to anticipate; and he dwelt also, with the +security of pride, upon the incentive offered in the love of the +daughter of Montezuma. In this spirit of confidence, without much +regarding Juan's previous averments, he introduced him to his assembled +forces, upon the day of coronation, that all might know him, and respect +him thenceforth as one honoured with the highest of titles—the king's +brother. So far, all was well: the name of the Young Eagle was not +wholly unknown to the Mexican warriors; and the sight of his manly +figure, arrayed in a native cloak, his head crowned with a lofty +penacho, put on by the king's hand, and the glittering axe of obsidian +received from the same quarter, and grasped a moment with a military +air, made an impression in his favour, that could only be obliterated by +his own act of rejection. The spectacle was hailed with acclamations, +and</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i2">Far and wide, the thundering shout,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Rolling among reduplicating rocks,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Peal'd o'er the hills and up the mountain vales.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a><br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Unfortunately, Juan, unwilling that any act should be interpreted as +expressing his assent to take arms against his countrymen, immediately +threw down the macana, and would even have taken the plumes from his +head, had he not been arrested by Techeechee, and made sensible that +such a proceeding would be followed by the most fatal consequences. The +movement, however, had been observed by many of the nobles; and from +that moment, Juan saw that he was watched by jealous and hostile eyes. +His explicit and absolute refusal to take part in the conflicts, had +convinced the young king of his error; yet, though greatly exasperated, +he took such measures, from motives of honour or humanity, as protected +the obdurate Christian from the daily increasing anger of his people. He +confined him in the palace, and forbade even the ardent Zelahualla to go +near him. In this he was actuated by suspicions, constantly inflamed by +the Lord of Death, and not unnatural in themselves, that the young man +had abused his credulity in the case of Magdalena. The love of the +Indian maid, however, penetrated through guards and prison-doors; and +Juan, almost as impatient of confinement and suspense as Magdalena +herself, resolved to effect his escape, and by throwing himself upon the +mercy of the Captain-General, make one effort to liberate his unhappy +sister. The attempt was discovered and thwarted; and from that moment +his confinement had been very rigid.</p> + +<p>Still, however, the young infidel was wont frequently to visit him, +after the combat of the day, in the hope of overcoming his scruples, or +of gathering from his accidental expressions some hints that might be +turned to advantage against the besiegers. On all such occasions, he +refused to satisfy the prisoner's questions concerning his sister and +the princess; giving him plainly to understand that nothing but the +assumption of the pagan battle-axe, or positive counsels in his straits, +which he did not attempt to conceal, could purchase a sight of either. +In all these things, if the infidel acted with more crafty selfishness +than generosity, he only proved that he belonged to his race. The whole +conduct of Juan was, according to <i>his</i> scale of morals and honour, both +unfriendly and unaccountable. He designed, this very night, to visit the +prisoner, of which intention Juan was apprized; and hence his eagerness +to dismiss the maidens from the chamber, before the conclusion of the +attack upon the neighbouring dike, with the nature and objects of which +he was well acquainted.</p> + +<p>Before the maidens had departed, it was evident that the firing and +other noises on the causeway were subsiding. Before they had been gone +the full space of an hour, a heavy step rang in the passage, and the +next moment the Indian monarch stood before the captive. He was +singularly and sumptuously armed. From head to foot, his body was +covered with a garment, perhaps of escaupil, fitting so tightly as to +display his limbs to advantage; and over all was a coat of mail, +consisting of copper spangles or scales, richly gilded, and stitched +upon a shirt of dressed leather. His head was defended by a morion of +the same metal, shaped not unlike to those of the Spaniards, and equally +strong; and its ability to resist a violent blow was increased by the +folds of a stout serpent, painted green, wreathing over its whole +surface. A shield of tapir-skin, studded with copper nails, hung from +his neck; and he bore a macana, which was stained with blood. He wore +none of the emblems of royalty, and his appearance was only that of some +highly distinguished noble. His eye was bright and fiery, his step firm +and proud, but his aspect was thin and haggard.</p> + +<p>"Has my brother heard the shouts of men near him, and does he yet say, +'Let me sleep?'" were the words with which he saluted the captive.</p> + +<p>"Prince," said Juan, eyeing him anxiously and interrogatively, though +speaking with positive emphasis, "as I told you before, so has it +happened. The cannon were ready on the dike, the falconets were charged +in the ships, and the men of Sandoval slept with swords and matches in +their hands, and with their eyes open. Guatimozin does not come back a +victor!"</p> + +<p>"He comes back with a prisoner," said the prince, proudly; "and, +to-morrow, the lord with red hair (Sandoval) will count the dead and +weep, and Malintzin shall see the flames of sacrifice rising from the +pyramid."</p> + +<p>"Alas!" exclaimed Juan, "in condemning captives to this horrible death, +against your will, for I know your heart is not cruel, you harden the +soul of Cortes against you; and he will remember each sacrifice, when +the day of surrender comes at last."</p> + +<p>"Let it be harder than it is, what cares the Mexican who dies?" replied +the king. "Does my brother think that I am weary, or that Malintzin can +fight longer than I?"</p> + +<p>"Think not to deceive me, prince—I know that already your altars and +palaces are within reach of the cannon-shot—nay, of the +musket-bullet—You are hemmed in, like a wild-cat on a tree—Your +enemies are all round you, and they look into your eyes. Are not the +water-suburbs already taken?"</p> + +<p>"Why should I lie?" replied Guatimozin. "If you go to Tacuba, you will +see the banks of the island—the city of the water is not there. If you +look from Iztapalapan, the surges go rushing up towards the great +temple—the houses are under the lake—If you look from the door of my +dwelling, you will see the quarter of Tepejacac falling also into the +lake. When Malintzin calls aloud in the morning, the lord of the red +hair answers him, and Malintzin hears. Thus it is with Mexico; yet my +brother sleeps, while I die, saying to his soul, 'It is all very just, +for I sleep and see not.'"</p> + +<p>"If I see not and help not, yet is my heart torn by your distresses," +replied Juan, earnestly. "But why should I help? It would be a great sin +upon my soul, and could do you no good. Listen to my counsel, +Guatimozin: It is not yet too late. Cease to protract an unavailing +resistance; send to Cortes with offers of submission, and be assured of +reigning still, a king, though a vassal."</p> + +<p>"Does Guatimozin fight to be a king?" said the infidel, with dignity. +"He struck the Spaniard before he thought of a crown. He thinks not of +palaces and fine garments, but says, 'Why should the people of Mexico be +made slaves?' The king fights for Mexico."</p> + +<p>"He will fight best for Mexico with peace. The kings of Tezcuco and +Iztapalapan pay tribute to Mexico—are their people slaves? Thus shall +it be with Mexico: the king shall give gold, as the tributary of Spain, +and Mexicans shall remain in freedom."</p> + +<p>"Will my brother prattle like Malintzin?" demanded the monarch, sternly. +"Where is the freedom of Zempoala, of Tlascala, of Cholula? The people +talk of it, while a Spaniard strikes them with a lash. Where is the +freedom of Tezcuco? The young king, who is a boy, sits on the throne; +but the Spaniard, whom my brother struck in the face with a sword, when +he chased Olin-pilli, is there with him, and he robs and abuses the +people, so that they have sent their tears to Malintzin. What was the +fate of Montezuma? He sat in the Spaniards' house in chains, and the +soldiers murdered his nobles, who danced in peace in the courtyard. What +was the fate of Montezuma? The Spaniard, who is lord of the king of +Tezcuco, would have done violence to the captive maiden—Does my brother +remember?"</p> + +<p>"Ay!" replied Juan, with the gleam of passion that visited his eyes, +only when he spoke of Guzman: "I remember, and I hope yet to +avenge—Sinner that I am, I cannot think it a crime, to covet the blood +of this man!—But, prince, let me know—My captivity is very hard—Why +should I not be allowed to speak with the princess? Why should my sister +be hidden from me?"</p> + +<p>The countenance of Guatimozin darkened.</p> + +<p>"When my brother will fight for them, he shall be at liberty. My brother +thinks again of the canoe at the bottom of the garden?"</p> + +<p>Juan coloured, and said,</p> + +<p>"You keep me a prisoner—I strove to escape. The king mocks me, to call +me his brother."</p> + +<p>"The warriors are very angry, yet the Great Eagle is alive. He cannot go +among them in safety, unless as their friend."</p> + +<p>"And who," said Juan, "shall warrant me of safety, if I go even as a +friend?"</p> + +<p>He deemed it now the period to commence acting upon his scheme of +escape, yet hesitated, stung with shame at the thought of the duplicity +to which he was descending.—"It is better to die on the dikes than to +pine in the dungeon."</p> + +<p>Guatimozin's eye gleamed with a sudden fire:</p> + +<p>"Does my brother jest with me?" he said. "If my brother think it wrong +to strike a Spaniard, he shall not be called upon to fight. He can teach +me the things it is needful to know; and be in no fear."</p> + +<p>"When did Guatimozin see me afraid?" cried Juan, stifling as well as he +could the sense of humiliation and disgust, with which he began the +office of a deceiver. "To give you counsel how to resist or attack, will +make me as much a renegade as to draw sword at once. If I do become +apostate, it shall be boldly, and with the sword. Prince, I have thought +over this thing: my heart is grieved with your distress; and for my +sister, and for Zelahualla, I will do what my conscience condemns. Does +the king know what shall be my fate, if I am found fighting by the +Spaniards?"</p> + +<p>"Twenty chosen warriors shall circle my brother round about, and he +shall keep aloof from the van of battle."</p> + +<p>"If I fight, it shall be in the van," said Juan, his self-condemnation +giving a character of sullenness to his tones. "But what, if I +fall,—what shall become of my sister?"</p> + +<p>"She shall be the sister of Guatimozin and of Zelahualla," said +Guatimozin, with energy, yet with doubt; for he could hardly believe +that Juan was speaking seriously.</p> + +<p>"Let the king say <i>this</i>, and I will go out with him to battle:—If I +die, he will cause my sister and the princess to be delivered into the +hands of Cortes."</p> + +<p>"The Spanish lady shall be sent to Malintzin; but the Centzontli shall +remain with her brother the king. It is better she should die with him +than dwell with the Spaniards. Why shouldst thou think it? Are there not +more Guzmans than one?"</p> + +<p>Juan muttered painfully to himself,</p> + +<p>"Perhaps it <i>is</i> better. Heaven will protect her, for she has +acknowledged her Redeemer.—Will the king swear, then, if his brother +falls, that Magdalena shall be sent to the Spaniards?"</p> + +<p>"He will swear," said Guatimozin, ardently. "It is better for the +Spanish lady; for she knows not our speech, and she pines away with +grief. And if the king prevails over his enemies, the king will remember +what Juan says of her."</p> + +<p>"Now, then, let the king tell me the truth, and mislead me not. How much +longer can he maintain the city?"</p> + +<p>"Till he is dead!—But he may soon die," he added, confidingly, for now +he doubted no longer that he had gained his purpose. "My brother shall +first teach me how to get food. The ships move about at night, and no +canoe can reach the shore. The king sits down to eat with the warriors, +and he eats no more—but the warriors cry all night for food."</p> + +<p>"Good heaven!" said Juan, surveying the wasted cheeks of the monarch; +"are you already so straitened? your garners already exhausted?"</p> + +<p>"Who can reckon for so many mouths?" cried Guatimozin.</p> + +<p>"I dreamed not of this—Sure, <i>I</i> have never been denied abundance!"</p> + +<p>"My brother is a prisoner; and the women and children are feeble. Why +should <i>they</i> want, when the warriors can endure hunger better?"</p> + +<p>The communication of this painful intelligence nerved Juan more strongly +in his purpose. He perceived the necessity of acting without delay, if +he wished to protect the young infidel from the consequence of his own +despairing fury, and the maiden of his love, and his sister, from a fate +too dreadful to be imagined. His eagerness the more fully deluded the +young monarch, not prone to suspicion where he loved, and he was soon +made acquainted with the whole condition of the beleaguered city, and +the situation of the Spaniards. He was also instructed in the +particulars of a design of Guatimozin, to be practised upon the ensuing +day, the boldness of which, as well as its strong probabilities of +success, both astonished and dismayed him. He perceived that perhaps the +fate of the entire Spanish army depended upon the course he might +pursue, and his honour and feelings seemed all to call upon him for some +exertion to arrest the impending destruction.</p> + +<p>When he had been made acquainted with all that Guatimozin thought fit to +divulge, and had again and again repeated his resolution to take arms +and accompany the Mexicans against his countrymen, the king embraced him +with great warmth, promising to provide him with a good Spanish sword +and helmet from among the spoils; but recommending that, in all other +respects, he should assume the guise of a Mexican.</p> + +<p>When these arrangements were completed, he turned to depart, and yet +seemed loath to go. Finally, he took Juan by the arm, and said,</p> + +<p>"To-night the king will sleep by the side of his brother: we will wake +in the morning and go out together."</p> + +<p>"Why will not the king speak kind things to the queen? It will rejoice +her to look upon the king."</p> + +<p>"Has she not a little sick babe by her side? and are they not very +wretched?" said Guatimozin, exposing, without reserve, the miseries +preying upon his own bosom, and abandoning himself to a grief that +seemed to mock the greatness of his station. "When I look upon them," he +said, "I am no longer the king who thinks of Mexico and the people, but +a man with a base heart, who cries, 'Why am not I a prisoner and a +slave, that my little child may be saved, and his mother protected from +the famine that is coming?' The king should not think these things,—he +should not look upon his household, but his country."</p> + +<p>"Go, notwithstanding," said Juan, touched still further by the +distresses of the infidel. "Comfort them with your presence, and let +their sufferings admonish you of the only way to end them. It is not too +late to submit."</p> + +<p>"Is this the way my brother begins the duties of a Mexican?" said +Guatimozin. "The gods tell me to die, not yield. I fight for +Mexico,—not for the wife and child of Guatimozin."</p> + +<p>With these words, and having banished all traces of weakness and +repining, he left Juan to slumber, or to weigh, in painful anticipation, +the risks and uncertainties of his projected enterprise.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + + +<p>As Guatimozin had confessed to Juan Lerma, the three suburbs of the +causeways were already demolished, and their ruined walls, battered by +cannon and blackened by smoke, peered over the lake, along the +causeways, in melancholy ruins. The hand of desolation had extended +still further; at least, in the quarter that was pierced by the dike of +Iztapalapan. Here Cortes commanding in person, and fighting every day at +the head of his army, he had infected the whole division with a share of +his own energy. While Alvarado and Sandoval were contending for a +foothold on the very borders of the city, he had already penetrated it +to the distance of half a mile, destroying many houses, though without +being able to effect a secure and permanent lodgment upon any portion of +the island.</p> + +<p>It must not be supposed, that, having reached the island, the Spaniards +could exchange the narrow and ditched causeways for firm and spacious +streets. On the contrary, the causeways, so to speak, were continued up +to within half a mile of the principal square which was in the very +centre of the city, and contained the great pyramid, as well as the +chief temples of Mexico. On either side was a canal both broad and deep, +dividing the road from the houses; and others, running from intersecting +streets, perforated the causeways with chasms, the number of which the +Mexicans had long since greatly increased. The island, which was +circular, did not exceed three miles in diameter, of which the central +third only was dry and solid. Hence the advanced posts of the three +divisions were at no considerable distance from each other; and if the +call of Cortes in the morning was not absolutely heard and answered by +his two lieutenants, the bugles of each could be easily distinguished, +cheering one another as they advanced to the daily assault.</p> + +<p>The labour of Cortes in destroying the suburb in his quarter, was less +than that of the others; for here, the lake being deeper, the houses +extended but a short distance from the island. His advanced post was +almost within the limits of the suburb, and separated from the island by +only one ditch, which he had twice or thrice taken and filled up, but +was as often obliged to yield again to the foe, subduing his impatience, +until his lieutenants had advanced equally far in their quarters.</p> + +<p>The outposts were always guarded with the most jealous vigilance, +particularly in the later hours of the night, after the rains, which, in +this climate, commonly prevail with the greatest violence between the +hours of noon and midnight. A guard of forty men, with two pieces of +artillery, kept watch until midnight; when, yielding their places to +forty more, but not retiring, they threw themselves to sleep upon the +damp stones and clay. Two hours before dawn, the post was strengthened +by another company of forty, who watched until morning, the others +flinging themselves in their cloaks among the first watchmen. Thus, +there were ready, before day, one hundred and twenty men, the strongest +and boldest of their divisions, who, in case of sudden attack, could +preserve the station, until reinforced by the whole strength of the +division, from the towers of the gates, which were still the +head-quarters of the several divisions. The causeway between the gates +and the pickets, was occupied by patrols of horsemen, who watched lest +the enemy, coming in canoes, should make a descent behind the advanced +post, and thus cut it off.</p> + +<p>Two hours after midnight, upon the night in which Juan revealed his +purpose of escaping, the second guard on the causeway of Iztapalapan was +relieved from watch by the coming of the third; and the soldiers flung +themselves, as usual, upon the earth, to prepare for a morning, which, +it was known to all, was to witness a general assault, made +simultaneously by all the divisions, from their three several quarters.</p> + +<p>The watchfires were replenished, and two subalterns, the leaders of the +party, advanced a little beyond them, to reconnoitre the condition of +the enemy. Three hundred paces in front, the causeway was intersected by +the ditch, held by the Mexicans; and beyond it, on a strong rampart, +blazed a great fire, in the light of which the pagan sentinels could be +seen, squatting upon the mound, or stalking idly about. The gap was +bridgeless, as was well-known; but this the Spaniards could not observe +with their own eyes, not thinking it prudent to advance within the range +of a Mexican arrow.</p> + +<p>As they returned, they conversed together in low voices; and it was +worthy of remark, as indicating how little their spirits were occupied +by the dangers around them, that they bestowed more words upon the +ordinary scandal of the camp than upon the horrible conflicts through +which they had passed, or in which they were yet to mingle.</p> + +<p>"They lay this thing of Camarga entirely to the door of Guzman," said +one; "and, in my mind, the imputation were reasonable, could we discover +any cause for enmity between them. They say, that Guzman smothered him +with pillows of cottontree-down. Wherefore—"</p> + +<p>"Pho, Najara," said the other, bluffly; "blame not a man upon these vain +fancies; for Camarga was killed by a hard weapon, and by no pillows of +cotton-down or feathers. I found him myself."</p> + +<p>"Ay," said Najara, for it was the hunchback, whose companion was no +other than the worthy historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo,—"Ay, seńor +amigo, but he was not dead; and we are speaking of two very different +events: to make which palpable to thy historical wits, we must e'en go +back to the starting point. It is with a man of ill mind as with a +cannonier; who, if he look for the mark of his ball in a forest, must go +back to the place whence he shot it, and take the range over again."</p> + +<p>"I do not understand thy trope," said Bernal, "nor what thou meanest by +an 'ill mind,' not having one myself, but one that harbours animosities +against none but Indians. As for Camarga, I found him myself. It was +when we marched out of Tezcuco, by the northern road; for I was then +with Alvarado, going to Tacuba. I say it, and it is to my honour, not +shame, that Cortes, when he left the brigantines, demanded me of +Alvarado; 'for,' said he, 'Bernal Diaz is one of my best friends, and a +soldier second to none:' which is true, though I say it myself. De Olid +was with us, with his men. The story is this: When we passed by the +cypress-tree on the hill, I bethought me of a chapter of my book, which +I had lost, I knew not where nor when. 'Now,' said I, 'perhaps I left it +under this tree;' for what with the sudden coming of Juan Lerma, poor +fellow, and the quarrel I had with Gaspar on his account, I departed +from that place, without much thought of what might be left behind me. +But pondering on this, as we passed, I dropped from the ranks, and +hunting about, I saw Camarga lying mangled at the bottom of the hill; +and when we came to examine him, it was plain he had been struggling +there for many hours,—perhaps, all night. We thought he was dead; but +Juan Catalan, the cannonier, who is so good at a fresh wound, said, his +heart was yet beating, and he might live. So we sent him back to +Tezcuco, then in charge of Guzman, that the Indian doctors might see +what could be done for him. And there he died."</p> + +<p>"Ay, if we can believe Guzman," said Najara; "and no doubt, he did: but +<i>how</i>? Know now, Bernal, for thou art too innocent to look further than +thy nose, that this man's death has made a great noise at head-quarters; +for, somehow, they have come to associate it with the marvellous +disappearance of La Monjonaza; for which there are but two ways of +accounting."</p> + +<p>"As how?" said Bernal, gravely. "Gil Ortaga told me, he saw her ghost, +six nights after, in Iztapalapan, dragging the spirit of Villafana by +the hair; which frightened him very much."</p> + +<p>"The first thought," said Najara, "is, that she drowned herself for the +love of Juan Lerma, of which—that is, of her love, at least—there is +some proof that might be mentioned, were there any wisdom in speaking +it; and the second, that Guzman hid her in some den about Tezcuco, +trusting to the departure of Cortes on the morrow. It is well known that +Guzman will play rival with the devil himself, if he have taken a fancy +to a woman."</p> + +<p>"Fu," said Bernal, "that is a foolish thought."</p> + +<p>"Dost thou not know," demanded the hunchback, "that he is in disgrace, +for acts still darker than these? He abused the Indians in the palace, +robbing them of their gold and women, at his will, and greatly incensed +the young king Ixtlilxochitl, who complained to Cortes. Cortes sailed to +Tezcuco in person, and removed him from his government; and now he is in +such disgrace, that were it not for some old friendship between him and +the Captain-General, it is thought, Cortes would utterly renounce him. +The Indians say, that he murdered Camarga, when the poor man was +recovering. But this is improbable. Camarga was a stranger, and without +foes. Yet his fate has greatly troubled the general. As for the lady +Infeliz, Don Francisco persists in averring that he knows nothing about +her. He brought a Tlascalan, who swore he saw both her and Camarga walk +out from the northern gate together, during the review; whereby he would +have us believe they fell into the hands of the Mexicans; but Indians +will swear anything, if you tell them how. It is said, that Guzman has +got permission to serve in the fleet with Garci Holguin, his old friend. +They are two dare-devils together, and neither in very good odour; so +they will doubtless do some desperate act to regain favour.—Hark, +Bernal! dost thou hear nothing?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing but the whistling of the Indians at the fire;—for that is the +way they make their signals. We shall have hot work to-morrow, +Najara."—</p> + +<p>"Hark!—Ah, 'tis the sound of oars! One of the night-ships is +approaching the dike. What's in the wind now?—Hah, sirrah! what brings +thee out of limits?"</p> + +<p>These words were directed to a tall man, cloaked to the eyes, whom they +had not before noticed, who stood hard by, peering into the lake, as if +he sought to discover the approaching vessel. Najara hobbled up to him, +in no little dudgeon, and repeated the question, before the stranger +deigned to answer him. He then turned, and replied, with great coolness,</p> + +<p>"Curiosity, crookback, curiosity,—some little itching to know how thou +and thy brother ass, Bernal Diaz, discourse of thy betters. Well, +rogues, have you done? have you despatched mine honour twice over again? +I am not in good odour, hah? I have murdered Camarga, and suborned +Indians to invent fables of La Monjonaza? Out upon ye, fools! I thought +thou wert not so sodden-brained, Najara!"</p> + +<p>As if his voice were not enough to make him known, the cavalier removed +the cloak from his visage, and exhibited the iron features of Don +Francisco de Guzman, illuminated by the watchfire hard by. There was +something about his countenance unusually dark and fierce; yet he did +not speak angrily, although Najara perceived he must have overheard some +of his concluding expressions. But Najara was not a man to be daunted +even by a stronger arm and a sterner eye. He replied therefore, with +composure,</p> + +<p>"What we have said, seńor Don Francisco, we have said, and may take the +same liberty again. But under your favour, seńor, I am, just now, the +captain of the guard; and as I cannot number you among my company, I +must e'en make bold to ask your will, as well as your business, here, in +advance of the post?"</p> + +<p>"Thou shalt ask, and be answered," said Guzman, clapping his fingers to +his lips, and whistling with a strength that might have done honour to +the neighbouring infidels, though in a manner differing entirely from +any of their signals. "One, two,—three,—and <i>too-whit! too-whit!</i> like +a hungry kite in the morning! Dost thou understand <i>that</i>, mi Corcobado? +If thou dost not, then <i>poco á poco, y paciencia</i>, as we say after +dinner; for presently thou shalt be made wiser. After which, get thee to +thy dogs there, in the mud, and snore with them.—Ah, <i>amigo y hermano</i>! +Garci, <i>mi corazoncito</i>! I will know thy pipe among a thousand, for it +whistles out of the nose, like the hiss of a serpent!—Fare ye well, +patches; and heaven send ye a rough rouse in the morning."</p> + +<p>While the cavalier was yet speaking, a little boat from the brigantine, +the heavy oars of which they had long since heard, though they could +scarce trace it in the gloom, shot against the causeway; and an officer +of a powerful frame and forbidding aspect, just rendered visible by the +fire, rising up, extended his hand to Guzman, who immediately jumped +aboard, and took a seat at his side. It was then pushed off, and soon +vanished on the lake.</p> + +<p>"There they go," said Najara, not without admiration, "two imps after +the devil's own liking, strong-handed, tough-headed, hard-hearted! Wo +betide ye, brown lambkins of Mexico! for these wolves have scented a +hole in your pinfold. I tell thee, Bernal, man, we shall have rare work +to-morrow, and these men will make it rarer. When the gall comes from +Guzman's lips, the devil is waked up in his liver. 'A rough rouse in the +morning!' For thy good wish, mayst thou have as rugged a couch in the +evening—Amen! for I love thee not."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + + +<p>The two subalterns now rejoined their companions, and passing them, as +they stood patiently to their arms, waiting for the dawn and the battle, +they crept through the sleepers towards the cannon, which were placed in +the rear, the cannoniers sleeping around them. Here, they found a +solitary individual of the watch they had relieved, leaning moodily +against one of the pieces, instead of sharing the slumber of his +comrades.</p> + +<p>Bernal Diaz surveyed him for a moment, and then touched him on the +shoulder:</p> + +<p>"Townsman," said he, "it is but a foolish thing of thee to stand upon +thy legs, watching, when thy guard duty is over. Sleep a little, +Gaspar—We shall have toilsome work to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Sleep thyself, Bernal," replied Gaspar Olea. "What care I for sleep? +Come, get thee into the mud, and I will take thy place. Thou shalt have +my cloak, too, if thou wilt, to keep the rain out—I can warm me by +walking."</p> + +<p>"I will do no such thing," said Bernal, grasping the hand of his friend, +though Gaspar turned from him, and seemed desirous to continue the +conversation no longer; "if thou wilt wake, why well. I will talk thee +out of thy melancholy. Thou art very much changed, Gaspar. I know not +why thou shouldst grieve after this boy. Thou must now confess, he is +unworthy thy friendship."</p> + +<p>Gaspar returned no answer, and Bernal continued to give consolation by +inflicting pain,—which is the common way.</p> + +<p>"It is allowed by all, that he is a renegade; and doubtless, also, he +has become a worshipper of false gods; for he who will turn his sword +against his countrymen, is a rogue and a blasphemer—That is my opinion. +Gil Ortaga said—"</p> + +<p>"The fiend seize Ortaga, and thee into the bargain!" said Gaspar, +angrily. "If a deer be wounded, and hide himself in a by-way, his +fellows will not hunt after him, to gore him!—Why shouldst thou have +less humanity than a deer?"</p> + +<p>"Come, Gaspar, if I have offended thee, I ask thy pardon," said Bernal +Diaz; "for thou art my townsman and friend, though we have quarrelled +sometimes; and what I say, I say with a good meaning."</p> + +<p>Gaspar looked over his shoulder, and finding that Najara had returned to +the front, he grasped Bernal's hand, and said earnestly,</p> + +<p>"Let there be ill will and ill words between us no more; for who knows +what may come to us to-morrow? I know what is said of Juan Lerma. He is +with the infidels—but what drove him among them? He is a renegade, +too,—yet what made him so? He teaches the enemy to cut ditches and +throw up ramparts, to lay ambushes and attack ships, and a thousand +other feats and stratagems, not to be looked for among barbarians. This +they say,—all say; and some swear they have seen him, in a Mexican +cloak, fighting at the head of the pagans, and knew him by his stature +and voice. Let us believe all this—What then? Bernal, it is a thought +that preys upon me, remembering his honour, his goodness, and +truth,—and this it is,—that a damnable malice has driven him, against +his own will, into the den of perdition. Hark thee, here, in thine +ear—Thou rememberest the expedition to the South Sea? Before that, thou +knowest, I was in great favour with Cortes, whom I loved well, for he +had done me many good deeds in Cuba. About that time, Juan Lerma lost +favour, and no one knew why; for as to censuring the indignities offered +to Montezuma, that was a crime committed by some hundreds besides, who +were never punished. The cause, Bernal, the true cause,—I would I might +tell thee the true cause: but I swore an oath never to breathe it to +mortal man. But <i>this</i> I may speak, (and thou must afterwards forget +it.) I see things more clearly than I did before; and methinks, this +night, mine eyes are further opened. I see very well, that we are all +deluded and abused, and Juan Lerma an innocent man. Hearken then to what +I say. One night, Cortes came to me, looking more like a demon than a +man, and he said to me, 'Gaspar Olea, thou must kill me a snake, that +has stung me upon the breast.' And with that he told me a thing, which I +cannot speak; but this followed—I agreed that I would kill Juan Lerma."</p> + +<p>"Thou art beside thyself, Gaspar!" said Bernal, with the utmost +astonishment.</p> + +<p>"I had good reason given to me," continued Olea; "and at that time I had +but little acquaintance with the young man, and no love; and I was bound +very strongly to Cortes. Understand me, Bernal: I did not consent to +play the part of an assassin, for that was no part for Gaspar Olea. But +being convinced the thing was just, and that the young man was a knave +deserving death, I agreed to exasperate him into a quarrel; wherein I +appeased my conscience, by thinking of the risk I ran, he being reckoned +very good at all weapons. But what dost thou think? The very next night +comes me Cortes again, with quite another story. 'Gaspar,' said he, 'the +thing I told thee was false, and I have done the young man a wrong. +Wherefore, quarrel with him not, and forget what I have told thee;' +adding many things which satisfied my mind, that the youth was an +innocent man, very basely slandered. This caused me to think well of +him; and I consented to go with him to the South Sea. There, Bernal, I +learned to love him, for he was brave, and noble, and good;—ay, by my +faith, I loved him better than ever I had loved the general. But 'What +then?' you will say; 'Whereto tends this?' To this—and it is damnable +to think upon: The General deceived me,—he repented having made me his +confidant; but he still longed for the blood of Juan Lerma. Hence the +South Sea scheme, devised for our destruction—(At this moment, I see it +plainly,)—for Juan's, because of the General's hate, and for <i>mine</i>, +Bernal, because he had confided to me a secret of which he was ashamed. +Ay, by my faith! he repented him that passion had made him so +indiscreet; and therefore designed to put me out of the way. The +soldiers have a story that he was angry with me for some freedom of +speech. This is false. He smiled on me to the last, and thus lulled my +fears. Neither Juan nor myself had any suspicion of evil intentions. He +made it appear, that the expedition was given to us, because of his +regard for our courage; and he deigned to tell me in secret, that his +chief reason for sending Lerma, was that he might be angered no longer +by his censures,—Juan being then very melancholy and peevish, in +consequence of the death of some old companion he had killed in +Espańola. But, Bernal, he deceived us both, as I can now see clearly. He +made it appear to the soldiers, that he was sorry to punish Juan—Nay +some said he shed tears, among the Indians, when he signed the +death-warrant. But this was hypocrisy. I know that he was rejoiced; for +he remembered the old cause, and abhorred him."</p> + +<p>"Marry," said Bernal Diaz, "it cannot be doubted he did. But the cause, +Gaspar? I do not ask thee, what it was: but was it enough to excuse such +rancour?"</p> + +<p>"If true, <i>yes</i>," replied Gaspar, with deep emphasis: "But it was not +true. Juan was innocent. I have probed his heart a thousand times, while +we were in the desert together, and when he knew not what I was doing. +He has not wronged Cortes—no, nor any other living creature. This I +told the General, when we returned to Tezcuco, after the campaign round +the lake. But what wouldst thou think? He averred that he had forgot the +thing;—that it was very foolish;—a groundless slander brought against +Juan by an enemy;—that he loved him as well as ever, and proceeded +against him only on account of broken laws and decrees;—that he durst +not pardon him, since his affection was well known, (his <i>affection</i>, +Bernal!) and the men would cry out against his favouritism. I knew he +spoke falsely, and so I told him. He hardened my heart; and then I ran +to Villafana, who had the power to save him, and promised to make him +our chief captain."</p> + +<p>"Now that you speak of Villafana," said Bernal, "it reminds me of this: +Why, had Juan Lerma been a man of honour and a Christian, should he have +joined in the murderous plots of that detestable traitor?"</p> + +<p>"Thou shouldst ask that of <i>me</i>," said Gaspar, fiercely. "But it matters +not. Who says that Juan Lerma joined him? Najara avers that he kept them +from speech together; and Luis Rafaga, who died of the wounds he got +among the piraguas, a week since, declared to his comrades as well as +the priest, (and being of the prison-guard, he knew all,) that Juan +fought in the prison with Villafana, about the list, the very night that +Villafana was hanged, and would have been killed, but for the coming of +La Monjonaza. I saw the traitor, myself, when he came among the +cavaliers; and he was hurt in the shoulder. Does this look like joining +him? Trust me, Bernal, we have done a great wrong to my young captain; +and I cannot die, without thinking that I leave behind me one man, at +least, to do him justice. This is what I say:—Not his crime, but the +general's secret malice, has driven him among the infidels. He is a +prisoner with them, or perhaps he has already died the death of +sacrifice. They lie, who say they have seen, or will see him in arms +against us. On this I will gage my life; and I pray heaven to take it, +the moment the pledge is forfeited! I swear it—Amen."</p> + +<p>The worst point in the character of a dog, is that, in all the quarrels +betwixt others of his species, he always takes part against the feebler. +In this particular, he is sometimes aped by his master,—not, indeed, in +an absolute conflict between man and man; for ninety in a hundred will, +in such case, befriend the weaker party,—but in those combats which an +individual wages with an evil destiny. Ill thoughts naturally follow +upon ill luck; and it is the curse of misfortune to be followed by +ungenerous suspicion and still more odious crimination. As the whole +army were acquainted with the manner of Juan's flight, or rather +captivity, they did not hesitate to believe him up in arms against them; +and every repulse which they endured from the barbarians, they traced to +the malignance and activity of the exile's treason. Fear and invention +together clothed him with the vestments of a fallen angel; and if some +savage, more gigantic and ferocious than the rest, distinguished himself +in the front of battle, straightway a dozen voices invoked curses upon +the head of the unhappy Lerma. There were few who did not forget his +sorrows and wrongs, and speak of him only with execrations; and many had +already begun to anticipate, as the chief triumph of victory, and the +most delightful of all their hopes, the privilege of burning him alive +on the temple-top, or even sacrificing him to their vengeance, after the +equally horrific manner of the Mexicans.</p> + +<p>While Bernal Diaz was thus conversing with the outcast's only friend, +there came from the distant gates of Xoloc, a suppressed hum, as of an +army arising from its slumbers. This was soon followed by the sound of +heavy bodies of men, approaching over the causeway; and it soon became +evident, that the morn was to be ushered in with the usual horrors of +contention.</p> + +<p>"Up, knaves!" cried the voice of the hunchback, "ye grumbling, growling, +wallowing, swine, that call yourselves lions and tigers! up, and shake +the clay from your cloaks, before it is trodden off by the hoofs of the +horsemen!"</p> + +<p>As he spoke, a cavalier galloped up to the party, and drawing in his +steed, while the men rose to their feet, he exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"<i>Halon</i>, Najara, man! where art thou? Dost thou talk thus in thy +sleep?"</p> + +<p>"Ay, may it please your excellency," said the hunchback, recognizing the +voice of Cortes; "for it is well, on such a post, that a soldier should +have the faculty of issuing commands asleep, as well as waking."</p> + +<p>"Dost thou hear, Diaz?" muttered Gaspar in his companion's ear. "Wouldst +thou think now to what the devil has tempted me, ever since I have seen +clearly that of which I have spoken? I tell thee, man, I have sometimes +thought it were but a turn of good friendship, to kill the man who has +brought these things upon Juan Lerma!"</p> + +<p>"Thou art mad!" said the historian in alarm. But his further +remonstrance was cut short by Cortes riding by, and even urging his +charger, though at a cautious pace, beyond the watchfire, as if to +reconnoitre with his own eyes, the situation of the foe.</p> + +<p>"Fear me not," said Gaspar, bitterly. "You shall see me do what I have +done before at Xochimilco,—pluck him out of the jaws of the devourers, +if need be. I think I was then enchanted; for, when I saw the Indians +have him off his horse, I said to myself, 'If I let him die now, no harm +happens to Juan Lerma.' But come—let us follow after him. And bid some +of your dull sluggards along with us, lest the pagans should make a +sally from the rampart. Hark! he has ridden up, till their fire shines +on his armour, and they see him! He will have the villains upon us, +before the reinforcements arrive!"</p> + +<p>The Captain-General did, indeed, advance so far that he was seen by the +pagan sentinels, who whistled out a shrill note of alarm, and then bent +their bows against him, till his corslet and the iron buckler which he +carried before his face, rattled under the crashing arrowheads. Thus +admonished, he rode a little back, and was joined by three or four other +cavaliers, who came galloping up from the causeway.</p> + +<p>"What say ye, cavaliers?" he cried. "Methinks there is not even a duck +lying near the causey-side, much less a brace or two of my brigantines."</p> + +<p>"If your excellency be looking for the ships," said Najara, "I can +satisfy your mind. There were some five or six here an hour since: I +heard the plunging of their anchors on both sides of the dike."</p> + +<p>"Ah! I will set thine ears against mine eyes any dark morn, +Corcobado.—Fetch up the Indians, Quinones; and bid the horsemen follow +at their heels. And hark ye, Najara,—let your drowsy knaves take post +on the causey-sides, lest they be trampled to death under the feet of my +red pioneers. Wheel up the pieces some ninety or an hundred paces in +advance; and see that your matchsticks be dry and combustible. Where +didst thou hear the sound of the anchors?"</p> + +<p>"But a little distance on the lake; and methinks I can see two of the +vessels on the left, betwixt us and the Indians.—His valour, Don Garci +Holguin, did but now take up the seńor Guzman—"</p> + +<p>"A pest upon Guzman!" said the general, sharply. "Get thee to thy men, +and move me the ordnance without delay."</p> + +<p>"'A pest upon Guzman?'" muttered Gaspar. "I have a thought of him also; +but I know not that he has done Juan a wrong. At all events, methinks, +his case is like mine.—The general's secrets are unlucky."</p> + +<p>With that, he retired, and took post among the soldiers.</p> + +<p>In a few moments, a numerous body of Indian auxiliaries made their +appearance, bearing, besides their ordinary weapons, which were slung on +their backs, certain hoes and mattocks, called <i>coas</i>, some of stone, +others of copper, but most of them of some hard wood. It was the +business of these men to fill up the ditches, after the defenders had +been driven away by a fierce cannonade from the ships, and by incessant +discharges of stones and arrows from fleets of piraguas, manned by other +Indian confederates, which lay near the brigantines. And here it may be +observed, that the labour of filling a ditch was much inferior to that +of re-opening it; and the causeways being constructed of stones as well +as clay, it was not possible to remove the former to any great extent. +Hence, the gaps that had been once or twice filled, remained, +notwithstanding the toil of the besieged, so shallow, that they might, +at almost any period, be forded; though this, usually, was not done, +until they were filled above the level of the water.</p> + +<p>Immediately after these pioneers, came a small body of horsemen, behind +whom were ranged the lancers and swordsmen; the musketeers and +cross-bowmen being chiefly distributed among the ships.</p> + +<p>These arrangements having been made, and the Tlascalans halting within +the distance of two hundred paces from the ditch, and throwing +themselves flat upon their faces on the causeway, to guard against the +first volleys of the foe, all were directed to remain in repose, until +the coming daylight should give the signal for battle.</p> + +<p>Nothing now broke the silence of the hour, save the dropping sound of +paddles from two numerous squadrons of canoes, filled with allies, which +were stationed on the flanks of the rear.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + + +<p>Slowly the morning dawned; and the foremost Tlascalan, raising his head +from the earth, could behold, dimly relieved against an atmosphere of +mist, the outlines of the foe, yet loitering upon the rampart behind the +ditch, and warming his naked body, for the last time, over his +smouldering fire. And now, also, were seen the brigantines, four in +number, which had taken post, long before day, on either flank of the +ditch, while a line of well-manned piraguas extended some distance +beyond them.</p> + +<p>The savages gathered up their arms, and leaping upon the ramparts, shook +them with defiance at the besiegers, taunting them with such words of +opprobrium as marked both their hatred and resolution.</p> + +<p>"Ho-ah! ho-ah! What says the king of Castile? what says the king of +Castile?" they cried,—for all the offers of peace and composition, +(sent occasionally by the hands of liberated captives,) being made by +Cortes in the name of his master, the barbarians prefaced every defiance +by expressing their contempt for his authority,—"what says the king of +Castile? He is a woman,—he shows not his face,—he is a woman. What +says Malintzin? what says Malintzin? He calls for peace,—he is a +coward: he fights in the house, when his foe is a prisoner, but he calls +for peace, when Mexico comes out upon the causeways. What say the +Teuctlis,—the Spaniards,—the sons of the gods? They bring the +Tlascalans, to fight their battles,—the Tlascalans, the Tezcucans, the +Chalquese, and the other little dogs of Mexico. Their flesh is very +bitter, and their hearts sour: the mitzlis and ocelotls, the wolves and +the vultures, in the king's garden, say, 'Give us better food, for this +is the flesh of crocodiles.' What say the men of Tlascala? They are +slaves,—they say they are slaves, and what matters it where they fight? +If Malintzin prevail, wo for Tlascala! for he will scourge her with +whips, and burn her with brands, even from the old man with gray hairs +down to the little infant that screams: If Mexico be victorious, wo for +Tlascala! for we will strike her down with our swords, as we strike the +maize-stalks in the harvest-field. Ho-ah! ho-ah! Come on, then, ye +women, cowards, and slaves! for we are Mexicans, and our gods are +hungry!"</p> + +<p>With such ferocious exclamations, the bold barbarians provoked the +besiegers; and with such they were used, each morning, to incite them to +the work of slaughter.</p> + +<p>The Spaniards still stood fast, and the Tlascalans lay upon the earth, +receiving the arrows that were for awhile shot at them; until the +Mexicans, exhausting their voices with outcries, at last ceased to +continue them, and assumed an attitude as quiescent as that of their +foes.</p> + +<p>While they thus remained, each party staring the other in the face, and +the rapidly increasing light made it evident that a very considerable +multitude of infidels were gathered upon the dike, a trumpet was winded +behind the Tlascalans, in one single, prolonged, and powerful note, that +woke up the echoes of mountains, even at the distance of leagues. It was +answered, first from the west, from the dike of Tacuba, in a blast both +strong and cheery, and immediately after, though much more faintly, from +the northern causeway, where Sandoval was marshalling his forces.</p> + +<p>As soon as these signals, for such they were, had been exchanged between +the leaders, the trumpet of Cortes sounded again, with a succession of +short, sharp, and fierce notes, such as blast fury into men's hearts, +through their ears. Instantly, and as if by enchantment, the four +falconets in the brigantines were discharged, and swept hundreds of the +barbarians from the causeway. Then followed the rattle of musketry, +mingled with the clang of cross-bows; which din was continued, until the +gunners, loading again, discharged their pieces a second time upon the +enemy. And now the Tlascalan pioneers, springing up, rushed, with wild +yells to the ditch, which they began to fill with frantic speed.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the boldness of their defiance, the Mexicans made a much +less manly resistance than was expected. But they stood as long as any +human beings could do, exposed between two deadly batteries, both plied +with unexampled activity, and both strengthened by the addition of the +native archers in the piraguas. They handled their bows and slings as +they could, and they cheered one another with shouts; but it was evident +that they must soon give way, and take post behind some ditch +unapproachable by the brigantines.</p> + +<p>As soon as this became known, the Spanish foot-soldiers began to +encourage one another, in anticipation of the charge which they were +soon to be called on to make; and Bernal Diaz, losing his grave +equanimity, in the prospect of adding another leaf to his chaplet of +immortality, ran briskly to and fro, in virtue of his official rank, +which could scarce be defined in any one title of modern military +nomenclature, and cheered every soldier with whom he happened to be well +acquainted. In the course of his rounds, he fell upon Gaspar, from whom +he had been before separated, and whom he now seized by the hand, +crying,</p> + +<p>"Now, Gaspar, my dear brother of Medina del Campo, we shall have such a +rouse among the red infidels as will make posterity stare."</p> + +<p>He was then about to extend his exhortations to others, when Gaspar +arrested him, turning upon him, to his great surprise, a countenance +extremely pale and agitated.</p> + +<p>"Art thou sick, man?" cried the historian, "or art thou worn out with +watching? A few knocks, Gaspar, will soon warm thy blood."</p> + +<p>"Bernal," said his friend, with an unnatural laugh, "wert thou ever in +fear?"</p> + +<p>"In fear?" echoed Bernal Diaz. "Never, before an infidel;—never, at +least, but <i>once</i>, when they had me in their hands, and I thought they +were carrying me to the temple."</p> + +<p>"What were thy feelings then?" demanded Gaspar, with singular eagerness: +"Was there ice in thy bosom, and lead in thy brain? Were thy lips cold +and thy tongue hot? Did thy hand shake, thy teeth chatter, thy leg +fail?—Faugh! what should make <i>me</i> fear to go into battle?"</p> + +<p>"Fear! <i>thou</i> fear?" said Bernal, anxiously. "Thou art beside thyself, +never believe me else,—frenzied with over-watching."</p> + +<p>"I tell thee," said Gaspar, with a grin that was indeed expressive of +terror, "that, if thou hunt this whole army through, thou wilt not find +a white-livered loon of them all, who is, at this moment, more a coward +than myself. Why should I be so? Is there an axe at my ear, and a foot +on my breast? There are an hundred stout Spaniards, and thirty score +Tlascalans betwixt me and the foe; and yet I am in great terror of mind. +I have heard that such things are forewarnings!"</p> + +<p>"If thou art of this temper, indeed," said honest Bernal, with more +disgust than he cared to conceal, "get thee to the rear, in God's name, +and thou mayst light somewhere upon a flask of maguey-liquor. Shame upon +thee, man! canst thou be so faint-hearted?"</p> + +<p>"Ay!" replied Gaspar; "yet I go not to the rear, notwithstanding. I +thought thou shouldst have counselled me.—Fare thee well, then, +Bernal.—Thou dost not know, that one can be in terror of death, and yet +meet death without flinching. Fare thee well, brother; and what angry +things I have said to thee, forget, even for the sake of our early days. +Fare thee well, Bernal, fare thee well."</p> + +<p>The Barba-Roxa locked his friend in a warm embrace, kissed him on both +cheeks, and then starting away, rushed towards the front, with an +alacrity that seemed utterly to disprove his humbling confession. +Whether or not fear had, indeed, for the first time in his life, beset +him, it is certain that Gaspar Olea did, that day, achieve exploits +which eclipsed those of the most distinguished cavaliers, and +consecrated his memory for ever in the hearts of his comrades.</p> + +<p>The Tlascalans, working with furious zeal, had now so choked up the +ditch, that stones and earth already appeared above the water. The +Mexicans wavered, and seemed incapable of maintaining their post for a +moment longer.</p> + +<p>The fiery spirit of the Captain-General became incensed with impatience +and hope. He rose upon his stirrups, and exalting his voice, always of +vast and thrilling power, exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"This time, brothers! we will seize the bridges before the pagans have +leisure to destroy them. Footmen! see that ye follow after the horse, +with all your speed. Cavaliers! put your lances in rest, and be ready. +What, trumpeter! speak thy signal to the pioneers; and, brave hearts! +fear not the gap, for it is strong enough to support you.—Sound, +trumpeter, sound!"</p> + +<p>The trumpeter winded a peculiar blast, and the Tlascalans, dividing +asunder, flung themselves, from either side of the causeway, into the +lake,—a feat often before practised,—and thus left the whole space up +to the ditch vacant for the horsemen. At a second blast of the +instrument, the cavaliers spurred up to the chasm, and crossing it as +they could, and clambering over the rampart, dashed down at once upon +the disordered infidels. The footmen followed, running with all their +strength, and returning the cheers, with which those in the ships beheld +the exploit of the cavalry.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the Mexicans, seized with unusual consternation, fled with +great haste towards the city, pursued so closely by the cavaliers, that +they made no attempt at a stand, even at the second ditch; nor did they +pause a moment, according to their usual tactics, to destroy the bridge +that spanned it. It was indeed a narrow chasm, with an unfinished +breastwork, and could not have been maintained for an hour. Another, +equally narrow and indefensible, occurred at a distance of less than two +hundred paces; and at such intervals, it appeared that the dike was +perforated, as far as it extended, even within the limits of the island.</p> + +<p>The ardour of the cavaliers, aided by that incentive to valour, the back +of the foe, carried them over three several bridges, before they +bethought them of the propriety of drawing up their horses a little, and +waiting for the footmen.</p> + +<p>"<i>Halon!</i> halt! and God give us better heads to our helmets, or better +helms to our heads!" cried Juan of Salamanca, a valiant young hidalgo, +who had won immortal renown upon the field of Otumba: "Does your +excellency intend that we twenty Paladins of Spain shall sack this city +with our lances and bucklers? In my mind, we should divide a moiety of +the honour with those who will share a full half of the profit."</p> + +<p>"Ay," said another, an ancient hidalgo, as all checked their steeds at +the sudden call of the young man: "We should be wise, lest we fall into +an ambush. Let us wait here for the footmen."</p> + +<p>"And have the bridges torn up before our eyes!" cried Cortes; with +ungovernable fire. "Heaven fights for us to-day; the infidels are seized +with a panic, and they are but few in number."</p> + +<p>"Say not so, seńor," exclaimed Salamanca, pointing in front, where they +could see the fugitives checked by what seemed a flood of armed men, +pouring out from the city. "They are in no panic; but we took them too +early. Their drum has not yet been beaten upon the temple-top; but we +shall hear it now, soon enough.—What ho! ye lame ducks with swords and +lances! ye lagging footmen! come on like men, and be fleeter."</p> + +<p>"Let us pass on, at least, slowly," said Cortes. "The footmen are nigh, +and we may yet gain two or three bridges. Do you not see, we are almost +upon the island?—Hark! I hear the trumpet of Alvarado!—He will win the +race to the pyramid!—Press on, gallant cavaliers, press on!"</p> + +<p>They were indeed within but a short distance from the island, surrounded +by the ruins of the water suburb; and it seemed yet easy to secure, at +least, two more bridges, over which the fugitives had fled without +pausing, and which could be gained before the causeway should be +obstructed by the advance of the dense column from the city. Calling out +therefore to the infantry to hasten, and finding themselves already +joined by two or three of the fleetest of foot, of whom the Barba-Roxa +was one, they again dashed onwards, and secured the desired passes.</p> + +<p>They now found themselves so near to the island, as to be within reach +of annoyance from the adjoining housetops; and this circumstance, +together with the unexpected conduct of the Mexicans, produced such +alarm in the bosom of the cavalier who had seconded Salamanca's caution +before, that he exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"Seńor mio, and good brothers, let us think a little what we do, before +proceeding further. Let us beware of an ambuscado. The knaves yielded us +the rampart, almost without a blow; and they leave the ditches bridged +behind them. This is not the way Mexicans fight, when they fight +honestly. Lo you, now, yonder is a herd of twenty thousand men, with +flags and banners, and they stop at sight of us, as if in dismay! What +does this mean, if not some decoy for a stratagem?"</p> + +<p>"It means," said Cortes, "that they are in a perplexity, because their +priests have not yet given them the signal to fall on: and of this +perplexity it should be our wisdom to take advantage. See, now, the dogs +are in confusion!—Nay, by my conscience! 'tis the confusion of attack, +and they come against us! Couch your lances, and at them! for it is +better they should feel the weight of our horses, than we the shock of +their stormy bodies. On, footmen, on! spur, cavaliers, spur! Santiago +and Spain! and down with the paynim scum!"</p> + +<p>At these words of exhortation, the horsemen closed their ranks, shouted +their war-cries, and dashed with fearless audacity upon the advancing +warriors. They swept the causeway, like a moving wall, and however +insignificant their numbers, it did not seem possible for the enemy to +withstand the violence of their onset; indeed, before a drop of blood +was shed, they manifested such symptoms of hesitation and wavering, as +greatly exalted the courage of the assailants. They plied their slings +and arrows, indeed, they darted their javelins, brandished their spears, +and added their discordant shrieks and wild whistling to the shouts of +the Spaniards; but still it was in a kind of confusion and disorder, +that showed them to be, from some cause or other, not yet prepared for +combat. Nay, some were seen, as the galloping squadron approached, to +cast themselves into the lake, as if in fear, and swim to the nearest +ruins for protection.</p> + +<p>This degree of disrelish for battle was a phenomenon, so unusual in the +character of barbarians brave not only to folly, but to madness, that a +wary commander would have laid it to heart, and pondered over it with +suspicion. But not so the Captain-General. He remembered, with +Salamanca, that the sound of the enormous drum on the temple of Mexitli, +with which, each morning, the Mexican emperor gave the signal for +battle, had not yet been heard; and as there seemed to be as close, and +almost as fanatical, a connexion between the thunder of this instrument +and the courage of the pagans, as he had found, in former days, in the +case of the sacred horn, he did not doubt that their present timidity +was caused entirely by the failure of the signal. Perhaps he thought it +increased also by their sense of weakness; for, now that he was nigh, it +became obvious that their numbers were much less considerable than they +had appeared at a distance. At all events, they were in fear, and they +wavered; which was enough to give his valour the upperhand of his +prudence.—It is with martial ardour as with a pestilence;—it ravens +most furiously among the ranks of fear.</p> + +<p>Fierce, therefore, was the zeal of his cavaliers, and their hearts +flamed at the thought of blood. They raised their voices in a cry of +victory, and bounded like thunderbolts among their opponents. The shock +was decisive; in a moment, the whole mass of pagans was put to rout. +They flung down their arms, and betook themselves to flight. Those who +could, fled down along the dike into the city; others flung themselves +into the water, and swam to the island, or to the neighbouring ruins. +The only ones who made resistance, were those whose hearts were +transfixed by Spanish lances, before they could turn to retreat. Such +men uttered the yell of battle, and, in their dying agonies, thrust with +their own hands, the spears further through their vitals, that they +might be nearer to the foe, and strike the macana once more for +Tenochtitlan.</p> + +<p>"On, ye men of the foot!" cried the Captain-General. "Let the Tlascalans +fire the houses behind me; for now we are again upon the island. Charge, +cavaliers, charge! The saints open a path for us. Charge, my brothers, +charge! and <i>viva</i> for Spain and our honour!"</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + + +<p>The horsemen pursued along the dike, spearing, or tumbling into the +water, the few who had the heart to resist; and so great was, or seemed, +the terror of the barbarians, that the victors penetrated even within +the limits of the island, until the turrets of houses, from which they +were separated only by the lateral canals, darkened them with their +shadows. Upon these were clustered many pagans, who shot at them both +arrows and darts, but with so little energy, that it seemed as if +despondence or fatuity had robbed them of their usual vigour. Hence, the +excited cavaliers gave them but little attention, not doubting that they +would be soon dislodged by the infantry. They were even regardless of +circumstances still more menacing; and if a lethargy beset the infidel +that day, it is equally certain that a species of distraction +overwhelmed the brains of the Spaniards. It seemed as if the great +object of their ambition depended more upon their following the +fugitives to the temple-square than upon any other feat; and to this +they encouraged one another with vivas and invocations to the saints. +They could already behold the huge bulk of the pyramid, rising up at the +distance of a mile, as if it shut up the street; and its terraced sides, +thronged with multitudes of men, seemed to prove to them, that the +frighted Mexicans were running to their gods for protection. It is true, +they perceived vast bodies of infidels blocking up the avenue afar, as +if to dispute their passage beyond the canalled portion of the island; +but they regarded them with scorn.</p> + +<p>They rushed onwards, occasionally arrested by some flying group, but +only for a moment.</p> + +<p>There was a place, not far within the limits of the island, where they +found the causeway, for the space of at least sixty paces, so delved and +pared away on either side, that it scarce afforded a passage for two +horsemen abreast. The device was of recent execution, for they beheld +the mattocks of labourers still sticking in the earth, as if that moment +abandoned. This circumstance, so strange, so novel, and so ominous, it +might be supposed, would have aroused them to suspicion. The passage, as +it was, so contracted, broken, and rugged, looked prodigiously like the +Al-Sirat, or bridge to paradise of the Mussulmans,—that arch, narrow as +the thread of a famished spider, over which it is so much easier to be +precipitated than to pass with safety. Yet grim and threatening as it +was, there was but one among the cavaliers who raised a voice of +warning. As the Captain-General, without a moment's hesitation, pushed +his horse forward, to lead the way, and without a single expression of +surprise, the ancient hidalgo, who had twice before sounded a note of +alarm, now exclaimed,—</p> + +<p>"For the love of heaven, pause, seńor! This is a trap that will destroy +us."</p> + +<p>"Art thou afraid, Alderete?" cried Cortes, looking back to him, grimly. +"This is no place for a King's Treasurer," (such was Alderete, the royal +Contador.)—"Get thee back, then, to the first ditch, and fill it up to +thy liking. <i>This</i> will be charge enough for a volunteer."</p> + +<p>"I will fight where thou wilt, when thou wilt, and as boldly as thou +wilt," said the indignant cavalier; "but here play the madman no +longer."</p> + +<p>"I will take thy counsel,—rest where I am,—and, in an hour's time, see +myself shut out from the city by a ditch, sixty yards wide! God's +benison upon thy long beard! and mayst thou be wiser. Forward, friends! +Do you not see? the knaves are running amain to check us, and recover +their unfinished gap! On! courage, and on! Santiago and at them!"</p> + +<p>It was indeed as Cortes said. The infidels, who blocked up the streets +afar, were now seen running towards them, with the most terrific yells, +as if to seize, before it was too late, a pass so easily maintained. The +cavaliers, animated by the words of their leader, were quite as resolute +to disappoint them, and therefore rode across as rapidly as they could. +The pass was not only narrow, but tortuous and irregular; which +increased the difficulties of surmounting it; so that the Mexicans, +running with the most frantic speed, were within a bowshot, before +Cortes had spurred his steed upon the broader portion of the dike. But, +as if there were something dreadful to the infidels, in the spectacle of +the great Teuctli of the East, thus again in their stronghold, they came +to a sudden halt, and testified their valour only by yelling, and waving +their spears and banners.</p> + +<p>"Courage, friends, and quick!" cried Cortes. "The dogs are beset with +fear, and will not face us. Ye shall hear other yells in a moment. +Haste, valiant cavaliers! haste, men of Spain! and make room for the +footmen, who are behind you."</p> + +<p>The screams of the barbarians were loud and incessant; but in the midst +of the din, as he turned to cheer his cavaliers over the broken passage, +Don Hernan's ears were struck by the sound of a Christian voice, calling +from the midst of the pagans, with thrilling vehemence,</p> + +<p>"Beware! beware! Back to the causey! Beware!"</p> + +<p>"Hark!" cried Alderete, who had already passed; "Our Saint calls to us! +Let us return!"</p> + +<p>"It is a trick of the fiend!" exclaimed Cortes, in evident perturbation +of mind. "Come on, good friends, and let us seize vantage-ground; or the +dogs will drive us, singly, into the ditches."</p> + +<p>"Back! back!" shouted the cavaliers behind—"We are ambushed! We are +surrounded!"</p> + +<p>Their further exclamations were lost in a tempest of discordant shrieks, +coming from the front and the rear, from the heavens above, and, as they +almost fancied, from the earth beneath. They looked northward, towards +the pyramid,—the whole broad street was filled with barbarians, rushing +towards them with screams of anticipated triumph; they looked back to +the lake,—the causeway was swarming with armed men, who seemed to have +sprung from the waters; to either side, and beheld the canals of the +intersecting streets lashed into foam by myriads of paddles; while, at +the same moment, the few pagans, who had annoyed them from the +housetops, appeared transformed, by the same spell of enchantment, into +hosts innumerable, with spirits all of fury and flame.</p> + +<p>"What says the king of Castile? What says the king of Castile <i>now</i>?" +roared the exulting infidels.</p> + +<p>"Santiago! and God be with us!" exclaimed Cortes, waving his hand, with +a signal for retreat, that came too late: "Cross but this devil-trap +again, and—"</p> + +<p>Before he could conclude the vain and useless order, the drum of the +emperor sounded upon the pyramid. It was an instrument of gigantic size +and horrible note, and was held in no little fear, especially after the +events of this day, by the Spaniards, who fabled that it was covered +with the skins of serpents. It was a fit companion for the horn of +Mexitli; which latter, however, being a sacred instrument, was sounded +only on the most urgent and solemn occasions.</p> + +<p>The first tap,—or rather peal, for the sound came from the temple more +like the roll of thunder than of a drum,—was succeeded by yells still +more stunning; and while the cavaliers, retreating, struggled, one by +one, to recross the narrow pass, they were set upon with such fury as +left them but little hope of escape.</p> + +<p>If the rashness of Cortes had brought his friends into this fatal +difficulty, he now seemed resolved to atone his fault, by securing their +retreat, even although at the expense of his life. It was in vain that +those few cavaliers who had succeeded in reaching him, before the +onslaught began, besought him to take his chance among them, and +recross, leaving them to cover his rear.</p> + +<p>"Get ye over yourselves," he cried, with grim smiles, smiting away the +headmost of the assailants from the street: "If I have brought ye among +coals of fire, heaven forbid I should not broil a little in mine own +person. Quick, fools! over and hasten! over and quick! and by and by I +will follow you."</p> + +<p>For a moment, it seemed as if the terror of his single arm would have +kept the barbarians at bay. But, waxing bolder, as they saw his +attendants dropping one by one away, they began to close upon him, and +his situation became exceedingly critical. He looked over his shoulder, +and perceived that his followers threaded their way along the broken +dike with less difficulty than he at first feared. The very narrowness +of the passage left but little foothold for the enemy; and their +attacks, being made principally from canoes, were not such as wholly to +dishearten a cavalier, whose steed was as strongly defended by mail as +his own body. Encouraged by this assurance, the Captain-General still +maintained his post, rushing ever and anon upon the closing herds, and +mowing right and left with his trusty blade, while his gallant charger +pawed down opposition with his hoofs. Thus he fought, with the mad +valour that made his enemies so often deem him almost a demigod, until +satisfied that his own attempt to cross the pass could no longer +embarrass the efforts of his followers. Then, charging once more upon +the pagans, and even with greater fury than before, he wheeled round +with unexpected rapidity, and uttering his famous cry, "Santiago and at +them!" dashed boldly at the passage.</p> + +<p>Seven pagans sprang upon the path. They were armed like princes, and the +red fillets of the House of Darts waved among their sable locks.</p> + +<p>"The Teuctli shall have the tribute of Mexico!" shouted one, flourishing +a battle-axe that seemed of weight sufficient, in his brawny arm, to +dash out the charger's brains at a blow. The words were not understood +by Cortes; but he recognized at once the visage of the Lord of Death.</p> + +<p>"I have thee, pagan!" he cried, striking at the bold barbarian. The blow +failed; for one of the others, springing at the charger's head with +unexampled audacity, seized him by the bridle, so that he reared +backwards, and thus foiled the aim of his rider. The next moment, the +Spanish steel fell upon the neck of the daring infidel, killing him on +the spot; yet not so instantaneously as to avert a disaster, which it +seemed the object of his fury to produce. His convulsive struggles, as +he clung, dying, to the rein, drove the steed off the narrow ledge; and +thus losing his foothold, the noble animal rolled over into the deep +canal, burying the Captain-General in the flood.</p> + +<p>"The general! save the general!" shrieked the only Christian, who, in +this horrible melée, (for the battle was now universal,) beheld the +condition of Cortes, and who, although on foot, and bristling with +arrows that had stuck fast in his cotton-armour, and resisted by other +weapons at every step, had yet the courage to run to the rescue. It was +Gaspar Olea. His visage was yet wan, and expressive of the unusual +horror preying upon his mind; yet he rushed forward, as if he had never +known a fear. He exalted his voice, while crying for assistance, until +it was heard far back upon the causeway; yet he reached the place of Don +Hernan's mischance alone. The scene was dreadful: the nobles had flung +themselves into the flood, and were dragging the stunned and strangling +hero from the steed, which lay upon its side on the rugged and shelving +edge of the dike, unable to rise, and perishing with the most fearful +struggles; while, all the time, the elated infidels expressed their +triumph with shouts of frantic joy.</p> + +<p>"Courage, captain! be of good heart, seńor!" exclaimed the Barba-Roxa, +striking down one of the captors at a single blow: "Courage! for we have +good help nigh," he continued, attacking a second with the same success: +"Courage, seńor, courage!"</p> + +<p>No Mexican helm of dried skins, and no breast-plate of copper, could +resist the machete of a man like Gaspar. Yet his first success was +caused rather by the Mexicans being so intently occupied with their +captive, that they thought of nothing else, than by any miraculous +exertion of skill and prowess. He slew two, before they dreamed of +attack, and he mortally wounded a third, ere the others could turn to +drive him back. A fourth rushed upon him, before he could again lift up +his weapon, and grasping him in his arms, with the embrace of a mountain +bear, leaped with him into the canal.</p> + +<p>There were now but two left in possession of Cortes; yet his resistance +even against these was ineffectual. His sword had dropped from his hand; +a violent blow had burst his helmet, and confounded his brain; and he +had been lifted from the water, already half suffocated. Yet he +struggled as he could, and catching one of his foes by the throat, he +succeeded in overturning him into the water, and there grappled with him +among the shallows. The remaining barbarian, yelling for assistance, +flung himself upon the pair; and though twenty Spaniards, headed by +Bernal Diaz and the hunchback, were now within half as many paces, +Cortes would have perished where he lay, had not assistance arose from +an unexpected quarter.</p> + +<p>Among the vast numbers who came crowding from the city over the broken +passage, were several who knew, by the cry of the seventh noble, that +Malintzin was in his hands; and they rushed forward, to insure his +capture. The foremost and fleetest of these was distinguished from the +rest by a frame of towering height; and, had there been a Spaniard by to +notice him, would have been still more remarkable from the fact, that he +uttered all his cries in good, expressive Castilian. He bore a Spanish +weapon, too, and his first act, as he flung himself into the ditch where +Cortes was drowning, was to strike it through the neck of the uppermost +noble. His next was to spurn the other from the breast of the general, +whom he raised to his feet, murmuring in his ear,</p> + +<p>"Be of good heart, seńor! for you are saved."</p> + +<p>What more he would have said and done can only be imagined; for, at that +moment, the Barba-Roxa rushed out of the ditch, followed close at hand +by the hunchback, Bernal Diaz, and others, and seeing his commander, as +he thought, in the hands of a foeman, he lifted his good sword once +again, and smote him over the head, crying,</p> + +<p>"Down, infidel dog! and <i>viva</i> for Spain and our general!"</p> + +<p>At this moment, there rushed up a crew of fresh combatants, Spaniards +from the rear and infidels from the front. But before they closed upon +him entirely, the Barba-Roxa caught sight of the man he had struck down, +and beheld, in his pale and quivering aspect, the features of Juan +Lerma.</p> + +<p>The unhappy wretch, thus beholding the beloved youth, with his own eyes, +a leaguer and helpmate of the infidel, and punished to death, as it +seemed, by his hand, set up a scream wildly vehement, and broke from the +group of Spaniards, who now surrounded Cortes, endeavouring to drag him +in safety over the pass. The exile had been seen by others as well as +Gaspar, and many a ferocious cry of exultation burst from their lips, as +they saw him fall.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Gaspar, distracted in mind, and dripping with blood, for he +had not escaped from the ditch and the fierce embrace of his fourth +antagonist, without many severe wounds, endeavoured to retrace his steps +to the spot where Juan had fallen. It was occupied by infidels, who +drove him into the ditch, where his legs were grasped by a drowning +Mexican, who raised himself a little from the water, and displayed, +between his neck and shoulder, a yawning chasm, rather than a wound, +from which the blood, at every panting expiration of breath, rolled out +hideously in froth and foam. It was the Lord of Death, thus struck by +Juan Lerma, as he lay upon the breast of Cortes, and now perishing, but +still like a warrior of the race of America. He clambered up the body of +Gaspar, for it could hardly be said, that he rose upon his feet; and +seeing that he grasped a Christian soldier, he strove to utter once more +a cry of battle. The blood foamed from his lips, as from his wound; and +his voice was lost in a suffocating murmur. Yet, with his last expiring +strength, he locked his arms round the neck of the Spaniard, now almost +as much spent as himself, and falling backwards, and writhing together +as they fell, they rolled off into the deep water, where the salt and +troubled flood wrapped them in a winding-sheet, already spread over the +bosoms of thousands.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + + +<p>If it be indeed permitted to disembodied spirits to look back to the +world they have left, and to read the hearts they have, in life, +mistaken, then should that of Gaspar Olea have seen, that his unlucky +blow fell not upon the head of an apostate, and that it had not slain +his friend and companion of the wilderness. Even Gaspar's strength +failed to pierce entirely through a morion composed of tiger-skins and +thickly-padded escaupil; and though the violence of the blow forced Juan +to the earth, and left him for a time almost insensible, it had done him +no serious injury. It robbed him, to be sure, of the dearly coveted +opportunity of escape, which the lucky service he had done the +Captain-General would have rendered of still more inestimable value; but +it yet served the good purpose, since he did <i>not</i> escape, of removing +from the minds of the Mexicans many fierce doubts and suspicions, with +which they beheld him rush into the melée.</p> + +<p>He was dragged back upon the causeway, and soon found himself in the +arms of the king.</p> + +<p>"My brother is brave and true," said the young monarch, tearing from his +own hair the symbols of military renown, and fastening them to Juan's. +"The people have seen his bravery, and now they know him well. Did he +not lay his hands upon Malintzin? and was not Malintzin his prisoner, +until the red lion with the white and bloody face, struck my brother +with his sword? Is this a good deed, men of Mexico?"</p> + +<p>"The king's brother is valiant!" exclaimed many nobles, who surrounded +the monarch with a guard of honour, eyeing the outcast with reverence.</p> + +<p>Their words stung Juan to the soul; for he abhorred his deception, +though still urged, by his desire of escaping, to carry it on.</p> + +<p>"Why do we stand here idle?" he cried, with affected zeal: "Is not +Malintzin yet upon the causeway? My heart is very strong; I will look +him in the face again."</p> + +<p>At this proof of courage and apparent devotion to their cause, the +infidels shouted with approbation. But the king took him by the arm, and +withdrawing him a little, said,</p> + +<p>"My brother will go now to the palace.—What is this that Azcamatzin +says of my brother? He says that my brother pierced the Lord of Death +with a sword, and pulled Malintzin out of his hands! This foolish thing +of Azcamatzin has made many angry, and they say, 'Let us know; for +perhaps the Great Eagle is for Malintzin.' Therefore my brother shall +not go from the king, till Azcamatzin thinks better things; for many +hurts have made him mad."</p> + +<p>"Think not of this," said Juan, eagerly, for every moment the shouts of +the Christians were at a greater distance, and he feared that every step +of their retreat was one more link taken from his chain of hope.</p> + +<p>"My brother," said Guatimozin, interrupting him, "may yet fight the +battles of the king, and be the king's friend. It is said to me, by a +messenger, that the ships have broken the wall of my garden, and that +Spaniards are slaying the women."</p> + +<p>"Ha!" cried Juan, his own agitation at this information, contrasting +strongly with the frigid placidity of the king.</p> + +<p>"Why should the king think of his women—of his wife and his little +boy,—when he is taking the Spaniards, like birds in a net? Let my +brother think for the king, for the king thinks for his people. My +brother's arm is yet strong—he will fight for Zelahualla, and for her +sister, the queen."</p> + +<p>A thousand contrary emotions tore the breast of Juan, yet his thoughts +were fixed upon the garden. He remembered what counsel he had given to +the maidens, to sally forth, at any moment, when a trumpet should be +heard among the trees; and he conceived the danger in which they would +be involved, among a troop of enraged and merciless soldiers. He needed +no second exhortation to run to their assistance; and following +Techeechee, who remained at his side, he made his way through the +multitudes that thronged all the great streets, with a rapidity that, at +any other period, would have even surprised himself. He passed the great +square of the pyramid, the Wall of Serpents, and the House of Skulls, +from which, had he been so minded, he might have looked, at the same +moment, upon the three battles raging upon the three several causeways, +(for it was here the dikes terminated;) he passed the house of +Axajacatl, in which the Spaniards, a year since, had endured those +assaults which terminated only in their expulsion from Tenochtitlan; and +he trod again upon the vast market square of Tlatelolco, the northern +side of which was bounded by the walls of Guatimozin's palace and +garden. Upon this square he beheld many infidels, shouting at once with +wrath and triumph, a party of whom bore in their arms a Christian +prisoner, bound hand and foot, over whom the others seemed to exult, +piercing the very heavens with their clamorous cries.</p> + +<p>Heart-sick, for well he knew the fate in store for the captive, and +struck with foreboding fear, he rushed over the fosse that laved the +garden wall, and was now choked up by the falling of a portion of its +extent, washed and undermined by the heavy rains, and passed into the +pleasant wilderness within. It was a theatre of wild disorder and +affright: men were seen rushing to and fro in great numbers, and their +cries were re-echoed by the yells of a thousand beasts of prey, famished +with hunger, or alarmed by the tumult.</p> + +<p>He perceived that the water-wall was rent at one of the chief +sally-ports, as if battered by cannon; and he had no doubt, if it were +not yet over, that some terrific combat had but lately taken place in +the garden.</p> + +<p>He came too late to share in it, but as he ran down to the water-side, +he beheld four brigantines making their way with oars, for the +atmosphere was breathless, towards the dike of Tepejacac, which was +itself a scene of furious conflict. The vessels were surrounded by +countless canoes and piraguas, some of which seemed to be manned by +Tlascalans; for while the brigantines were seen contending with this +aquatic army, it was equally manifest that a battle was raging also +among the canoes themselves.</p> + +<p>He gave but little heed to this spectacle, nor did he scarcely note that +among the many human corses which strewed the lower part of the garden, +there were several with the visages of Spaniards.</p> + +<p>His attention was arrested by a yelping cry; and looking round, he +beheld the dog Befo lying upon the ground, with an iron sword-blade, +broken off near the hilt, sticking quite through his body. But this +painful sight was forgotten, when, having approached, he beheld three or +four barbarians raising from the earth what seemed the dead body of +Magdalena. There were indeed blood-drops upon her hollow and ghastly +cheeks; and when he rushed up among the Indians, they exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"The Teuctlis killed her, the men of Malintzin with beards,—they killed +the bright-eyed lady, and they killed the daughter of Montezuma!" And +then they added their wild lamentations to the mourning cries of Juan.</p> + +<p>Distracted himself, as indeed were all the infidels, he could learn +nothing but that the Teuctlis, or Spaniards, had suddenly burst into the +garden, and besides slaughtering all that opposed them, in their attempt +to reach the palace, had killed, or carried off, as seemed much more +probable, the princess Zelahualla.</p> + +<p>The misery that took possession of his heart at these evil tidings, he +smothered within its secret recesses, or strove to forget it in the +contemplation of his sister—for so his heart acknowledged her. He bore +her to the palace, and gave her in charge to the maidens, who, whatever +was their fright, were not unmindful of the duties of humanity. He then, +in much of that sullen despair that had oppressed him in the prison of +Tezcuco, returned to the garden and to Befo, whom he had left in +suffering, and drawing the sword-blade from his body, he examined it +with stern curiosity, as if hoping to penetrate the mystery of the whole +unhappy transaction, from such records as it might furnish. His scrutiny +was vain: it was a blade without any name, by which he might be enabled +to guess at its owner. He snapped it under his foot, and muttered a +malediction upon the unknown foe:</p> + +<p>"Cursed be he that did this deed," he cried; "for he slew the only +protector of a feeble and wretched woman."</p> + +<p>He then carried Befo, almost with as much tenderness as he had bestowed +upon Magdalena, into the palace, and stanching his wounds as he could, +deposited him upon his own couch.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + + +<p>The effects of this battle upon the Spaniards were disastrous in the +extreme. The assault, as has been mentioned, and as was anticipated, was +made upon all the causeways at once; and, on all, successfully repelled, +though an ambuscade was only attempted upon the dike of Iztapalapan. It +seemed as if the Mexicans, thinned as their numbers had been, by so many +conflicts, and now the remainder absolutely perishing under want and +pestilence, had collected all their energies for one final blow. It was +first successful in the quarter attacked by the Captain-General, in +consequence of his surprising infatuation; and victory soon after +followed in the others. The Spaniards fled, so completely broken and so +utterly defeated, that the priests, in the wild hope of completing their +destruction at once, even drew the sacred horn from the tabernacle of +Mexitli, and added its dreadful uproar to the thunder of the great +tymbal. This was always regarded by the Mexicans as the voice of the god +himself, and was never sounded without filling them with a delirium of +fury, utterly inconceivable. It was not more maddening to the infidels +than frightful to the Spaniards; who remembered the horrors of the Noche +Triste, augmented, if not altogether caused by its unearthly roar. The +Spaniards were driven back to their strong and defensible stations at +the gates; the dikes were lost; and had not famine now fought for them, +they must have given up the siege in despair. Nearly an hundred +Spaniards, and many thousand Indian allies, were killed; the fleets of +canoes and piraguas were destroyed, and several brigantines wholly +ruined.</p> + +<p>But the miseries of the besiegers were not confined to the events of the +day. Night opened to them a scene of grief and horror. The whole mass of +the pyramid, always a striking object, was suddenly illuminated by a +myriad of flambeaux, so that it blazed like a mountain of solid fire. +The night was clear, and the peculiarly rarified and transparent +atmosphere of Mexico rendering objects distinct at a much greater +distance than in other lands, the Spaniards, looking from the towers at +the gates, could plainly perceive some of their late fellow-soldiers, +stripped naked and their hands bound behind them, driven up the stairs +from platform to platform, by the blows and other indignities of their +cruel captors. On the summit of the pyramid, they were unbound, their +heads adorned with plumes, and great waving penachos placed in their +hands, with which they were forced to dance round the ever-burning +censers of the gods, in the midst of shouting pagans, until dragged away +by the priests and immolated, at a signal blasted from the sacred horn, +upon the stone of sacrifice. The station of Alvarado on the dike of +Tacuba, was nearer than either of the others; and his men, while they +wept and prayed over a spectacle so appalling, even fancied they could +distinguish the figures and faces of particular individuals, and hear +their cries to heaven. Many were the wretches who had yielded themselves +alive into the hands of the foe; and for ten nights in succession, the +blazing temple echoed to their groans, and their garrisoned friends were +compelled to be the witnesses of their torments.</p> + +<p>But this triumph was the last of the pagans. All supplies of corn from +the lake-sides were cut off, and they were known to be famishing; and +besides, as if heaven were willing to assist even the arms of rapacity, +to subdue a race, all whose institutions were more or less infected by +the spirit of blood that brutalized their religion, the rainy season was +brought to a close preternaturally early, and they were left without +water. The Spaniards recovered their spirits, and collecting again vast +bands of confederates, recommenced the siege, advancing with prudence, +and destroying every thing as they advanced, and not only regaining all +they had lost, but even effecting, despite all resistance, a secure +lodgment upon the island, from their several points of attack. The +Mexicans still fought; but it was with bodies emaciated and enfeebled, +and with hearts subdued by despair. The three divisions of besiegers met +upon the great square, blew up the Huitzompan, and all the temples +within the circuit of the Wall of Serpents, which they fortified and +preserved; and then, still demolishing houses as they advanced, they +pushed on until they reached the great market-place of Tlatelolco; and +thus hemmed in upon the narrow peninsula the unfortunate king of Mexico, +and the few shattered remnants of his army.</p> + +<p>Before this crisis had yet arrived, there occurred another incident, in +which, as in all others since his return from the South Sea, the virtues +of Juan Lerma were made the instruments of still further misfortune. He +beheld Magdalena but once, after the adventure of the garden; and she +was then raving with delirium, in which she did not know even him. The +fate of Zelahualla was still wrapt in obscurity; for such had been the +suddenness of the attack in the garden, that none knew of her fate, and +Magdalena was incapable of uttering any rational word, to remove the +mountain of anxiety from his breast. His scheme to effect the +deliverance of the princess had doubtless thrown her into the power of +the Spaniards; and the thought of such a captive in such hands, preyed +upon him with a bitterness that exceeded death. He fought no more, and +indeed he was urged no longer by the king, who was himself reduced to +such desperation, that he thought no further of stratagems, but merely +of blind and sullen resistance.</p> + +<p>On the third day after the battle, he was summoned by Techeechee to +attend the king in public; and without questioning for what purpose, he +gloomily obeyed, taking with him the Spanish sword with which he had +been provided, on the day of his attempted escape.</p> + +<p>It was midday: no sound of contention came to his ears, for the +besiegers were yet lying in their quarters on the dikes, healing their +wounds and lamenting their friends; but the quiet of the garden was +broken by the howling of the beasts, and the shrill streams of birds of +prey,—of such at least as had not already been slaughtered, to appease +the hunger of the wretches, who yet fought for their expiring empire. +One circumstance, had Juan noticed it, might have convinced him of the +dreadful extent and intensity of the suffering, of which he had been +before apprized. The trees of the garden had begun to be robbed of their +leaves, but not by summer heat or autumnal drought;—the tender shrubs +were stripped of their bark;—the smaller plants had been rooted up, and +even the grass, in some places, torn from the earth, and even the earth +itself upturned, in the search after edible roots.—All that could be +gnawed by the teeth of man had vanished, or did soon after vanish, from +the garden. When the Spaniards walked afterwards through their conquest, +not a green leaf, as they have recorded, was found in all the city.</p> + +<p>He passed through the broken wall, now only defended by rude palisades, +strengthened by an abatis of withered shrubs and brambles, and passing +the moat, over the ruins of the prostrate wall, found himself on the +market-square of Tlatelolco, of which the Spaniards gave such surprising +accounts, when they beheld it filled with the merchants and riches of +the empire, before the death of Montezuma. It was of very great extent, +and contained, at the eastern boundary, a pyramid, on which was the +temple of one of the lesser divinities. On the west was a platform, or +rather stage, faced and flagged with stone, and devoted to theatrical +exhibitions, which, however primitive and barbarous, were yet a chief +feature among the amusements of a Mexican festival.</p> + +<p>Almost in the centre of the square, and yet so nigh to the garden wall +that it could be overlooked by the nearest turrets of the palace, was +another platform, perhaps four feet in height, and circular, upon which +lay the famous stone <i>Temalacatl</i>, devoted to the purpose of the +gladiatorial sacrifice. It now lies in the Plaza Mayor of the modern +city, near the walls, and within the enclosure of the great Cathedral, +and is one of the few monuments which the conquerors have left of the +savage institutions of the Aztec empire. It is a circular block of +porphyry, nine or ten feet in diameter, and is sculptured over with the +effigies of warriors. The privilege of dying upon this stone was awarded +only to captives of the most extraordinary prowess; and as such were +never taken alive, unless when conquered by accident, the exhibition of +such a sacrifice was as rare as it was agreeable to the fierce tastes of +the Mexicans. It was essentially gladiatorial, and it offered a prospect +even of life and liberty to the valiant prisoner. A sword and buckler +were put into his hands, and he was tied by one leg to the stone; yet, +if he succeeded in slaying or defeating six chosen Mexican warriors, he +was released and sent back in safety to his own country. The last victim +of the Temalacatl was the famous Tlascalan chief, Tlahuicotl, the +Orlando of Anahuac, captured by Montezuma not many years before the +advent of the Spaniards, who, fighting only to die, (for he refused to +accept life, even as the meed of his own heroism,) and fighting till he +<i>did</i> die, slew no less than eight different opponents, and disabled +twenty others, before his great spirit sank under his exertions. If the +gladiator fell, before he had accomplished his task, he was dragged to +the neighbouring temple, and there sacrificed, while yet living. The +last victim, destined to close the list of those to whom Mexico did +honour, was a Spaniard.</p> + +<p>A vast multitude of pagans surrounded the platform, except on that side +which looked to the temple. Here stood the priests, few in number, yet +prepared, at the moment of the victim's fall, to clutch upon him, and +bear him to the altar, a space being left for them, as much out of +reverence for their sacred character, as to preserve their pathway +entirely unobstructed. The side that looked to the palace was also but +little encumbered; for here the king of Mexico sat upon a scaffold, +attended by his chief nobles.</p> + +<p>The grim looks of expectation, with which the assembled multitude +surveyed the platform, were heightened in ferocity by the privations +that had pinched and hollowed their visages. They looked like winter +wolves, gaunt with famine; and one would have thought their appetites +were whetting for a repast on the flesh of the victim. There was indeed +something horrid in their appearance, as well as in the cause which had +assembled them together. It was plain that they waited impatiently for +the coming of the prisoner. As they rolled their eyes over the square, +they caught sight of Juan, conspicuous by his lofty stature, though he +now drooped his head with gloom, and hailed his appearance with such +shouts as proved what a change had been made in their feelings, by his +presence, in the battle of the ambuscade. The imputations of Azcamatzin +were ended, for Azcamatzin perished an hour after uttering them, under a +shot from the crossbow of the hunchback: they remembered nothing now, +but that the Christian had touched the body of Malintzin, and was struck +down while he had him in his hands, and that he was the brother of the +king.</p> + +<p>It was these acclamations which roused him out of his sullen mood, so +that he could exert his mind and imagine the object for which he had +been summoned. But no sooner did he perceive the priests near the +Temalacatl, than he was seized with horror, and disregarding the command +of Guatimozin, who beckoned to him to ascend the platform to his side, +he turned to fly.</p> + +<p>"Is not my brother a Mexican, and among the sons of the king?" said the +infidel; and then added with a look of bitter meaning, "My brother shall +see the revenge of the daughter of Montezuma!"</p> + +<p>Struck by these words, yet incapable of fathoming their signification, +Juan looked up to the young monarch, and would even have ascended the +scaffold, had not the sudden appearance of the captive engaged his whole +attention. A wild and frantic cry burst from the mob, and looking round, +he beheld a body of ten or twelve priests, with their black robes, and +long plaited, rope-like hair, leading the prisoner towards the platform. +His arms were bound behind him, and his only garment was a coarse cloth +wrapped round the loins.</p> + +<p>Juan's heart sickened; he would have sunk to the earth, or buried his +head in his tilmaltli, to avoid looking upon the spectacle of a +Christian and countryman, thus brought forth to be slaughtered. But the +fiery spirit displayed by the victim, as soon as he was lifted upon the +mound and set upon his feet, drew another shout from the admiring +infidels, which caused him to steal one look at the scene; and that look +left him without the power of withdrawing his eyes. The captive, as soon +as he was on the mound, leaped, of his own accord, upon the stone, as if +to testify not only his knowledge of the purpose for which he was +brought there, but his willingness to engage in the combat. He then +turned his face towards the king, and, at that moment,</p> + +<p>Juan Lerma lifting his eyes, beheld the only man he had ever learned to +hate—It was Don Francisco de Guzman.</p> + +<p>Noble, compassionate, and truly unvindictive, as was Lerma's spirit, he +did not make this discovery without a thrill of fierce exultation. There +is a touch of the wild beast in the hearts of us all; and so long as man +is capable of anger, he will, at some moment, and for some brief space +of time, yield to thoughts and wishes, that he himself must, a moment +after, esteem diabolic. Religion and moral culture make us the masters +of our malign propensities; but man is naturally a vengeful animal.</p> + +<p>It was but the weakness of a moment with Juan Lerma; perhaps, too, it +was caused by the thrill of joy at the proof thus rendered, that Guzman, +at least, exercised no control over the fate of the princess of Mexico; +and if he did not instantly commiserate the condition of an enemy justly +abhorred, but now so fallen, so wretched, and about to expiate his evil +deeds by a punishment so fearfully retributive, he was able to banish +all unworthy elation from his mind, and look on with feelings more +becoming a man and Christian.</p> + +<p>He could not indeed but admire the fearless intrepidity, or rather +audacity, with which Guzman (more oppressed by a sense of humiliation, +at being made a spectacle among a crew so despised and abhorred, than by +any other feeling,) looked around him upon the pagans, and extended his +foot to the ligature, with which it was to be secured to the stone. +Whatever were his faults, it could not be denied, that Don Francisco was +a man of unflinching courage, which was indeed a constitutional trait. +His presence on the stone of battle indicated that he had been captured +after a heroic resistance. His resolution was, in this case, kept up by +a knowledge of the nature of the ordeal through which he was to pass, +and by full confidence in his ability to win all the privileges it +conferred upon him. He had some little acquaintance with the Mexican +tongue, and was by no means ignorant of the more remarkable institutions +of the country. A victory over six awkward and half-starved barbarians, +was an exploit not to be despaired of by a well-trained cavalier, even +when denied any advantage of weapons, and defensive armour. Yet it was a +curious circumstance, that he, who had not often kept faith himself, +when his interest called upon him to break it, should rest with such +perfect reliance upon the willingness of the Mexicans to liberate him, +in the event of his prevailing over their champions. But he knew, that +never but <i>once</i> had a tribe of all the broad regions of Anahuac broken +its pledged faith to a successful gladiator; and that tribe was, for +that reason, ever after held infamous. It was the tribe of Huexotzinco; +and Cortes himself placed the circumstance on record.</p> + +<p>As soon as his foot was properly secured, his arms were unbound, and a +noble, who stood upon the scaffold in the character of a herald, +addressed him in the following official terms:</p> + +<p>"This is the law of Mexico, and let the people hear: 'The prisoner who +is brave, the gods honour. If he kill six strong men upon the stone +Temalacatl, he shall be set free.' This is the law."</p> + +<p>"This is the law, then," repeated Guzman, in imperfect Mexican, turning +his eyes upon Guatimozin, as if he disdained to hold converse with any +meaner infidel: "Is it a law that will be remembered, when the prisoner +is a Spaniard?"</p> + +<p>"He who is a prisoner, has no name and no country," replied the prince. +"He is neither Tlascalan nor Castilian, but a man who kills or dies."</p> + +<p>"And if I prevail over six of thy soldiers," again cried Guzman, as the +attendants strapped upon one arm a light buckler of basket-work, and +gave him also a short macana, "dost thou warrant me by thy gods, that I +shall be sent back to Don Hernan?"</p> + +<p>"Let the prisoner fight," said the king sternly: "Are the warriors of +Mexico blades of grass, that they should be blown down by a man's +breath, before the sword has struck them?"</p> + +<p>"Thou shalt see," replied Guzman, with a grim smile. "What are six +warriors to a man fighting for liberty? Give me a Spanish sword,—a +weapon of iron,—and let my adversaries be doubled in number."</p> + +<p>The boldness of this demand greatly excited the admiration of the +warlike spectators, who rewarded it with cheers. But they checked their +tumult to hear the words of the king.</p> + +<p>"The white man talks with the lips of a boaster," he said. "Had he not a +Spanish sword in the king's garden, among the women? How is this? He is +a prisoner!"</p> + +<p>"Ask thy warriors,—it was not broken off in my hand! How else should +they have taken me?" replied Guzman, to the words of scorn; and then +added, in Spanish, as if to himself, "So much for striking the accursed +hound! I would he and his master were broiling in purgatory; for they +have ever brought me bad luck."</p> + +<p>Juan Lerma heard not these words, but he remembered the broken blade in +Befo's body, and again his heart hardened against his foemen. But +matters were now approaching to a crisis. The monarch, disdaining to +hold further discourse with the prisoner, waved his hand, and a warrior, +darting from the ground at the foot of the scaffold, leaped with a +single bound upon the platform, and uttered the yell of battle, which +was instantly re-echoed by the shouts of the multitude. He was a tall +and powerful savage, though meager of frame, of great activity, as was +proved by his ready leap, and of a spirit fully corresponding. His +equipments were but little superior to those of the captive; his +battle-axe was somewhat longer, his buckler a little broader, and he had +some slight defence for his head, in a cap of alligator-skin, that +crowned his matted hair.</p> + +<p>No sound of trump and tymbal gave the signal for beginning the fight, as +in a Christian tourney. The yell of the infidel, as he sprang upon the +mound, and brandished his battle-axe, was all that was allowed or +required, to put the prisoner on his guard; and Don Francisco seemed to +understand enough of the nature of the ceremony, to look for no further +warning.</p> + +<p>The great superiority of the infidel consisted in his being entirely at +liberty, able to begin the attack by leaping upon the stone at any point +he chose, and to continue it thereon, by changing his position as often +as he thought fit; while the prisoner, secured by a thong not above +eighteen inches in length, to the centre of it, enjoyed no such +facilities of motion. He might turn, indeed, and as rapidly as he +pleased, but always with the danger, if he forgot himself for a moment, +of tripping himself, and falling; in which case, his death was certain, +for no forbearance was practised in the event of such an accident.</p> + +<p>The infidel began the combat with the same agility he had displayed in +leaping up to the platform. He uttered his yell, brandished his axe, and +making a half circuit round the stone, suddenly darted upon it, and +aimed a blow at Guzman. He was met by the Spaniard with an address and +effect, that showed he had not overrated his skill. Rather meeting than +avoiding the blow, he struck up, with his bucklered hand, not the +macana, but the arm of the assailant, seemingly calculating that the +shock of the rebuff would tumble him from the stone. It did more: it +caused the Mexican to fling up his arms, in the instinctive effort to +preserve his equilibrium. The next instant, Guzman drove his glassy axe +deep into his uncovered side, and spurning him violently with the foot +which was at liberty, the Mexican fell backwards upon the platform, +writhing in the agonies of death. The whole combat was scarce the work +of a minute. Those who drew in their breath as the Mexican sprang to the +assault, had not taken a second inspiration, before their countryman was +discomfited and dying.</p> + +<p>The infidels set up a scream, as much of approbation as surprise. The +spirit of the Roman amphitheatre was felt around the Temalacatl of +Mexico; and plaudits were bestowed upon a victor, when pity was denied +to the slain.</p> + +<p>The vanquished and writhing combatant was dragged from the mound, and +his place immediately occupied by a second, who leaped up with the same +alacrity, and attacked with similar violence.</p> + +<p>"Fool that thou art!" muttered Guzman, with scorn and lofty +self-reliance, "were there twenty such grasshoppers at thy back, yet +should it be but boy's play to despatch thee."</p> + +<p>He caught the blow of the savage on his buckler, but greatly to his +injury; for the sharp blades of the iztli severed it nearly in twain, +and besides diminishing its already insufficient defence, inflicted a +severe wound upon his arm. But it was the only blow struck by the +barbarian. Infuriated by the wound, Guzman smote him over the head with +his weapon, and with such rapidly continued blows as entirely confounded +the Mexican, so that he made scarce any use of his shield. The first +stroke tore the cayman-scales from his hair, and the next clove through +his skull.</p> + +<p>Guzman's victory was as complete as before, but he found that several of +the separate blades, or teeth of obsidian, that edged his weapon, were +broken off by the blows. He beheld this with alarm, for having held up +the axe, to show its dilapidated condition, and demand another, he found +himself answered only by the appearance of a third antagonist.</p> + +<p>"Dogs and jugglers that ye are!" he cried, indignantly: "ye would cheat +me then to death, by leaving me weaponless! St. Dominic, knaves! but I +will sort your wit with a better wisdom.—Now, what a spectacle might I +not make for my brother Christians on the dikes! Thou art playing quits +with me, Cortes!—Hah, dog! art thou so ready?"</p> + +<p>It was Guzman's determination, after killing the third assailant, which +event he still looked forward to with unabated confidence, to possess +himself of his weapon, which, though secured in the usual manner by a +thong, he doubted not he could easily rend from his arm.</p> + +<p>But his antagonist was by no means so easily mastered as the others. +Taking caution from the fate of his predecessors, he changed the mode of +attack; and though he rushed upon the block with as much resolution as +either, he betrayed no such ambition to come to close quarters. On the +contrary, taking advantage of the breadth of the Temalacatl, he confined +himself to the very edge, now facing the Spaniard, as if about to make +his spring, now darting behind him, as if to assault him in the rear, +and, all the time, vexing Guzman's ears with the most terrific screams. +Then, perceiving the Spaniard's wariness, he began to run around the +stone with all his speed, flourishing his axe, as if to take advantage +of the least opening offered by the weariness or dizziness of his foe. +Guzman at once perceived the danger to which he was reduced by a system +of attack so difficult to be guarded against. It was almost impossible, +tied as he was, to preserve his face always against the pagan; twice or +thrice he stumbled over the rope, and already his brain began to reel +with the rapidity of his gyrations. At each stumble, the Mexican struck +at him with his axe, and one blow had taken effect, though not +dangerously, upon his shoulder. This incensed the Spaniard almost to +madness, and he voluntarily exposed himself to another wound, in order +to bring his opponent within his reach. Thus, as the infidel was still +continuing to run round the stone, he flung himself round the other way +very suddenly, yet not so quickly as wholly to escape the rapid attacks +of his assailant. The macana inflicted another and deeper wound in his +back, while his own broken weapon struck the savage on the hip. At the +same moment he seized him by the throat, and employing a strength +greatly superior to the Indian's, threw him under his feet, and crushed +him with hand and knee, while despatching him with blows over the face +and head. He then grasped at the macana; but before he could wrest it +from the grasp of his dying foe, the Indian was plucked from under him +by the attendant priests.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2> + + +<p>The feelings of Juan Lerma were throughout, strange, bewildering and +overwhelming; and he gazed upon the three combats, each fought and +finished in an inconceivably short space of time, in a species of trance +or stupefaction. Great, and doubtless just, as was his detestation of +Guzman, there was something both noble and afflicting in the courage +with which the unfortunate man bore himself in the midst of savage foes, +who, if they awarded him a shout of approbation for every valiant blow, +yet screamed with a more cordial delight, at every wound inflicted by an +antagonist. Even while Juan doubted not that Guzman's skill and +fortitude would insure him a full triumph, and final liberation, he +could not but be struck with horror, at beholding a Christian man bound +to a stone, and baited like a muzzled bear. How much more overpowering, +then, were his feelings, when he perceived, from the complexion given to +events by the last contest, that it must end, and perhaps soon, in the +destruction of the prisoner.</p> + +<p>His emotions became indeed irresistible, when he looked up at the third +shout of the multitude,—for he had closed his eyes with dread, while +Guzman despatched his third foe,—and saw him, bleeding at three +different wounds, and staggering with dizziness, extend his macana, now +almost reduced by the fracture of the blades, to a mere bludgeon, +towards the king, and exclaim, bitterly and despairingly,</p> + +<p>"King of Mexico, if thou knowest either honour or God, give me a fresh +sword!"</p> + +<p>His words ran through Juan's spirit like sharp knives, and he was seized +with a faintiness, so that he could scarce maintain himself on his feet. +But while his brain whirled and his eyes swam, he beheld a fourth +warrior spring upon the mound, and, yelling as he rose, dart, without a +moment's pause, against the captive.</p> + +<p>It was now apparent to all, and to none more than the miserable victim +himself, that his situation was become wholly desperate. His skill could +avail him nothing, while he was so insufficiently armed; his strength +was wasting away with his blood; his courage could not long maintain +itself against all hope; and even the pride that uplifted him so far +above his barbarous antagonists, only exasperated him into frenzy, when +he perceived, that, despised as they were, he was in their power, and +must soon expire under their blows. His rage was like that of the +gallant puma, knotted in the <i>lazo</i> of a hunter, and torn to pieces by +dogs, which, were he at liberty, would be but as grass and dust under +the might of his talons.</p> + +<p>Hopeless of any relief from the king, and maddened by the exulting +shouts with which the infidels hailed every symptom of his defeat, he +turned furiously upon his new opponent; but not until the Mexican, more +skilful or more lucky than his predecessors, had struck him a violent +blow upon the side, which he followed up, at intervals, with others, +while running round the stone, in imitation of his less fortunate +countryman. His success was rewarded by the spectators with screams of +delight, which he re-echoed with his own wild outcries.</p> + +<p>Yet Guzman was not altogether subdued. Wretched as was his weapon, he +handled it with some effect, and struck his assailant two or three such +blows as would have ended the combat, had they been inflicted by a +better. With one, he staggered the pagan; with a second, he struck him +down to his knee; and with a third, he snapped off the last blade of +obsidian, upon the scales of the Indian helmet, and now brandished a +harmless wooden wand.</p> + +<p>At that moment, a Spanish sword, thrown by an unseen hand; fell at his +feet,—but fell in vain. Badly aimed, it struck short upon the stone, +and rolled back to the mound; and the infidel, recovering his feet, +though still staggering, uttered his war-cry, and raised his macana, to +strike down the defenceless Christian.</p> + +<p>Human nature could withstand the scene of butchery no longer. Juan Lerma +forgot that the captive was his foe and destroyer, and the unprincipled +oppressor of all he held dear. He saw a man of his own country and faith +cruelly assassinated before his eyes, among thousands of pitiless and +rejoicing barbarians. He thought not of the impossibility of affording +him any real relief, nor of the fate to himself that must follow an +attempt so full of folly. His brain burned, his eyes flamed as if in +sockets of fire; and obeying an impulse that converted him for a moment +into a madman, he rushed through the few nobles who separated him from +the mound, and in an instant was at the side of the victim.</p> + +<p>To snatch up the weapon he had so vainly cast, to spurn the exhausted +warrior from his prey, and to cut the thong that bound Guzman to the +stone, were all the work of a second. Almost before the idea had entered +the mind of the Mexicans, that the combat was interrupted, so +lightning-like were his motions, he had leaped with Guzman from the +platform, and, grasping his hand, made his way over the narrow and +unoccupied portion of the square, which led to the garden. Even then, +the Mexicans stood for awhile dumb with surprise and consternation; for +the act was so unexpected, so entirely inexplicable upon any of their +principles of action, that they scarce knew if it might not be their +Mexitli himself, who thus snatched a victim from the stone of battle.</p> + +<p>It has been already mentioned, that the garden wall had, in this +quarter, fallen down, and that its place was supplied only by a fence of +shrubs and brambles. Its ruins choked the ditch, and gave a passage, +which had been formerly effected by a wooden bridge, now buried under +the heavy fragments. A single plank spanned over the only gap that was +too wide to be passed, except by a bold leap. It was a knowledge of +these circumstances, that, in the very tempest of his impulses, +determined the course of Juan Lerma, and decided every step he now took +to secure life to his wretched companion. He had breathed but a word +into Guzman's ear, but it was enough to communicate strength to his +heart, and agility to his limbs; and wonderfully adapting his +resolutions and movements to those of his guide, he ran with him over +the square and across the canal, with such speed, that he rather aided +than retarded the steps of his preserver.—They had crossed the plank +before the yells of pursuit burst from the astounded assembly, and Juan, +striking it now into the ditch with his foot, dragged Guzman through the +brambles, exclaiming,</p> + +<p>"Quick! quick! If we can but reach the palace, we are saved."</p> + +<p>"Is it <i>thou</i>, indeed, Juan Lerma?" cried Guzman, with a voice +singularly wild and piteous, but struggling onward.—"Now then thou +canst kill me thyself, since thou wouldst not be avenged by infidels."</p> + +<p>"Quick! quick! they are following us! they are crossing the ditch!—But +fifty paces more!"</p> + +<p>"Ten will serve me—and ten words will make up my reckoning—that is, +<i>here</i>: the rest hereafter. Stop, fool,—I am dying."</p> + +<p>"Courage! courage!" exclaimed Juan, endeavouring, but in vain, to drag +further the wretch, for whom his rash humanity seemed to have purchased +only the right of expiring in a Christian's arms. "Courage, and move +on,—we are close followed."</p> + +<p>"Hark,—listen, and speak not," said Guzman, sinking to the earth, for +his wounds were mortal, and the exertions of flight caused them to throw +out blood with tenfold violence—He was indeed upon the verge of +dissolution: "Listen, listen!" he cried, gasping for breath, yet +struggling to speak with such extraordinary eagerness, that it seemed as +if he held life and salvation to depend upon his giving utterance to +what was in his mind. "Listen, Juan Lerma, for I am a snake and a devil. +I hated thee for—But, brief, brief, brief! First, Cortes—Hah! they +come!—Drag me into a bush, that I may speak and die. No—here—There is +no time—Listen. Saints, give me powers of speech! or devils—either! A +little reparation—Why not? I belied thee to Cortes—Hark! hark!" he +almost screamed, in the fear that he might not be understood, for he was +conscious of the incoherency of his expressions; "hark! hark!—Bleeding +to death—Concerning—Cortes—his wife—Dońa Catalina—jealousy, +<i>jealousy</i>!—Poisoned his ear. Understand me! understand me!"</p> + +<p>Wild as were his words and confused as was the mind of Juan, yet with +these broken expressions, the dying cavalier threw a sudden and terrific +light upon the understanding of the outcast.</p> + +<p>"Good heaven!" he cried, "my benefactress! my noble lady! Oh villain, +how couldst thou?—"</p> + +<p>"More—more!" murmured Guzman, with impatient, yet vain ardour. "I know +all—Thy father—thy sister—Camarga—killed—Aha! Magdalena—the +princess—"</p> + +<p>"Ay! the princess?" echoed Juan, imploringly: "the princess? the +princess?"</p> + +<p>But all he could hear in reply to his frantic demand, was "Garci, +Garci—" and this name was immediately lost in the roaring shouts of the +infidels, who now surrounded the pair.</p> + +<p>Had Guzman been able to continue the flight at half the speed with which +he had begun it, it is certain they would have reached the palace, +considerably in advance of the pursuers; though it is not certain, that +would have proved a city of refuge. But his strength failed almost +immediately after entering the garden, of which as soon as he became +sensible, he began to make his disclosures; and perhaps the haste into +which he was driven by the almost instant appearance of the Mexicans, +thronging over the broken wall, served as much as the distractions and +agonies of death, to make them confused and insufficient. The first +word—the name of the lady Catalina,—revealing at once the dreadful +delusion, which had converted his best friend into his deadliest enemy, +so excited and unsettled Juan's mind, that, in his eagerness to learn +still more of the fatal secret, he almost forgot the presence of so many +Mexicans, rushing upon him with yells of fury. It was in vain, when they +had reached him, that he brandished his sword, and assumed an attitude +of defence, calling loudly upon the king. He was thrown down and +overpowered,—nay, he was severely wounded, and handled altogether so +roughly, that it seemed as if the enraged Mexicans were resolved to drag +him to the sacrifice, from which he had rescued Guzman, if not to murder +him on the spot; some calling out to kill him, and others roaring, 'The +Temalacatl! the Temalacatl!' Their cries were not even stilled when the +nobles who waited about the person of the king, drove them away with +rods, and Guatimozin himself stalked up to the prisoner. The frown which +Juan's rash, and, as he esteemed it, impious act, had brought upon his +visage, darkened into one still sterner, when having laid his hand upon +the Christian's shoulder, to signify that his person was sacred, the +expression of protection was answered only by cries of the most mutinous +character.</p> + +<p>"We will have the blood of the Spaniard," they screamed. "What said +Azcamatzin? It is true—this is a bear we have, that embraces us, and +tears open our hearts. He struck the Lord of Death—he takes the victim +from Mexitli: he shall be a victim himself—he shall die on the stone!"</p> + +<p>It was in vain that Guatimozin employed threats, menaces, and entreaties +to allay their passions. Sufferings of a nature and extent so horrible +that we have scarce dared to hint at them, had already made them sullen +and refractory; and misery and wrath are no observers of allegiance or +decorum. The unhappy monarch, now such less in power than in name, +feigned to yield to their clamour, for he perceived he could no longer +openly save. He commanded Juan to be bound with cords, and carried into +a remote corner of the palace, promising, that, when he had recovered a +little of his strength and spirits, he should be given up to them, to +die on the Temalacatl.</p> + +<p>It was perhaps fortunate for Juan, that he was dragged away too suddenly +to behold the fate of his rival, who was now in the hands of the +priests, apparently reviving—a circumstance hailed with such shouts of +joy, that Juan was himself almost forgotten. The infidels carried Don +Francisco again from the garden, and hurried him towards the little +temple. But before they had passed the square, he expired in their +arms—happy only in this, that he fell not by the knives of the priests.</p> + +<p>Before the day was over, the citizens were called upon again to resist +the Spaniards who had now resumed the offensive, and who continued their +approaches with such fierce, determined, and incessant efforts, that +they employed the whole time, as well as the whole thoughts, of the +besieged.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + + +<p>The fate of Mexico approached to its consummation. The great streets +leading from the causeways, were in the power of the Spaniards. It might +be said, indeed, that they had gained possession of the whole island, +except the extreme point of the neck of Tlatelolco; for though they did +not extend their ravages any great distance from the streets, into the +three quarters to the east and south, it was because these were occupied +only by women and children—the wounded, the sick, and the dying,—and +could be, at any moment, taken possession of. The warriors who yet +remained, were concentrated upon the little peninsula, around their +monarch, who, obstinate to the last, still resisted, even when +resistance was hopeless, refusing the offers of peace and friendship, +which Cortes, rendered magnanimous by success, and softened by +compassion, now daily sent him. His obstinacy was indeed surprising; for +the point was surrounded by brigantines and piraguas, prepared to +intercept his flight; and escape, unless by death, seemed evidently +impossible. The work of carnage therefore went on, though with mitigated +severity; for there were but few left to suffer. The market-place of +Tlatelolco was secured and occupied, and upon the day of St. Hippolytus, +(the 13th of August,) the Spaniards concluded the labours of the long +and bloody siege, by storming, with all their forces, the palace of +Guatimozin—the last stronghold of the Mexicans. The garden walls were +beaten down by the artillery, and soon after midday, the Spaniards +rushed, with tremendous vivas, upon the palace, to which fire had been +previously communicated by flaming arrows, shot into the windows by the +confederates.</p> + +<p>The preparations for the assault, and long before it began, were +surveyed by the Captain-General from the terrace of the palace of +Axajacatl, the famous scene of his sufferings, when besieged therein by +the Mexicans, a year before. It was in the quarter of Tlatelolco, midway +between the great pyramid and the market-place, and commanded, from its +turrets, not only a view of the palace of Guatimozin, but of the whole +surrounding city and lake.</p> + +<p>Deeply as his mind was engaged with the approaching climax of his mighty +enterprise,—for now he could almost count the minutes that intervened +betwixt his hopes and his success,—he was not without thoughts and +feelings of another character. The singular disappearance of Magdalena, +of which nothing more was known, or even conjectured, than was disclosed +in the midnight conversation of the hunchback and Bernal Diaz; the fate +of Camarga, over which events not yet narrated, had cast a peculiarly +exciting mystery; and the situation of Juan Lerma, upon whose character +and unhappy history certain events had shed a new light, as well as what +had now become a painful interest; all, by turns, occupied his mind, and +sometimes even withdrew it from the contemplation of the scene before +him. The few cavaliers in attendance, who enjoyed their immunity from +combat only because they were disabled by severe wounds, referred his +unusual gloom to the same cause; for he had not yet recovered from the +many injuries, the penalty of his rashness on the causeway.</p> + +<p>"Thou knowest, Quinones," said one, in a whisper to the captain of his +body guard, (for the conspiracy of Villafana had been made, as is usual +in such catastrophes of ambition, an excuse for investing his dignity +with another engine of power;)—"Thou knowest, the renegade struck him +upon the head; and it is a marvel of providence he was not slain; for +Lerma strikes with an arm like the wing of a windmill. These blows on +the skull, though one may seem to recover from them, have a perilous +after-effect on the brain."</p> + +<p>"Fy!" muttered Quinones, with a shake of the head; "there is a new word +about Lerma, especially since Garci Holguin brought in the princess. +Didst thou not hear that Alvarado, who heads the assault, called this +morning upon all soldiers who had seen Juan Lerma in the melée, and +asked them a thousand questions? I tell thee, there is a new thing in +the wind. I did myself last night over-hear Cortes charge Sandoval to +watch well for every piragua and canoe, that might leave Tlatelolco, and +see that no one taken be harmed.—But this we will see. Talking of +canoes, methought I beheld one some half hour since paddling from +Tezcuco?"</p> + +<p>"Ay," said another; "it landed in the north-eastern quarter.—No more +complaints of Guzman now? He will never harry infidels more. Garci's +sailors say, he was taken alive!"</p> + +<p>"Hist!" whispered Quinones, with a warning gesture. "This thing troubles +Cortes. It was his anger, and Guzman's desire to recover favour, which +drove him upon the mad feat, that brought him to the block of sacrifice. +It weighs upon the general's mind.—And besides, as it is now apparent +that Camarga is alive, there is deeper cause for remorse: It was perhaps +his wrongful belief in the charge of murder, rather than any other +cause, that made him proceed with such rigour against Guzman."</p> + +<p>"But is this rumour true?" demanded the other.</p> + +<p>"Ay, certain; and I wage ye my life, the very canoe we were looking +after, brings the dead-alive to Mexico. Methought I could trace the cut +of his sacerdotal maskings, even afar off. They say, after all, the man +is a true brother of St. Dominic, under some dispensation.—Ay, faith! +you may see now—Alive and shorn into the bargain! They are bringing him +up the stairway.—By Santiago, it makes the general's eye flash fire!"</p> + +<p>The eye of Cortes, up to this moment peculiarly gloomy and troubled, did +indeed flash with lustre, as soon as it fell upon the figure of Camarga; +for it was he, who now made his appearance on the terrace, led forward +by Indians. He was greatly altered, and seemed indeed like the ghost of +his former self, so wan and emaciated was his countenance, and so broken +and feeble his step; he looked as if in almost the last stage of +atrophy. He was otherwise changed; the hair was shorn from his crown, on +which was a ghastly scar, left by the macana of the Lord of Death; his +feet were bare; and from the cord that girded on his friar's frock, was +suspended a knotted scourge, crusted over with blood. His whole +appearance was that of some suicidal ascetic, who mourns with the +severest maceration of the body, a sin not to be expiated by mere +penitence of spirit.</p> + +<p>"Heaven be thanked for thy resurrection!" cried Cortes, grasping him by +the hand, and leading him to the seat he had himself occupied. "There is +a wolf in my bosom, and now I know that thou canst remove it!"</p> + +<p>"Have I come too late?" cried Camarga, eagerly, though with a voice no +longer sonorous. "<i>Agnus Dei, dona nobis pacem!</i> The victim of our +madness, driven among the infidels,—the poor wretch whom misery cast +into the same hands—What of them, seńor? what of them?"</p> + +<p>"Nothing," replied Cortes, "unless thou canst speak it: Nothing, at +least, except that both are still in captivity. Yet know, if it will +relieve thee, that what I could do by embassies and goodly offers, that +I have done to recover them; and I have given such orders, that, if they +be not murdered by the Indians, we may see them living this day."</p> + +<p>"God be thanked!" cried Camarga, dropping on his knees, and praying with +such fervour, though in inaudible accents, as to excite no little +curiosity among the attendant cavaliers, whom Cortes had already waved +away. He turned upon them again, and sternly bade them descend from the +terrace, which they did, followed by the Indians.</p> + +<p>As soon as they were alone, Cortes, scarce pausing until Camarga had +ceased his devotions, exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"Speak, and delay not, either to mourn or to pray: Thou canst do these +things hereafter. Enough evil has already come of thy silence. Speak me +in a word—What art thou? and what is thy interest in these wretches? +What is thine? and what—yes, what is <i>mine</i>?"</p> + +<p>The last word was uttered with vehement emphasis, that seemed to recall +Camarga to his self-possession. He rolled his eyes upon Cortes with a +ghastly smile, and replied,</p> + +<p>"Thou shalt know; for thou hast a sin to answer as well as I; and answer +it thou must, both to God and thy conscience. Moderate thy impatience: +what I have to say, cannot be spoken in a word, but yet it shall be +spoken briefly. In thy boyish days, thou hast heard of the Counts of +Castillejo—"</p> + +<p>The Captain-General bent upon the speaker a look that seemed designed to +slay, it was so frowningly fixed and penetrating. He then smote his +hands together upon his breast, as if to beat down some dreadful +thought, and immediately exclaimed,</p> + +<p>"What thou hast to say, speak in God's name, and without further +preface. Were I but a dog of the house of Cortes, instead of its son and +sole representative, the name of a Castillejo of Merida would be hateful +to my ear. Ay, by heaven! be thou layman or monk, my friend or the +friend of my enemy, yet know that my rage burns with undiminished fire, +though the proud scutcheons of the Castillejos have been turned into +funeral hatchments, and the mosses of twenty years have gathered on +their graves.—But it is enough. The first word of thy story harmonizes +with mine own conceit. A strange accident opened my eyes upon a +remembrance of dishonour; which let us rake up no further.—I have heard +enough. Keep thine own secret, too," he continued, with a gleaming eye; +"for I would not take the life of one, upon whom heaven has itself set +the seal of vengeance."</p> + +<p>"Yet must thou listen, and I speak," said Camarga, disregarding the +menacing words and glance; "for there is a story to be told, of which +thou and thy kindred have not dreamed—nay, nor have others, except +one—except one! My secret will not throw thee into the frenzy thou +fearest; he of whom you think, is beyond the reach of human vengeance. +Listen to me, Hernan Cortes, and forbear your rage, until I have +done.—Of the Count Sebastian's three brothers; the next in age, Julian, +was a slave in Barbary, yet supposed to be dead; the youngest Gregorio, +was a monk of St. Dominic; and the third, Juan, was a wild and unhappy +profligate."</p> + +<p>"Ay, by heaven," said Cortes, with angry emotion; "may he remember his +deeds in torment—Amen! Had not Gregorio been an inquisitor as well as a +monk, I should have seen him burn at a stake, as was his due."</p> + +<p>"Reserve your curses for the true criminal," said Camarga, drawing the +cowl over his visage, as if no longer able to endure the fierce looks of +Don Hernan: "Among others who had inflamed his wild and fiery +affections, was one whom heaven had seemingly placed beyond his +reach,—one whose name I need not pronounce to Hernan Cortes."</p> + +<p>"I will tell thee who she was," said the general, laying his hand upon +Camarga's shoulder, and speaking with a passionate energy;—"the +daughter of a family, ancient and noble as his own, though without its +wealth,—a novice about to take the vows, (for to this had the poverty +of her house and her own religious fervour destined her;) and thus +uplifted both by rank and profession above the aims of a seducer. But +what thought the young cub of Castillejo of these impediments, when he +feared not God, and saw no one left to punish his villany, save an +impoverished old man and a rambling schoolboy? Dwell not on this—Speak +not her name neither: let it be forgotten. May her soul rest in peace! +for her own act of distraction avenged the dishonour of her fall."</p> + +<p>He paused in strong emotion, and Camarga, drawing the mantle closer +round his head, continued:</p> + +<p>"Know, (and I speak thee a truth never before divulged to mortal man,) +that the sin of this act,—the abduction of a devotee, whose novitiate +was already accomplished,—belongs not to Juan, the debauchee, but to +Gregorio, the Dominican."</p> + +<p>"These are the words of a madman," said Cortes, sternly; but he was +interrupted by Camarga hastily exclaiming,</p> + +<p>"Misunderstand me not. The lover and the convent-robber was indeed Juan; +but it was Gregorio who provoked him to the outrage, and gave him the +means of success. The sacrilege had not been otherwise attempted, and +the fickle-minded Juan would have soon forgotten the object of a passion +both criminal and dangerous."</p> + +<p>"If you speak the truth," said Cortes, "you have exposed an atrocity, of +which, as you said, truly no man ever dreamed. On what improbable ground +do you make Gregorio a villain so monstrous?"</p> + +<p>"On that of <i>knowledge</i>," replied Camarga, with a voice firmer than he +had yet displayed. "Dost thou think ambition lies not as often under a +cowl as a corslet? or that guilt can only be meditated by a soldier? +When the young monk Gregorio beheld the two sons of his brother, the +Count Sebastian, taken up dead from the river, into which an evil +accident had plunged them, and knew that the Count was dying—surely +dying—of a broken heart, the fiend of darkness put a thought into his +brain, which had never before dishonoured it. Yet it slumbered again, +until his evil fate showed him his brother Juan, meditating a crime, +which, if attempted, must bring him under the ban of the church, and +into the dungeons of the Inquisition. Then he said, in his heart, 'If +Sebastian die of grief, childless, and if Juan destroy himself by an act +of impiety, where shall men look for the Count of Castillejo, except in +the cell of Gregorio?' It was this thought of darkness that brought the +thunderbolt upon his house, and upon thine."</p> + +<p>"Ay! thou sayst it now," said Cortes with a smothered voice. "But this +monk, this devil, this Gregorio! Let me know more of the wretch, whose +flagitious ambition, not satisfied with destroying his father's house +and his brother's soul, must end by bringing to a dishonourable grave a +daughter—I speak it <i>now</i>—a daughter of Martin Cortes of Medellin!"</p> + +<p>"It is spoken in a word; but let the iniquitous details be forgotten. +The power of Gregorio, unknown even to Juan, (for the connivance was +concealed and unsuspected,) opened the doors of the convent, and the +lovers fled, were united in marriage, and then parted for ever."</p> + +<p>"United? married? Now by heavens, thou mockest me! Even this had been +some mitigation of our shame. But it is not true. Why dost thou say it?"</p> + +<p>"Thou wert deceived—all were deceived," said Camarga; "nay, even the +scheming Gregorio was deceived; for before he had dreamed that such a +fatal blow could be given to his ambition, the knot was tied, and the +children of Juan became the heirs of Sebastian. Behold how treachery +overshoots its mark! Gregorio opened a path, that the lovers might meet, +not that they might escape. This was reserved until the time when the +vows should be taken; after which the crime of abduction and flight +could not be pardoned. They fled a day too early, and it was within the +power of Sebastian to obtain both a pardon and dispensation; for Juan +was now his heir, in the place of his children."</p> + +<p>"Good heavens!" cried Cortes, "was this indeed possible? But no; thou +deceivest me. Had the offence been so venial, Juan Castillejo had not +perished among the vaults of the Inquisition."</p> + +<p>"Canst thou compass thine own vindictive purposes, and attribute no +similar power to others?" cried Camarga, with a laugh, that sounded +hollow and unnatural under the mantle. "Did a venial offence, or a +malignant and perfidious stratagem, drive Juan Lerma among the pagans of +Mexico?—Listen:—Juan Castillejo was dragged from his hiding-place, and +that perhaps the earlier, that Gregorio knew of their marriage. The +crime of carrying off a novice was not indeed inexpiable, but it +demanded a deep cell in the office of the Brotherhood; and such Juan +obtained. Now, Cortes, ask not for reasons to explain the acts of +Gregorio. The dying Sebastian exerted his powers to save his brother, +and would have succeeded, had not Gregorio, visiting the dungeons, in +virtue of his office, subtly attacked the prisoner's mind with the fear +of torture and final condemnation; until, in a fit of distraction, he +laid violent hands upon himself, and so ended a tragedy, for which +Gregorio designed another catastrophe. Ay, believe me! Think not that +even Gregorio planned out a climax so cruel. He desired only to work +upon Juan's terrors, in order to banish him from the land for ever; for +it was his purpose to provide him with the means of escape, when this +was accomplished. He foresaw not the consequences of the desperation he +had produced. Upon the morrow, Sebastian came with an indulgence—almost +a pardon. The shock of the spectacle of Juan's dead body, broke away the +last feeble cords that bound him to life; and Gregorio, absolved from +his vows by the papal dispensation, easily obtained, was now the Count +of Castillejo."</p> + +<p>"And never sat in the castle-hall a fiend more truculent and diabolic!" +cried Cortes, with terrific emphasis. "Hark thee, man, demon, or +whatsoever thou art—I did think thee, at first, the very wretched Juan +of whom thou hast spoken, escaped by some miracle, and finding the +fiercest retribution for his villany, in the misery of his children. I +remembered thy words at Tezcuco, and was thus deluded. But I know thee +at last, and words cannot express how much I abhor thee."</p> + +<p>"We are alike worthy of detestation," said Camarga, rising and flinging +back his cowl, "for we are alike villains,—with but this difference +between us, that I have preceded thee in the path of remorse, and must +perhaps tread it more bitterly, because in all things, self-deluded and +baffled. I am what thou thinkest,—the wretched Gregorio—and yet less +wretched than when I first discovered the twin children of my brother in +thy house at Tezcuco.—Hearken yet a moment, and I have done. All +supposed that the unhappy Olivia had cast herself into the river, and so +perished. It was not so. Pity, remorse, or some other feeling—perhaps, +policy—induced me to preserve her from her distraction. She lived in +concealment, until she had given birth to twin children—these very +wretches whom we have persecuted. Let me speak their fate in a word. The +boy I sent by a creature whose name he bears, to Colon's settlement in +Espańola; the girl I devoted from her infancy to the altar; and in both +cases, dreamed that I had provided for their welfare, as well as against +the possibility of discovery. When I had thus arranged everything for my +own security, heaven sent me the first sting of retribution in the +person of my brother Julian, returned in safety from the dungeons of +Fez, and, in right of seniority, the heir of the honours I had so vainly +usurped. It was a fitting reward, but it was not all. Dishonour, other +crimes, and awakened suspicions, followed my downfall; and I became an +exile and outcast. What life I have lived, it needs not I should speak. +A strange accident acquainted me with the stranger truth, that Magdalena +had followed her unknown brother to the islands. I had amassed wealth; +and an impulse, combining both pity and foreboding terror, drove me to +pursue them. It was easy to trace out their respective fates. The wreck +of the ship which carried Magdalena, with the supposed loss of all on +board, satisfied me that she was with her mother, in heaven. An +unexpected event had invested Juan with new interest. This was the death +of Julian, without heirs. It was in my power to repair, at least, the +wrongs I had done him, by restoring him to his inheritance; the +knowledge and proofs of his legitimacy were in my hands, and I resolved +to employ them. This I could not do in mine own person, but I +discovered—and know, seńor, it filled me with joy,—that <i>thou</i> hadst +befriended him. I came then to Mexico, to seek the young man, and to +enable thee to do justice to the memory, and to the child of thy +sister."</p> + +<p>Gregorio, for so we must now call him, paused a moment, while Cortes +strode to and fro, in great agitation. He then resumed:</p> + +<p>"The first thing I heard was the supposed death of Juan,—his +expedition, and the cause of it—thine own bitter and unrelenting +hatred."</p> + +<p>"It is true," said Cortes, with a vain effort at composed utterance. "I +confessed my folly to thee before. I have persecuted the son of my +sister almost to death, and for an imaginary crime. There were villains +about me—I will tell thee, by and by, my delusion."</p> + +<p>"Seńor," continued Gregorio, "I found in thy camp a villain, whose +subtle and malicious nature was in harmony with my own. This was +Villafana, whose representations of thy cruelty in the matter of Juan, +stirred up my evil passions; and until the day when Juan returned, I was +very eager to avenge his wrongs. Upon that day, I discovered that +Magdalena was living. Now," he exclaimed, with vehemence, "thou mayst +understand the cause of my seeming madness: now thou mayst know that the +vengeance of heaven was punishing my old sin with lashes of horror. Thou +knowest the evil slanders cast by the ribald soldiers upon thee, in +relation to Magdalena. That dreadful suspicion was soon at an end; but +there remained the other, the persuasion, supported by strong +circumstances and by the malign averments of Villafana,—the dreadful, +damning belief, that a horrible and unnatural sin, the direct +consequence of my own, had plunged the brother and sister into a +never-ending wretchedness. Ask not my feelings, when I made this +supposed discovery. They caused me to seek the life of the unhappy +brother, to attempt it with my own hands, and finally through thine; and +all in a distraction, that mingled a thirst of vengeance with the +precautions of pity. Thou knowest the rest: he was snatched out of our +hands; and from Magdalena I discovered the blessed—the blissful truth, +that heaven had not punished them for <i>my</i> sin! A course of +extraordinary calamities, while it covered them with misery, yet kept +them asunder.—But why should I trifle thus? The girl also was taken +from me, and by the pagans, who left me on the lake-side weltering in +blood. When I recovered speech and sense, I besought Guzman to send for +you; nay, in my distracted impatience, being myself incapable of any +effort beyond mere speech, I confided to him the secret of their +birth—"</p> + +<p>"Villain that he was, a double-dyed villain!" exclaimed Cortes, "this +then accounts for his attempt upon your life, of which I had something +more than mere suspicion to bring against him. I see it all now: +exposure of a long series of malignant deceptions, must have followed +the revealment, if it found the young Lerma—the young Castillejo, shall +I say?—yet living. Is it not true? did he do you violence?"</p> + +<p>"Not with his own hands," replied Gregorio; "nor can I say he really +designed my death, not being able to communicate with the Indians, who +dragged me by night from Tezcuco, carried me to the mountains, and +finally took me back again, when Guzman was no longer the governor. But +I doubt not, his intentions were evil."</p> + +<p>"He has suffered for his crimes," said Cortes.—He strode to and fro for +an instant, with hands clasped together, and a working visage. Then +returning, and casting around a glance of suspicion, he said,</p> + +<p>"Hark thee, Gregorio—If we save these unhappy creatures from death, +thou shalt be forgiven,—ay, man, and honoured, too. I understand the +motives that made thee mine ally in wickedness: now understand +mine,—the persuasions of belief that converted me into a +persecutor—the base and devilish persecutor, for such I was—of my +sister's son—of my own flesh and blood. By heaven! I loved him dearly; +nature spoke in my heart,—the instinct of consanguinity was alive +within me; and even the lies of Guzman could not wholly destroy it. +Velasquez the governor," he went on, "has fought me with all weapons, +and with all in vain. Yet did he at last fall upon one, that was made to +wound me to the quick, though it could not make me falter in this +emprise of conquest. My lady, Gregorio, my lady!" he continued, +struggling in vain against the feelings of humiliation, with which he +confessed a weakness so unworthy;—"my lady Catalina is fair and merry, +and, God wot, somewhat over fond of the gingling galliards that ruffle +it at Santiago; and I,—by my conscience, I will be as honest as +thou,—I have had the devil of suspicion sometimes enter my mind; but, I +swear to thee, to mine own dishonour only. Upon this ground, Velasquez +has thrust at me with hints, innuendos, sarcasms, jests, rumours, +accusations, time without end. There has never a ship arrived, that it +has not brought some petard to be shot off on my bosom; and sometimes, I +think, I have been half mad with my dreams. Know, then, that one of +these damnable devices was made to play in the person of my adopted +son,—for such he was,—and my lady's favourite, Juan Lerma. My lady won +him out of prison, and she harboured him during the sickness that +followed. Out of this was constructed a story that tormented me. Yet it +was naught, until Guzman penetrated the weakness, and wrought it, by I +know not what means, into a fierce and fiendish jealousy. The young man +was melancholy, too—he had killed his friend Hilario: but (heaven save +me such madness again!) I deemed it the workings of his conscience, his +sense of ingratitude, operating upon a temper, which, I knew, was +naturally noble and virtuous. Thou canst not think how many little +events were turned, by Guzman's malignant address, into proof and +confirmation of my detestable suspicion. There came for him certain +horses and arms, sent, as I quickly believed, by my wife, now bold in +infidelity—"</p> + +<p>"Alas!" said Gregorio; "I learned from Villafana, that these were the +gifts of Magdalena, who, poor wretch, would have sent him her life, +could that have been made an acceptable present."</p> + +<p>"Thou makest my heart still lighter," said Cortes, "for this was the +only matter I could not myself explain away, so soon as certain passages +with Guzman had opened my eyes to his baseness. His oppressions forced +me to withdraw him from Tezcuco; and, quarrelling with him upon that +subject, as well as in regard to thine own fate, he let fall, in the +heat of contention, certain unguarded expressions, which convinced me +that he had made me his tool,—by heaven, Gregorio, his instrument! +Suspicion once awake, my judgment once informed how much he had to gain, +both of favour and revenge, by destroying my poor cornet, it needed but +mine own reflections, to show me how ruthlessly I had been cajoled. And +to crown all, a new light was shot into my soul, by the recovery, from +an Indian princess, now a captive in my hands, of this trinket; which +thou mayest know, if thou hast indeed ever looked upon the face of my +sister."</p> + +<p>He drew from his bosom the cross and rosary which Juan had flung round +the neck of the Indian princess.</p> + +<p>"I placed it," said Gregorio, "with mine own own hands upon the bosom of +the infant Magdalena—But, good heaven, how came it on the neck of a +savage, unless they have murdered her?'</p> + +<p>"Fear not," said Cortes: "It was given to the princess by Juan Lerma—by +Juan of Castillejo; and was doubtless presented to him by Magdalena, in +the island. From this princess, I learned the first news of Magdalena, +who was kindly treated by the young king, in his palace, for Juan's +sake. Thou must know how this cross wrought upon my heart and brain; for +I did myself give it to my sister, when they took me, but a boy, to see +her in the convent. And as for this princess, Gregorio," continued +Cortes, with an air of pride, "know that she is a daughter of Montezuma, +the descendant of a thousand kings; and the Count of Castillejo will +carry with him to his castle, a bride more noble than ever entered it +before."</p> + +<p>"These things are vanities," said Gregorio, gloomily. "Let my brother's +children be first plucked from the nest of infidels, if it be not too +late."</p> + +<p>"Heaven will not <i>now</i> forsake them, after protecting them through so +many and greater perils," said Cortes, kissing the little cross and +restoring it to his bosom. "The best men in the army, cavaliers and all, +have sworn they will fetch them from the palace, in which they are now +surrounded. And hark thee, Gregorio: The only daughter of the Count of +Castillejo is too noble a prize for a nunnery.—We will have another +dispensation."</p> + +<p>The further disclosures of these two men, both villains, and both +penitents, after their ways, were arrested by the commencement of the +attack upon the palace; and Cortes calling some of his attendants to +support his companion's steps, they descended from the terrace.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + + +<p>Juan Lerma, or Castillejo—for such we must now call him—yet lay in +confinement. His cell was in a quarter of the palace remote from the +royal apartments; and without being altogether exposed to the +cannon-shots, with which the attack was begun, was yet so nigh the +garden-wall as to make its luckless inhabitant an auditor of all the +fearful yells and outcries, with which the besieged and assailants +contended for possession of the breaches. He was still bound, and some +dozen or more dark-browed pagans kept watch at his doors, one of which +led into a broad passage, and the other he knew not whither. They were +designed rather to protect him from the fury of the warriors, now +concentrated in the garden and palace, than to guard against escape, +which the wounds he had received in the defence of Guzman, had but ill +fitted him to attempt. All that Guatimozin could do to prolong an +existence, now almost insufferably wretched, he did; and at the very +moment of the assault, while taking measures to effect his own retreat +from an empire now utterly demolished, and a post no longer tenable, he +gave hasty instructions to the Ottomi, Techeechee, to secure the escape +of his friend. It will be presently seen in what manner fortune defeated +this plan, as well as all others now devised by the fallen monarch.</p> + +<p>It was with a listlessness amounting almost to apathy, that Juan +listened to the first discharges of the cannon and the roar of hostile +voices. Such sounds had been awakened for several days in succession, +and each day they were nearer and louder. If they promised him +deliverance, they promised little else; for, having reflected upon the +eventful enterprise of the causeway, and digested at leisure and in +gloom, many of those details which had almost escaped his notice, in the +heat and hurry of contention, he saw but little reason to anticipate +from his countrymen, any other reception than such as might be +vouchsafed to a condemned criminal and avowed renegade. He remembered, +that he had been struck down by a Spaniard, while in the very act of +giving life to the Captain-General; and he had a vague suspicion, that +the blow was struck by the Barba-Roxa. If Gaspar (of whose death he was +entirely ignorant), had met him with such vindictive ferocity, what else +could be expected from men who had never looked upon him with +friendship? Yet fear for himself made the lightest weight in his load of +suffering: his thoughts dwelt upon the captive princess, and not less +often, though with perhaps less gnawing anxiety, upon his equally +captive sister.</p> + +<p>Such were the reflections that darkened his mind during the first hours +of conflict, and made him almost indifferent to his fate. Yet, +notwithstanding his gloom, there arose a circumstance at last, which +gave such an appalling character to his confinement, as prevented his +remaining any longer indifferent to his situation. He became suddenly +aware that volleys of smoke were beginning to roll into the apartment, +and perceived, at the same time, that his guards, driven away by fear, +or by an uncontrollable desire to mingle in the conflict, as was more +probable, had fled from the doors, after satisfying themselves that he +was secured in such a manner as to prevent his flying in their absence. +He was indeed bound, or rather swathed, hand and foot, with robes of +cotton, so as to be incapable of rising from the couch on which he lay: +and it was his consciousness of the miserable helplessness of his +condition, left to perish, as it seemed, in a burning palace, without +the power of raising a finger in self-preservation, that stung him out +of his lethargy.</p> + +<p>The smoke was now rolling into the room, in denser masses than before, +accompanied by the stifling odour of burning feathers, which entered so +largely into the decorations of the palace; and he began to apprehend +lest he should be suffocated outright, even before the flames had +extended to his prison. He called aloud for relief; but his voice was +unheeded in the din that shook the palace walls; he struggled to release +his limbs, or to rise to his feet, but in vain; and even the poor +expedient of rolling over the floor, availed him but little, so much +were his muscles cramped by the barbarous bonds. To crown the horror of +the scene, a gush of heated air shook the curtains of the door opposite +to that which communicated with the passage, and was almost instantly +followed by another, whirling smoke and flames.</p> + +<p>But even in this extremity, hope was brought to his ears, in the sound +of a voice not heard for many days, but not yet forgotten. From among +the very flames that came flashing into the chamber, consuming the +door-curtains, and darting upon the little canopy that surmounted his +couch, he could distinguish the eager and clamorous howlings of Befo; as +if this faithful friend were seeking him in his imprisonment. He +answered with a shout, which was responded to not only by the joyful +bark of the dog, but by the wild cry of a woman; and in the next +instant, Magdalena, preceded by Befo, rushed through the flames into his +dungeon.</p> + +<p>"I have come to save you, my brother!" she cried, with accents wildly +vehement and incoherent. "We will fly where never man shall see us more. +Kiss me, Juan; and then look upon me no more, for I have made a vow to +my soul.—Oh, my brother! my brother!" And she flung herself upon his +body, and strove, but in vain, to raise him from the floor.</p> + +<p>Had the agitation of his mind permitted, Juan must have noticed, and +been shocked by, the alteration in her appearance. Her whole figure was +miserably wasted, and she grasped him with a strength feebler than a +child's. Her countenance was hollow, ghastly pale, and mottled only by +such touches of colour as indicate a spirit consuming equally with the +body. Add to this, that her garments were scorched, and even in parts +burned, by the flames through which she had made her way; and we may +understand how much she differed from the beautiful and majestic +creature, that had been deemed at Tezcuco, almost a being of another +world.</p> + +<p>"Cut my bonds, Magdalena," said Juan, eagerly, "or I must die in thine +arms."</p> + +<p>"Let it be so, Juan—We will die together," cried Magdalena, with a +voice of transport, as if the prospect of such a climax to an unhappy +fate filled her mind with actual delight. "Oh yes, Juan, so we will die, +so we will die!" And she flung her arms about his neck, with tremulous +fervour, smothering his voice of remonstrance and entreaty, until +recalled to her wits by a loud howl from Befo. This faithful animal, +limping yet with pain, but acting as if he understood the inability of +Magdalena to give his master relief, now lifted up his voice, whining +for further assistance; and in a few seconds the cry of another human +being was heard, approaching with answering shouts, through the passage. +But before they were yet heard, Magdalena sprang to her feet, and wrung +her hands wildly, staring upon Juan as if upon a basilisk.</p> + +<p>"Sister! sister! will you see me perish?" cried Juan. "Slip me but these +knotted robes from my hands and feet, and I will save thy life. Befo! +what Befo! canst thou not rive them to tatters with thy fangs?"</p> + +<p>"I will free you, Juan,—yes, I will free you," said Magdalena, flinging +herself upon her knees, and essaying with better zeal than wisdom to +loose the knotted folds; "Yes, Juan, I will free you, and then bid you +farewell—Yes, farewell, farewell—a lasting farewell."</p> + +<p>But while she was muttering thus, and striving confusedly with the +knots, a better assistance arrived in the person of the old Ottomi, who +rushed in, yelling, "Fly! fly! The king waits for his brother," and cut +the garments asunder with his macana.</p> + +<p>Juan rose to his feet; but so long had he endured this benumbing +bondage, that he was scarce able either to stand or move. There was no +time, however, for hesitation. The flames were already devouring his +couch, and darting over the cedar rafters of the ceiling. Befo whined +and ran to the door, as if inviting his master to follow; and Techeechee +did not cease to exhort him to hasten. Besides all this, there were now +heard the cries of men and clashing of arms, as if the battle were +raging even in the palace, and approaching the place of imprisonment.</p> + +<p>"Magdalena, dear Magdalena—"</p> + +<p>She flung herself into his arms, and embracing him, as if never to part +from him more, she yet uttered, with wild sobbings,</p> + +<p>"Farewell, Juan, farewell; farewell, my brother—we will never see each +other more!"</p> + +<p>"What meanest thou, my sister? Hold me by the arm—Tarry not, or we +shall perish."</p> + +<p>"I cannot go, Juan—I will remain, Juan—I must die, Juan, I must die. +Weep for me, pray for me, remember me—Now go, now go! Go, Juan, go!"</p> + +<p>It is impossible to express the mingled tenderness and vehemence with +which she uttered these words. Poignant grief darkened in her eyes, in +which glimmered the light of the most passionate love; and all the while +she shed floods of tears. Unable to comprehend an agitation so +extraordinary, and valedictions which he thought little short of +insanity, he grasped her by the hand, and endeavoured to draw her after +him. She resisted even with screams, until, utterly confounded, and +somewhat incensed by opposition so unreasonable and inopportune, he +turned again to remonstrate, and perhaps rebuke. But the reproach was +banished from his lips, before they had given it utterance. She again +flung her arms around his neck, and muttered with tones that went to his +heart,</p> + +<p>"I cannot go with you, Juan—Oh my brother! pardon me, my brother, and +do not curse me. Bid me farewell, Juan, bid me farewell for ever—I love +you Juan, I love you too much!—Now I can live no more, Juan, I can live +no more—Farewell! farewell! farewell!" And flinging from his arms, as +if from a serpent that had suddenly stung her to the heart, she uttered +another shriek, and fled through the burning door by which she had +entered.</p> + +<p>Juan remained fixed to the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt; and +before he could banish the words of the thrice-unhappy victim of passion +from his ears, there rushed into the chamber, with furious shouts, a +rabble of Spanish soldiers, blood-stained, and begrimed with smoke and +cinders, the leader of whom struck the Ottomi dead with a single thrust +of his spear, while the others rushed upon Juan, some crying out to +kill, and others to spare him.</p> + +<p>"Hands off!" cried Najara, throwing himself betwixt them and Juan. +"Remember orders,—the general's orders!—The king, seńor Juan? Where is +the king?"</p> + +<p>"Unhand me, villains!" cried Juan, endeavouring to shake off the +soldiers who held him fast, while Befo attempted vainly to give him +assistance:—"Kill me, if you will, but save my sister, my poor +sister—Quick! for the love of heaven, quick!" he cried, observing some +dart towards the door through which she had vanished: "Cortes will +reward you—save her! save her!"</p> + +<p>"Follow them, Bernal, man," cried Najara to the historian, who had just +plucked his spear from the body of Techeechee—"What dost thou with +slaying gray-headed Indians? Follow La Monjonaza,—five-hundred +crowns,—ay, by my troth, and call them five thousand—to him that +recovers her alive! Ah, seńor Juan! your dog has more brains than +yourself. But for his howling, you must e'en have roasted, man. Come +along, come along—Be of good heart; there is no fear now of either axe +or rope."</p> + +<p>With such words as these, he drew Juan from the chamber, and supporting +his tottering steps between himself and another, and bidding the rest of +the party to surround them, so as to guard against any outbursting of +rage from their excited companions, he bore him from the scene of +bloodshed and conflagration.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + + +<p>The assault upon the garden and palace of Guatimozin, though the last +blow given to his power, it has not been thought needful to describe in +any of its details. It is well known, that the occasion was used by the +few nobles of the empire who yet survived, to withdraw their monarch +with his family from the island, in the vain hope of reaching the main +land, through a line of brigantines and armed piraguas. It is also well +known, that, notwithstanding the stratagem with which these faithful +barbarians essayed to protect the last of their native lords, by +exposing their own defenceless gondolas to destruction, he was captured, +in consequence of his magnanimous self-devotion, and transferred with +his trembling family, from his royal piragua to the galley of Garci +Holguin.</p> + +<p>Drums, trumpets, falconets, fire-arms, and human voices at once +proclaimed the importance of the capture, and the triumph of the +victors; and with all the speed of sails and oars, the fortunate +cavalier bore his prize towards the nearest landing in possession of the +Spaniards, deriding and even defying the claim set up by Sandoval, as +the superior officer, to the honour of presenting the prisoner to the +Captain-General. Long before he had reached the palace of Axajacatl, it +was known throughout the whole city that Guatimozin was in the hands of +the besiegers. The warriors who still fought in the garden, beheld the +surrender on the lake, instantly threw down their arms, and submitted +with sullen indifference to the fate they had long anticipated. With the +interview betwixt the king and the conqueror all readers are familiar. +The Captain-General, sumptuously dressed, and in the midst of such state +as could be prepared for an occasion so imposing, received the prisoner, +(in whose wasted figure and dejected countenance it was not possible to +recognize the half-forgotten Olin,) in the hall of the palace of +Axajacatl, where his ancestors had been kings and princes, but into +which he now entered a captive and vassal. The Captain-General received +him not only with respect, but with an appearance of sympathy and +kindness. In truth, he could not but admire the fortitude of his +youthful foe; and he reflected, not without exultation, that if his +desperate resistance had increased the pains and perils of conquest, and +frequently dashed all hopes of success, it had made his own triumph a +thousand times more glorious. He descended from his chair of state, and +raising the dejected captive from the floor, upon which he had flung +himself in token of submission, he embraced him with many expressions of +respect and encouragement.</p> + +<p>"Fear not—neither for thy life nor crown," he said. "Thou perceivest, +the king of Spain, my master, is invincible. Reign still in Mexico; but +reign as his vassal."</p> + +<p>He would have replaced on the captive's head the copilli of gold, which +had been brought from the gondola and put into his hand; but Guatimozin +rejected it with a melancholy gesture, saying,</p> + +<p>"It is the Teuctli's—I am no more the king. Malintzin! be merciful to +the people of Mexico: they are now slaves. Have pity also on the women +and children, that come from the palace; for they are of the household +of Montezuma. As for myself, Malintzin, hearken to what I say. The kings +of Mexico have all died; when they gave their breath to heaven, the +crown was on their front, and the sceptres on their bosom. Why then +should I live, who am no longer a king? Malintzin, I have fought for +Mexico, I have shed blood for my country, and now I shed tears; I can do +no more for my people—It is fitting, therefore, that I should die—But +I should die like a king."—He extended his hand, and touched the +jewelled dagger that glittered in the baldric of his foe. The action was +without any sign of hostility, and his countenance, now uplifted upon +Cortes, was bathed with tears. "Let Malintzin do the work—Plunge this +dagger into my bosom, and let me depart."</p> + +<p>There was something affecting even to the iron-hearted conqueror in the +situation and demeanour of the poor infidel, thus beseeching, and +evidently with as much sincerity as simplicity, a death of honour after +a life of patriotism; and Cortes would have renewed his caresses and +assurances of friendship, had not his ears been that moment struck by +voices without, pronouncing the name of Juan Lerma, with brutal +execrations. He signed to those cavaliers who had conducted the monarch +to his presence, to lead him away; and a moment after, Juan Lerma was +conducted up to his footstool. Dejected, spiritless, overcome perhaps by +the ferocious calls for vengeance which had heralded his steps to the +palace, as well as by the exhaustion of long bodily suffering, he did +not raise his eyes from the floor, until he heard the voice of Cortes +pronounce the faltering words,—</p> + +<p>"Juan of Castillejo, I have done you a great wrong.—Yes," he continued, +with a louder voice, when Juan looked up, surprised not more by his +altered tones than by a name so unexpected and unknown, "Yes, and let +all bear witness to my confession;—I have done thee, not one wrong +only, but many; for which I heartily repent me, and, before all this +assemblage, do beseech thy forgiveness."</p> + +<p>"My forgiveness, seńor!" stammered Juan, while all the rest looked on in +amazement.</p> + +<p>"Thy forgiveness," repeated the conqueror, with double emphasis. "Thou +hast been belied to me, bitterly maligned; but heaven has punished the +slanderer, who slew mine own peace of mind, that he might compass thy +death."</p> + +<p>"Alas, seńor," said Juan; "in his death-gasp, Guzman confessed to me—"</p> + +<p>"Speak not of Guzman—forget him.—Have ye heard, my masters! and well +taken note of what is spoken? Now begone, all, and leave me alone with +my recovered prodigal.—Juan—Juan Lerma,—Juan of Castillejo," he +cried, as soon as the wondering audience had vanished; "if Guzman have +confessed to you, you must know why I have been maddened into wrath and +injustice.—But thy sister, Juan, where is thy sister? my poor +Magdalena? Ah, Juan! it was but a fiendish aberration, that set me +against the child of my sister!"</p> + +<p>With these words, he threw himself upon Juan's neck, and embraced him +with a fervour that indicated the return of all his old affections, +uttering a thousand exclamations, in which he mingled recurrences to the +past with many a reference to the present and future. "This will be a +glad day to Catalina, for she ever loved thee—Dolt that I was, to think +that her love could be aught but a mother's! My father, Juan, my father, +too! his gray hairs will yet be laid in a grave of joy; for he shall +behold the son of his daughter seated in the inheritance of a noble +father. And thy sister—she shall shine with the proudest and +noblest.—I knew thee upon the causeway, too, though I was left in a +coma, and half expiring. We have full proof of thy claims.—And thy +princess, too—dost thou remember the silver cross?" taking it from his +bosom—"Were there a duke's son demanded her, she should be thine.—What +ho! some one bring me—But, nay—Thy sister, Juan! does she not live?"</p> + +<p>Juan was stunned, stupified, bewildered, by a transformation in his own +character and in the feelings of the general, so sudden and so +marvellous. Yet he strove to reply to the last question, and was in the +act of uttering a broken and hasty explanation, when a loud cry came +from the passage, and rushing out, they beheld a party of soldiers +bearing, in a litter of robes torn from the burning palace, the body, or +the living frame, they knew not which, of the unhappy nun, over whom the +penitent Gregorio was bitterly lamenting.</p> + +<p>It was indeed Magdalena, her garments scorched, her face like the face +of the dying. Yet she did not seem to have suffered from the flames. The +soldiers had found her in a part of the palace not touched by the fire, +and scarce invaded by the smoke; and perhaps a subtle physician would +have traced her dreadful condition rather to some overpowering +convulsion of spirit than to any physical, injury. She was indeed dying, +the victim of contending passions, with which the education of a +cloister had so ill fitted her to contend.</p> + +<p>We will not speak of the meeting of Juan and his dark-eyed proselyte. It +took place beside the couch of the dying girl, who, for love of him, had +given up the vows of religion and the fame of woman, and perished with +frenzy, when she discovered that that love was more than the love of a +sister.</p> + +<p>At nightfall, and while she still lay insensible, save that a faint moan +occasionally trembled from her lips, there arose a tempest of lightning, +thunder, and rain, far exceeding in violence any that had before burst +over the heads of the Spaniards, and which Bernal Diaz has recorded in +his history, as having been the most dreadful that ever confounded his +mind and senses. It seemed as if the warlike divinities of Mexico were +now taking leave of their broken altars and subjugated people, with a +display of strength and fury, never more to be exercised. It ceased not +until midnight, and then only when it had discharged a bolt that shook +the island to its foundation, and tumbled many a ruined cabin and +dilapidated palace, upon the heads of their unhappy inmates.</p> + +<p>It was in the midst of this conflict of the elements, that the broken +spirit passed from its weary prison; and what had been beauty and +affection, genius and passion, became a clod, to claim kindred with its +fellow of the valley. It was better indeed that she should thus perish; +for her nature was above that of earth, and even the passion that +destroyed her, pure, enthusiastic, and devoted as it was, was unworthy +the spirit it had subdued. It was such as is the molewarp to the +rose-bush, or the myrtle-tree, which he can destroy by burrowing at +their roots, even when the winter's blast can scarce rive away a branch.</p> + +<p>The remains of this ill-fated being were interred upon a sequestered +hill, west of Mexico, where Gregorio Castillejo built a hermitage, and +mourned over her for the few years he survived her. He left the odour of +sanctity behind him, and the hermitage is now forgotten in the chapel +built upon its site, and dedicated to Our Lady de los Remedios. To this +place Cortes withdrew, with his whole army, in order that the ruined +city might be purified of corses and rubbish, that rendered it horrible +even to a soldier, no longer inflamed by the fire of battle. He soon, +however, removed to Xochimilco, the Field of Flowers, where the time of +the purification was devoted to solemn rejoicings and profane +festivities.</p> + +<p>To all those who may yet be disposed to consider our account of the +strength and splendour of the empire of Montezuma as fabulous, we +recommend no better study than the honest, worthy, and single-minded +historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who lived to complete his <i>Historia +Verdadera</i>, fifty years afterwards, in the loyal city of Guatimala, in +which he held the honourable post of Regidor, the venerable, and, at +that period, almost the sole survivor of the followers of Cortes. He has +recorded one striking proof of the vast multitudes of pagans that had +been concentrated within the island of Mexico. After averring, with a +solemn oath, that, after the fall of the city, the streets, houses, +squares, courts, and canals, were so covered with dead bodies, that it +was impossible to move without treading upon them, he relates, that, +Cortes having ordered all who survived, principally women and children, +and the wounded, to evacuate the city, preparatory to its purification, +'for <i>three days and three nights</i>, all the causeways were full of the +wretched fugitives, who were so weak and sickly, so squalid and +pestilential, that it was misery to behold them.' Three broad highways, +covered, for the space of three days and nights, by a moving mass of +widows and orphans, the trophies of a gallant achievement! the first +fruits of the ambition of a single individual!</p> + +<p>As Bernal Diaz retained, to the last, a jealous regard for the honour of +his leader, this friendly weakness, taken into consideration along with +the infirmities of memory incident to his advanced age, may perhaps +account for his failure to complete the story of Juan Lerma. He may have +recollected, as is often the case with an old man, the earliest facts of +the story, while the later ones slipped entirely from his mind.</p> + +<p>Of Cortes himself, it is scarce necessary to apprize the reader, that he +lived to subdue other empires, and experience the ingratitude of a +monarch, whose favour he had so amply merited. He fought for renown, for +his king, and for heaven. Heaven alone can judge the merit of his acts, +for men are yet unwilling to sit in judgment upon the brave; his king +requited him with insults and positive oppression; and fame has placed +him among those who have trodden out the wine-press of human desolation, +and live in marble.</p> + +<p>As for the young Count of Castillejo, his claims to the inheritance of +his father were too well substantiated to be resisted; and the crimes of +Gregorio had left none to oppose. As a subordinate in the work of +conquest, there was nothing in him to be feared; and when he bore from a +land he could only remember with sorrow, a bride whose father had borne +the witching name of king, he was received with as much favour, and +distinguished by as many honours, as any other <i>Conquistador</i>, who +transplanted among the dames of Castile, a wife wooed within the palaces +of Montezuma.</p> + +<p>The fate of Guatimozin is well known. The crown he was still enforced to +wear did not protect him from the torture of fire; nor could his noble +character and unhappy fall secure him from a death of degradation. Four +years after the fall of his empire, and at a distance of several hundred +leagues from his native valley, he expiated upon a gibbet, a crime that +existed only in the gloomy and remorseful imagination of the Conqueror. +And thus, with two royal kinsmen, kings and feudatories of Anahuac, he +was left to swing in the winds, and feed the vultures, of a distant and +desert land. He merited a higher distinction, a loftier respect, and a +profounder compassion, than men will willingly accord to a barbarian and +INFIDEL.</p> + + +<h3>THE END.</h3> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Mexitli, the Terrible God.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Coatlicue, or Coatliquay, a religieuse, and sort of +lady-abbess, of a mythic era. She was deified as the Goddess of +Flowers.—A strange mother for such a son. But the Mexicans carried a +sword in one hand, and a flower in the other.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The words of the god, yet unborn, when the life of +Coatlicue was threatened by her <i>human</i> children.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The Hunchbacked Mountain, on the sides of which the +Mexicans won their first recorded victory.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <i>Pojautecatl</i>, in Mexican.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Huehuetapallan, was the name of the unknown land, from +which came all the hordes of Toltecs and Aztecs. One remarkable +circumstance connected with the famous ruined city near to Palenque in +Guatemala, seems to have escaped the theorists. It is said that the +Indians call this city by the name of Huehuetapallan. It is far to the +<i>south</i> of Mexico.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The Dahlia.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <i>Arbol de las Manitas</i>—the marvellous tree, of which, +besides that in the present Botanic Garden, there are supposed to be but +two more specimens in the land, unless known only to the Indians.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> The Mexicans were accustomed to tame and domesticate +certain harmless reptiles.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> +</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Clitorio quicunque sitim de fonte levârit<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Vina fugit.<br /></span> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0"><i>Metam. Lib.</i> XV.<br /></span> +</div></div> +</div> + + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The vale of San Juan de Teotihuacan, where stand the great +pyramids of the Sun and Moon, and the smaller mounds erected to the +Stars.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> According to the Vulgate, the good tidings of great joy +offered peace only 'to men of good-will,'—<i>pax hominibus bonć +voluntatis</i>,—which, whether the translation be right or wrong, +undoubtedly destroys the sublimity of the conception, by narrowing down +the benevolence of the deity, and deprives of the blessing of peace that +majority of men, who, <i>not</i> being men of good-will, have the greatest +need of it.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Mexican months, of twenty days each.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Southey's Roderic.</p></div> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Infidel, Vol. II., by Robert Montgomery Bird + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Infidel, Vol. II. + or, the Fall of Mexico + +Author: Robert Montgomery Bird + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34530] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. II. *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller, Mary Meehan and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + THE INFIDEL; + + OR, THE FALL OF MEXICO. + + A ROMANCE. + + BY THE AUTHOR OF "CALAVAR." + + + SECOND EDITION. + + IN TWO VOLUMES. + + VOL. II. + + Philadelphia: + CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD. + 1835. + + Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year + 1835, by CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD, in the Clerk's office + of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. + + PHILADELPHIA + C. SHERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, NO. 19 ST. JAMES STREET. + + --Un esforcado soldado, que se dezia _Lerma_--Se fue entre los Indios + como aburrido de temor del mismo Cortes, a quien avia ayudado a salvar + la vida, por ciertas cosas de enojo que Cortes contra el tuvo, que + aqui no declaro por su honor: nunca mas supimos del vivo, ni muerto, + mala suspecha tuvimos. + + BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO--_Hist. Verd. de la Conqista_. + + No hay mal que por bien no venga, + Dicen adagios vulgares. + + CALPERON--_La Dama Duende_. + + + + +THE INFIDEL. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +Before sunrise on the following morning, many a feathered band of allies +from distant tribes was pouring into Tezcuco; for this was the day on +which the Captain-General had appointed to review his whole force, +assign the several divisions to the command of his favourite officers, +and expound the system of warfare, by which he expected to reduce the +doomed Tenochtitlan. The multitudes that were collected by midday would +be beyond our belief, did we not know that the royal valley, and every +neighbouring nook of Anahuac capable of cultivation, were covered by a +population almost as dense as that which makes an ant-heap of the +'Celestial Empire,' at this day. + +While they were thus congregating together, marshalled under their +native chiefs, emulously expressing their attachment to the Spaniard, +and their enthusiasm in his cause, by the horrible clamour of drums and +conches, Cortes was receiving, in the great Hall of Audience, the +compliments and reverence of those cavaliers, distinguished soldiers, +and valiant infidel princes, whom he had invited to the feast, with +which he marked the close of his mighty preparations and the beginning +of his not less arduous campaign. + +A table crossed the room immediately in front of the platform, on which +the noblest and most honoured guests had already taken their stations. +Two others, running from pillar to pillar, extended the whole length of +the apartment, leaving in the intermediate space, as well as betwixt +them and the walls, sufficient room for the passage of revellers and +attendants, of which latter there were many present, bustling to and +fro, in the persons of Indian boys and girls, all branded with the +scarry badge of servitude. The walls, pillars, and ceiling, were +ornamented with green branches of trees and viny festoons, among which +breathed and glittered a multitude of the gayest and most odoriferous +flowers; and besides these, there were deposited and suspended, in many +places, Indian banners and standards as well as spears, bucklers, and +battle-axes, the trophies of many a field of victory. The tables were +covered with brilliant cotton-cloths, and loaded not only with all the +dainties of Mexico, but with some of the luxuries of Europe, among which +were conspicuous divers flagons of wine, on which many a veteran gazed +with looks of anxious and affectionate expectation. + +The peculiarity of the scene, animated as it was by a densely moving +throng of guests in their most gallant attire, was greatly heightened by +a circumstance, for which but few were able to account. Although full +noon-day, the light of heaven was carefully excluded, and the apartment +illuminated only by torches and lamps. This, though it gave +picturesqueness to every object in view, was, to say the least, +remarkable; and those who were most interested to watch the workings of +the commander's mind, beheld in it a subject for many disturbing +reflections. But, to such persons, there was another phenomenon still +more unsatisfactory, in the spectacle of a line of veteran soldiers, +original followers of Cortes, extending round the whole apartment, who +stood against the walls, each with a spear in his hand and a +_machete_,--a heavy, straight sword,--on his thigh, surveying the +revellers more with the air of sentinels than companions in festivity. + +While the inferior guests stood or lounged about, speculating on these +curious particulars, and expecting the signal to begin the feast, which +seemed to be delayed by the absence of some important guest, Cortes +occupied himself conversing with Alvarado, De Olid, Guzman, De Ircio, +and other hidalgos, who stood with him on the platform, occasionally +extending his notice to the young king of Tezcuco, his brother Suchel, +the Tlascalan chief Chichimecatl, and other noble barbarians, who made +part of the distinguished group. Many curious, and not a few anxious, +eyes were turned upon them from different parts of the hall; and it was +soon observed, and remarked with whispers, that Sandoval, the valiant +and beloved, and Xicotencal, the gloomy, were absent from the party. + +By and by, however, conjectures were put to rest by the sudden +appearance of the cavalier in question, who entered with his garments in +some disorder, his countenance heated and troubled, and his whole +appearance that of a man just released from some exciting and laborious +duty. + +As soon as Cortes perceived him approaching, he commanded room to be +made for him on the platform, welcomed him with a smiling face and a +cordial grasp of hand, and then signed to the guests to take their +places at the tables. + +In the bustle of festivity that followed the command, the revellers +forgot to wonder at the torchlight around them and the presence of the +armed guards. If a few still bent their eyes uneasily on the +commander-in-chief, striving to catch the low accents with which he +conversed with his immediate friends, and particularly with Sandoval, +their efforts were unnoticed by the others; and, in a short time, the +hum of whispers waxed into murmurs of joyous hilarity, so that the +conversation on the platform could only be guessed at by the expressive +visages and gestures of the cavaliers. + +By and by, the feast became still more unrestrained and noisy. Wine was +poured and drunk, jests were uttered, songs almost sung, and care +banished from all but a few, who still turned their looks to the +platform, exchanged glances occasionally with each other, and at every +bustle attending the entrance of any one at the great door, cast their +eyes in that direction with much meaning anxiety. + +Still, however, the feast went on, and enjoyment was becoming revelry, +when the voice of Cortes was suddenly heard. The murmurs of all were +instantly hushed, and all turning their eyes to the platform, they +beheld the Captain-General standing erect, and eyeing them with extreme +gravity of countenance, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a golden +bowl of wine. + +"My brothers and fellow-soldiers," he said, as soon as all were +composed, "it becomes us, as true and loyal Castilians, to remember our +duty to the king our master, whom God preserve for a thousand years! We +are here afar from his sight, but not beyond the reach of his authority, +nor the constraint of our true allegiance. Let it not be thought that +the cavaliers of Madrid will drink his health with more zeal and +humility at the palace-door, than we, his true subjects, in the deserts +of Mexico. A bowl, then, to his majesty our master, Don Carlos of Spain, +Austria, and this New World!" + +As he spoke, he knelt upon one knee, and all present, even the barbaric +king at his side, doing the same thing, allegiance was pledged in the +cup,--which is undoubtedly the best way to make it agreeable. + +From this exhibition of humility, all rose up, shouting lusty _vivas_. + +"It gratifies me," said Cortes, when this customary ebullition of +loyalty was over, "to perceive that I have about me men so truly +faithful to my very noble and loyal master. For in this, I perceive I +shall be no more afflicted with the painful necessity of exerting those +powers with which his majesty has so bountifully endowed me, even to the +shedding of blood and the taking of life." + +A sudden damper fell upon the spirits of many present, and all who were +not apprized of the secret of Villafana's fate, looked upon Cortes with +surprise. + +"Know, my truly faithful and loyal friends," he went on, speaking with +an appearance of solemn indignation, "that we have had among us a +TRAITOR,--a Christian man and a Spaniard, yet a traitor to the king our +master! Yet, in the band of the holy apostles, there was one Judas; and +it does not become us to believe that we, sinful creatures as we are, +and much more numerous, should be without _our_ Iscariot, who would have +sold our lives for silver, and sunk into perdition the interest of his +majesty in this opulent kingdom. It rejoices me to know that we have had +but _one_. The pain with which I have been filled to discover there were +other knaves for his accomplices, is assuaged by the knowledge that they +were not Castilians, but infidel Indians; to whom perfidy is so natural, +that it is wholly superfluous to lament its occurrence. Know therefore, +my friends, and grieve not to know it, for the evil is past, that +Xicotencal, General-in-chief of the Tlascalan forces, besides secretly +treating with our foes, his own enemies, the men of Tenochtitlan, did, +last night, traitorously abandon our standard, and set out, to throw +himself, as I doubt not, into the arms of the Mexicans." + +"A villain! a very vile traitor! death to the dog of an unbeliever!" +were the expressions with which the revellers protested their +indignation. + +"Think not," said the Captain-General, in continuation, "that the +villain who doth seriously pursue a scheme of disloyalty, shall escape a +just retribution. The toils and sufferings which we have endured in this +land, in his majesty's service, are such that I can readily excuse the +murmurs with which some have occasionally indulged a peevish discontent. +I will never account it much against a brave soldier that he has +sometimes grumbled a little; but he who meditates, or practises, a +treason, shall die. I have said, that among us all there was but _one_ +villain. Perhaps there were two; but of that we will inquire hereafter. +He of whom I speak, was one to whom I had forgiven much semblance of +discontent, and whom I had raised into no little favour. Yet did he +conceive a foul conspiracy, having for its object no less a thing than +the destruction of this enterprise against a rich pagan kingdom, and the +murder of all those who would not become the enemies of Spain. The man +of whom I speak you know. It was--" + +"Villafana!" muttered many, with eager, yet fearful voices; while those +who had hitherto betrayed anxiety at the ominous lights and guards, +turned pale in secret. + +"It was indeed the Alguazil, Villafana," said Cortes, sternly; "and you +shall know his villany. First, the Mexican ambassadors, last night +committed to his charge, he permitted to escape, that they might be no +hinderance to the ambushed infidels, then lying on the lake, ready to +burn my brigantines. Secondly, being the captain of the prison, he +permitted the same to be approached and sacked by other infidels, +whereby a prisoner, convicted of a heavy crime and condemned to die, was +snatched out of our hands, and given into those of the enemy, whom he +will doubtless aid and abet in all the sanguinary resistance which they +are inclined to make. Thirdly, by his persuasions, Xicotencal was +induced to throw off his allegiance, at the very moment when the fleet +and the prison were beset, and desert from the post. And fourthly, the +consummation of the whole villany was to be effected at this very hour, +and on this very floor, in the blood of myself, my officers, and as I +may say of yourselves also; since none were to be spared who were not +his sworn colleagues; and, certainly, there are none here so base and +criminal?" + +The answer to this address mingled a thousand protestations of loyalty +with as many fierce calls for punishment on the traitor. In the midst of +the tumult, Cortes gave a sign to two Indian slaves, who stood behind +the platform; and the heavy curtain being rapidly pulled aside, the +lustre of the noontide sun streamed through the pellucid wall, until +lamp and torch seemed to smoulder into darkness, under the diviner ray; +and the revellers looking up, beheld the ghastly spectacle of +Villafana's body, hanging motionless and stiff in the midst of the +light. + +At this unexpected sight, the guests, inflamed as they were with wine, +anger, and enthusiasm, were struck with horror; and if traitors were +among them, as none but Cortes and themselves could say, it was not +possible to detect them by their countenances, all being equally pale +and affrighted. + +"Thus perish all who plot treason against the king and the king's +officers!" cried the Captain-General, with a loud voice. "The rebel +Xicotencal swings upon an oak-tree, on the wayside as you go to Chalco; +the mutineer Lerma hath fled to the pagans, to become a renegade and +perhaps apostate; and Villafana, the traitor, hangs as you see, upon the +window of our banqueting-room, to teach all who may have meditated a +like villany, the fate that shall most certainly await them.--Hide the +carrion!" he exclaimed to the slaves, and in an instant the frightful +spectacle was excluded, along with the cheerful light of day. The return +to that of the torches was like a lapse into darkness, and for a few +moments, it was scarce possible for the guests to distinguish the +features of those nearest to them. In the gloom, however, the voice of +the Captain-General was heard, concluding his oration: + +"Let no one of this true and loyal company be in fear," he said, with +his accustomed craft. "The paper, on which the villain had recorded the +names of such madmen as would have joined him in his crime, he was +artful enough to destroy. But let the disaffected tremble. There has +been one dog among us, and there may others prove so, hereafter. But I +am now awake; and the treason that may be planted, shall be discovered, +and nipped before it come to the budding.--God save his majesty! Another +bowl to his greatness! And let all fall to feasting again; for, by and +by, the signal gun will be fired for the review, and this is the last +feast ye must think of sharing together, till ye can spread it again in +the halls of Montezuma." + +Whatever relief might have been carried by these words to the bosoms of +the guilty, the spectacle of their murdered associate had sunk too +deeply in their spirits, to allow any festive exertions. The innocent +were equally shocked, and gloom and uneasiness oppressed the hearts of +all. + +It was felt therefore as a relief, when the signal for breaking up the +feast was given by the sound of a gun from the temple-top; and all +rushed out, to forget in the bustle of parade, the sickening event which +had marred their enjoyment. + +On this day, the whole army of Cortes, of which the thousand Christians +made scarcely the three-hundredth part, was marched out upon the meadows +of Tezcuco, and there, with ceremonies of great state and ostentation, +was reviewed, divided, and each division appointed to its respective +duties. + +The first division was assigned to the command of Sandoval, and was +ordered to march southward to the city of Iztapalapan, which commanded +the principal causeway, or approach to Mexico. The second was given to +the ferocious De Olid, whose destination was to Cojohuacan, a city +southwest of Mexico, the dike from which led to that betwixt the +metropolis and Iztapalapan. The third was appointed to the Capitan del +Salto, or Alvarado, who was to take possession of Tacuba, which +commanded the shortest of the causeways. The two last divisions were +ordered to proceed in company, around the northern borders of the lake, +destroying the towns on the route, and separating at Tacuba. + +The fleet Cortes reserved in his own hands, intending, besides +commanding the whole lake, so to act with it, as to give assistance to +each division, as it might be needed. The royal city of Tezcuco was to +be entrusted to the government of the young king Ixtlilxochitl, the +cavalier Don Francisco de Guzman remaining, though somewhat reluctantly, +to guide and control his actions, under the appearance of adding to his +state and security. + +These preliminaries arranged, the remainder of the day was devoted to +festivities. The great work of conquest was to begin on the morrow. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +The extraordinary and exciting events which took place in the prison, +that night which Juan Lerma esteemed the last he should spend upon +earth, had reduced to exhaustion a body already enfeebled by inaction, +and a mind almost consumed by care. Hence, when, having struggled for a +time with the restlessness and delirium which, in such cases, usher in +sleep with a thousand phantasms--apparitions both of sight and +sound,--he at last fell asleep, his slumbers were profound and +dreamless. The loud alarms, which drove the executioners of Villafana +from the Hall of Audience, made no impression on his ear; and even the +yells, that accompanied the attack on his dreary abode, were equally +unheard. The guards were routed, the doors were forced, and he was +lifted to his feet by unknown hands, almost before he had opened his +eyes; and even voices, that, at another time, would have attracted his +attention, and words that would have inspired him with the joy of +deliverance, were all lost upon him. Nay, such was the stupor which +oppressed his mind, that he was dragged from the dungeon, and hurried +rapidly along through a host of infidels to the water-side, before he +was convinced that all was not really a dream. Then, indeed, the bustle, +the din of shrieks and Indian drums, mingled with the sounds of trumpets +and fire-arms, the howl of winds and the plash of waves, though they +recalled him to his wits, yet left him confounded, and, for a while, +incapable of understanding and appreciating his situation. In this +condition, he was deposited in a canoe of some magnitude, which +instantly putting off from the shore, under the impulse of thirty +paddles, he soon found himself darting over the lake at a speed which +promised soon to remove from his eyes, and perhaps for ever, the scene +of his late humiliation and suffering. + +The darkness of the night was almost palpable, and, save the few torches +that could be seen hurrying through the alarmed city, no other light +illuminated the scene, until the moment when the four brigantines, fired +by the assailants, burst up in a ruddy blaze. At this sight, a shout of +triumph burst from his capturers, and altering the course of the canoe, +it seemed as if they were about to rush into the thick of the conflict. + +As they approached the burning ships, Juan was able in the increasing +glare, to examine the figures of his companions, and beheld the dark +visages and half-naked bodies of thirty or more barbarians, each, +besides his paddle, having a weighty battle-axe dangling from his wrist, +and a broad buckler of some unknown material hung over his back. Two men +sat by him, one on each side, and he soon discovered that these, whom he +had thought mere guards for his safe-keeping, were no other than the +Ottomi Techeechee and the young prince of Mexico, the latter now freed +from his disguise. + +"Guatimozin," said he, no longer doubting the purpose for which he had +been snatched from the prison, and resolved at once to express his +disapprobation, "dost thou think to make me a renegade to my countrymen? +I swear to thee--" + +"Peace, and fear not," replied the royal chief. "Thou shalt have very +sweet vengeance." + +"I ask it not, I seek it not; and surely I will not accept it, when it +makes me the traitor I have been so falsely called. Am I thy prisoner?" + +"My friend," replied Guatimozin, quickly, starting up, seizing a paddle +from the hands of the nearest rower, and himself urging the canoe +towards the nearest vessel, which was, by this time, so close at hand, +that Juan could clearly perceive the figures, and almost the faces, of +the Spaniards on board, contending, and, as it seemed, not +unsuccessfully, both with the flames and the assailants. A great herd of +Mexicans was seen fighting hand to hand with the Christians; but it was +manifest, from the cheery cries, with which the latter responded to the +yells of the former, and from the frequent plunges in the water, as of +men leaping or cast overboard, that, in this brigantine at least, the +battle went not with the pagans. This Guatimozin remarked as clearly as +Juan, and as he struck the water more impetuously with his paddle, he +shouted aloud, "Be strong, men of Mexico, be strong!" + +All this passed in the space of an instant. A loud cry, the rush of +other canoes against the ship, and the frantic exertions of the +combatants already on board to maintain their places, made it apparent +that the voice of the prince was not unknown or unregarded. Still, the +Spaniards fought well and fiercely, and their cries of "God and St. +James! Honour and Spain!" kindled its natural enthusiasm in the breast +of the young islander. Forgetting his late wrongs and oppressions, and +the mournful truth, that, at this moment, the Christians were more his +enemies than the Mexicans, he determined, if possible, to make his +escape. Watching his opportunity, and perceiving that many ropes, +sundered by the flames, were hanging over the sides of the vessel in the +water, he chose a moment, when the canoe was within but ten or twelve +fathoms of her, and but few of those savages who had leaped overboard +were swimming near, he rose to his feet, and shouting aloud, "Help for +an escaping captive! and good courage to all!" he plunged boldly into +the lake. + +To one, who, like Juan, had rolled in his childhood among the breakers +on the northern coast of Cuba, and to whom it was as easy a diversion to +dive for conches in such depths as would have tried the wind of a +pearl-diver, as to gather limpets and periwinkles from the beach, it was +no great exploit to leap among the puny billows of Tezcuco, and swim to +an anchored vessel, even when the path was obstructed by enemies, +themselves not unfamiliar with the water. His escape was so sudden and +unexpected, and the prince, Techeechee, and the rowers, were so occupied +with the scene of combat into which they were hurrying, that it is +possible it would not have been noticed, had it not been for his +exclamation. Then, perceiving him in the water, all were seized with +confusion and fury, some striking at him with their paddles, some +leaping over in pursuit, and all so confounded and divided in action, +that the canoe was on the very point of being overset. In this period of +confusion, they soon lost sight of him; for it was not possible to +distinguish him among the mass of infidels that were swimming about in +all directions. + +The cry of Juan was perhaps not heard by his fellow-Christians in the +brigantine; but there was one friend aboard, and that a brute one, whose +ears were far quicker to detect his call, and whose heart was much +prompter to obey. This was the dog Befo, who, having been taken from the +prison on the day of the trial, and afterwards been refused admission, +he so annoyed the guards by his whining and howling, and indeed all in +the palace, likewise, that they were glad to send him aboard a vessel, +to have him out of the way, until after the time of execution, when, it +was apprehended, from his remarkable affection for the prisoner, he +might give additional trouble. His services were turned to good account +by the sailors, during the attack; for, being instantly loosed, he +sprang upon barbarian after barbarian, tumbling them into the water, or +among the Spaniards, who despatched them. His appearance, fiercer than +that of the largest beasts of prey in Mexico, and his savage bark, not +less frightful than the yell of the jaguar or the puma, were perhaps +still more effectual than his fangs; for at the sight and sound, the +Mexicans, climbing over the bulwarks, recoiled, and with screams of +dismay, jumped into the water, and swam again to the nearest canoes. + +In the midst of the conflict, Befo heard the cry of his master, and +loosing a barbarian whom he had caught by the throat, he sprang to the +side of the vessel, thrust his paws and nose over the gunwale, and +looked eagerly into the lake, whining all the time, and barking, as if +to attract Juan's notice. He then ran to the after-deck, where were +several sailors busily engaged in knotting a rope that seemed to pass to +the shore, or to another brigantine nearer to the lake-side; and +flinging himself over the railing here as before, he looked out and +whined loudly again. As he peered thus into the darkness, a faint groan, +as of one strangling in the water, came to his cars; and the next +moment, he sprang, with a wild howl, into the flood. + +That groan came from Juan Lerma, who, that instant, was struck a violent +blow, he knew not by whom or with what, which, for a time, deprived him +of all sensation, and left him drowning in the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +When Juan recovered his senses, he found himself lying in the bottom of +a little canoe, urged by a single boatman, and already far from the +conflict. The blow, inflicted by some blunt weapon, perhaps a club or +paddle, had stunned him, yet had not wounded; and he became soon aware +that he was not seriously injured. As he raised himself a little on his +arm, his companion, pausing an instant from his toil, exclaimed, in the +well remembered tones of the Ottomi, + +"Izquauhtzin knows his friend: there are none to do him harm." + +"Techeechee!" cried the youth: "What is this? where are we going? Have +they killed Guatimozin, the king? If thou art the friend thou hast so +often proved, row me to the shore. Methinks we are in the middle of the +lake!" + +"Guatimozin is the Great Eagle's friend," said Techeechee, again plying +his paddle; "he says the Great Eagle is his brother; and because of his +fear of the armed people, he says, 'Let the Great Eagle sail alone with +Techeechee, the old man, who has no weapons, and loves the Great Eagle +very much.'" + +"I am then again a prisoner?" said Juan, sadly. "Perhaps it is +better,--certainly I cannot control my destiny, and very surely I +perceive that Guatimozin is friendly to me. But how is this, Techeechee? +I sprang from the prince's boat,--I was knocked on the head--How comes +it that I am in this canoe?" + +"The king picked his brother from the water," replied the Indian; +"saying, 'Why should my brother drown, when he has escaped Malintzin, +him who eats blood?' 'Therefore,' said the king, 'take him to my house, +for did he not carry me to his? Put upon him the robe of a king's son, +with the red crown of a Teuctli, as one who is great among the nobles +and fighting men; and the people shall call him the king's brother.'" + +To this revealment of a fortune so magnificent, Juan answered only by a +deep sigh, muttering within the recesses of his breast, 'The noble's +gown or the victim's shirt,--but I will live and die both a Christian +and Spaniard.' + +Then, contenting himself with this resolve, for he no longer perceived +any hope of escape, unless by killing the old man, and perhaps began to +be aware how useless would be freedom, he cast his eyes about him, and +endeavoured to learn his situation. The sounds of battle came but +faintly to his ears, and the burning ships, which were still visible, +seemed to be left far behind. Yet in the estimate he was thus enabled to +make of his distance from the fleet, there was no little deception; for +the flames were expiring, and the wind, blowing from the west, conspired +with the plashing of the water to deaden the sounds of combat. In every +other quarter, all was silence and gloom. An impenetrable darkness lay +upon the lake. The sky was concealed by a dense canopy of clouds, and he +began to wonder at the precision and understanding with which Techeechee +impelled the canoe towards a point indicated by no beacon on earth or in +heaven, until he perceived, immediately over the prow, what seemed a +little star, as red as blood, glimmering on the very edge of the +horizon. But this, he became soon convinced, was no heavenly luminary. +Faint as it was, it shone steadily, and, once seen, there was no +difficulty in preserving it always in the eye. He even began to be +sensible, after a little time, that it increased in magnitude as he +approached it; and, by and by, he was at no loss to believe it was a +beacon-light, kindled upon some eminence in the pagan city, to guide the +fleet of canoes on its return from the battle. + +While he was arriving at this just conclusion, the sounds of contention +dying further away in the background, he was struck by a wailing note +behind, like the cry of some animal, swimming in the lake. He listened, +distinguished it a second time, and commanded the Ottomi to cease +paddling. + +"If I know the voice of a friend, that is the whine of Befo!" he +exclaimed, looking eagerly, but vainly back. "I remember me now, that I +heard him bark on board the ship. Put back, Techeechee, put back! The +dog is following me, and to his destruction, if we take him not up. Put +back, put back!" + +"'Tis the big tiger," said the Indian, very seriously. "We found him +eating you in the water--he had you by the head; and now he is +following, like a wolf, who never leaves the deer, after having once +tasted of his blood." + +"Good heavens, eating me!" said Juan. "It was he, then, that held me up, +when I was strangling? I remember to have felt some one pull me by the +hair, before I was utterly senseless. Faithful Befo! faithful Befo! +there is no friend like him! And I leave him drowning, who saved me from +the same death, and now follows me with affection? Put back, put +back!--Nay, thou art sluggish,--old and sluggish:--I will paddle myself. +What, Befo! Befo!" + +Thus exclaiming, and using the paddle, which he had snatched from +Techeechee, with no little skill, it was soon clear that he was drawing +nigh to the animal, which, hearing his voice, replied with loud +whinings, that were both piteous and joyful. + +"Alas, poor dog, thou art weary enough. Hast thou not another paddle, +Techeechee? the dog is drowning." + +"Techeechee fears not the ocelotl," replied the savage, with a voice +somewhat quavering; "he killed one with his spear, and the great king +Montezuma said, 'The Ottomi is brave: he is Ocelotzin.' The Spanish +tiger eats poor Ottomies. Techeechee has only his arrows and a macana." + +"Use them not, and fear not," said Juan, already catching a sight of the +struggling beast. "What, Befo! Befo! true Befo! courage, Befo!" + +The dog was evidently wholly exhausted; yet at the cheery cry of the +youth, and especially at the sight of him, he yelped loudly, and raised +himself half out of the water, while Juan, making one more sweep of the +paddle to his side, caught him by the leathern collar, and strove to +drag him into the boat. But Befo's great weight and his own feebleness +rendered that impossible; and it was some time before he could prevail +upon Techeechee to give him assistance, and actually lay his hand on the +dreaded monster. + +"Dost thou not see that he loves me?" cried Juan by way of argument; "He +loves me because I have done him good deeds, and treated him kindly. He +is like a man, not a tiger: he remembers a benefit as long as an injury. +Give him this help, and he will love thee also." + +Thus persuaded, the Ottomi timorously extended his hand, and greatly +emboldened to find it was not immediately snapped off, plied his +strength, which, notwithstanding his age, was yet considerable, until +Befo was safely lodged in the boat. The poor dog had scarce strength +left to raise his head to his master's knee, but devoured his hand with +caresses, while he sank trembling, panting, and powerless, into the +bottom of the skiff. + +"Thus it is with the dog, whom you call a tiger," said Juan, in a +moralizing mood, as he surveyed his faithful friend: "Black or white, +red or olive-hued, whom he once loves, he loves well. Happy or wretched, +proud or lowly, it is all one: he asks not if his master be a villain. A +tiger in courage, in strength, and vindictiveness, he is yet a +lamb,--the fawn of a doe,--in the hands of his master. Feed him, he +loves you--starve him, he loves you--beat him, still does he love you. +Once gain his affection, and you cannot cast it off: the rich man cannot +bribe his love with gold, and bread will not seduce him away;--nay, he +will sometimes pine away on your grave. His name has been made a by-word +for all that is base and villanous--I know not why, unless it is +because, being the fondest and most confiding of living creatures, he is +therefore the worst used: but the word is a satire upon our own +injustice. Look at him, Techeechee, and at me: I have been ever poor and +well nigh friendless--I gave him to one who is as a prince among men: +yet when he--his then master,--struck at me with his sword, this dog +seized the weapon with his teeth; he came to me when I lay in prison, he +sprang to me when I was dying in the lake, and he perilled his life, as +thou hast seen, that he might have the poor privilege to follow me. I am +a beggar and an outcast, a man degraded and, it may be, soon +outlawed:--yet does this poor creature love me none the less. Ay, Befo! +it is all one to thee, what I am, and whither I go!" + +To this eulogium, which the desolate youth pronounced with much feeling, +Techeechee answered not a word; for though the expressions were Mexican, +their purport was beyond his comprehension. + +He merely stared with much admiration upon the good understanding which +seemed to exist between his companion and a creature that was in his +eyes so terrific. But the endearments mutually shared by two creatures +of a race so different, and yet in heart so much alike, had the good +effect to deprive him of many of his fears, so that he plied his paddle +with good-will, and, the wind abating, rapidly shortened the distance +that still divided them from the island city. + +He had already put a wide sheet of water between him and the battle, and +when the Indian fleet, beaten off, or satisfied with the mischief done, +began to retreat, followed by such of the brigantines as were in plight +to pursue, it was easy to preserve so much of the distance gained as to +be beyond the reach of danger. The flash of a falconet occasionally +burst dimly behind, its heavy roar startling back the breeze; and +sometimes a cannon ball came skipping over the surges close by. But, the +wind being against the Spaniards, it was soon seen that there were left +no Indians upon whom to exercise their arms, unless such as had, in +their consternation, lost sight of the dim beacon, and remained paddling +about the lake at random. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +When morning broke over the lake, the voyagers were still at a league's +distance from the city. The wind had died away, the clouds parted in the +heaven, and long before the sunlight trembled on the snows of +Iztaccihuatl, the morning-star was seen peeping over its summit. It bade +fair for a goodly day, and Juan, despite his situation, which, rightly +considered, was in every point of view, wretched enough, began to feel a +sensation of pleasure, as he breathed the fresh air at liberty, and +looked around him on the fair prospects, disengaging themselves each +moment from the rolling mists. Though the tops of the higher mountains +of the east were visible, the lower borders of the lake in that quarter, +as well as to the north and south, were yet concealed under vapours. In +the west, however, the view was but little obstructed, and he could +behold, distinctly enough, the dense masses of edifices, which covered +the whole island of Mexico and many a broad acre of water around it. The +huge pyramids, with their tower-like sanctuaries, rose proudly, as of +yore, high above the surrounding buildings; the turrets and pinnacles, +that crowned the royal palaces and the houses of nobles, still gleamed +in the morning air; and, as he drew nigh, he could see the gardens of +shrubs and flowers on the terraces, which gave to the whole city a look +of verdure strange and beautiful to behold. + +As soon as objects became distinct, Techeechee, observing that Juan's +garments were yet dripping with wet, took from the prow of the canoe a +little bundle, from which he drew a broad, richly ornamented tilmaltli, +or cloak, a _maxtlatl_, or cloth to wrap round the loins, sandals for +the feet, fillets for the hair, and a fan of feathers to protect the +eyes from sunshine. These he proffered to Juan, giving him to understand +that he should forthwith doff his Christian weeds, and appear in the +guise of a Mexican noble; telling him, at the same time, that they had +been provided by Guatimozin, in anticipation of his deliverance. Yet +neither remonstrance nor entreaty could prevail upon him to do more than +throw off his reeking surcoat, and supply its place by the Indian cloak, +which was of sufficient capacity, when folded about his person, almost +to conceal his under attire, now in a great measure dried by the warmth +of his body. This being accomplished to his satisfaction, Techeechee +resumed his paddle, and fixing his eyes upon the imperial city, began to +mumble, in an under voice, certain snatches of native airs, which, both +in quality and pitch, bore no little resemblance to the suppressed +growlings, or rather the groaning of an imprisoned lion, and which, had +Juan required any such testimony, would have proved how little his +commerce with the Conquerors and his personal affection for himself, had +withdrawn his heart from the people and the faith of Montezuma. As he +advanced still nearer to the city, his air grew more confident, his +tones more resolute and animated; and, by and by, without seeming to +regard the presence of the young Spaniard, he launched boldly into a +sort of national anthem, in which the military pride of the Mexicans was +mingled with the gloom of their ferocious superstitions. The melody was +rude and savage,--or rather it was no melody at all, but a chant or +recitative, which was relieved from monotony only by the variations of +emphasis, which became stronger and stronger, as the distance waxed less +and less to the city. To express the words employed in any of the +metrical modes of civilized song, would be to rob the roundelay of its +identity; for rhythm and melody were equally set at defiance;--at least, +so it would have seemed to an ear accustomed only to the natural music +of iambics and dactyls. We will therefore express them in unambitious +prose, only premising that before the barbarian had proceeded far in the +chant, the song was caught up and continued by the warriors in the fleet +of canoes, now paddling out of the mists behind, and by many infidels +who watched its approach from the shore, and from an island crag, +strongly fortified, that lay a little to the east of the city. + +"Mexitli Tetzauhteotl,[1] o-ah! o-ah!" thus sang the pagan,--"the son of +the woman[2] of Tula. 'Mother, I will protect you.'[3] The green plume +is on his head, the wing of the eagle is on his leg, his forehead is +blue like the firmament; he carries a spear and buckler, and with the +fir-tree of Colhuacan,[4] he crushes the mountains. 'Mother, I will +protect you.' Am not I the son of Mexico? and is not Mexico the daughter +of Mexitli? O-ah, o-ah! Mexitli Tetzauhteotl! + +[Footnote 1: Mexitli, the Terrible God.] + +[Footnote 2: Coatlicue, or Coatliquay, a religieuse, and sort of +lady-abbess, of a mythic era. She was deified as the Goddess of +Flowers.--A strange mother for such a son. But the Mexicans carried a +sword in one hand, and a flower in the other.] + +[Footnote 3: The words of the god, yet unborn, when the life of +Coatlicue was threatened by her _human_ children.] + +[Footnote 4: The Hunchbacked Mountain, on the sides of which the +Mexicans won their first recorded victory.] + +"My father ate the heart of Xochimilco! Where was Painalton, the god of +the swift foot, when the Miztecas ran to the mountains? 'Fast, warrior, +fast!' said Painalton, brother of Mexitli. His footprint is on the snows +of Iztaccihuatl, and on the roof of Orizaba.[5] Tochtepec and Chinantla, +Matlatzinco and Oaxaca, they shook under his feet, as the hills shake, +when Mictlanteuctli, king of hell, groans in the caverns. So my father +killed the men of the south, the men of the east and west, and Mexitli +shook the fir-tree with joy, and Painalton danced by night among the +stars. + +[Footnote 5: _Pojautecatl_, in Mexican.] + +"Where is the end of Mexico? It begins in Huehuetapallan in the north, +and who knows the place of Huehuetapallan?[6] In the south, it sees the +lands of crocodiles and vultures,--the bog and the rock, where man +cannot live. The sea washes it on the east, the sea washes it on the +west, and that is the end--Who has looked to the end of the waters? +It is the land of blossoms,--the land of the tiger-flower, +and the cactus-bud that opens at night like a star,--of the +flower-of-the-dead,[7] that ghosts come to snuff at, and of the +hand-flower,[8] which our gods planted among the hills. It is a land +dear to Mexitli. + +[Footnote 6: Huehuetapallan, was the name of the unknown land, from +which came all the hordes of Toltecs and Aztecs. One remarkable +circumstance connected with the famous ruined city near to Palenque in +Guatemala, seems to have escaped the theorists. It is said that the +Indians call this city by the name of Huehuetapallan. It is far to the +_south_ of Mexico.] + +[Footnote 7: The Dahlia.] + +[Footnote 8: _Arbol de las Manitas_--the marvellous tree, of which, +besides that in the present Botanic Garden, there are supposed to be but +two more specimens in the land, unless known only to the Indians.] + +"Who were the enemies of Mexico? Their heads are in the walls of the +House of Skulls, and the little child strikes them, as he goes by, with +a twig. Once, Mexico was a bog of reeds, and Mexitli slept on a couch of +bulrushes: our god sits now on a world of gold, and the world is Mexico. +Will any one fight me? I am a Mexican.--Mexitli is the god of the brave. +Our city is fair on the island, and Mexitli sleeps with us. When he +calls me in the morning, I grasp the quiver,--the quiver and the axe; +and I am not afraid. When he winds his horn from the temple, I know that +he is my father, and that he looks at me, while I fight. Sound the horn +of battle, for I see the spear of a foe! Mexitli Tetzauteotl, we are the +men of Mexico!" + +With such roundelays as these, echoed at a distance by the rowers in the +fleet and by many barbarians from the buildings that projected into the +lake, Techeechee urged the light canoe through a sluice in the northern +dike, and approached that long neck or peninsula, once the island of +Tlatelolco, but long since united to that of Tenochtitlan, which gave +its name to the fifth quarter of the city, and, as it afterwards +appeared, was the site of the noblest of the many palaces, built at +different periods, by the kings of Mexico. A large portion of the +peninsula, midway between its extremity and the ancient bank of the +island of Tenochtitlan, was occupied by a garden, divided from the lake +by a wall lofty enough to secure it against the assault of a foe, and +yet sufficiently low to expose to the eye of a spectator on the lake, +the rich luxuriance of groves, among whose waving boughs could be traced +the outlines of a spacious edifice, profusely decorated with turrets and +observatories, some of which were of great height and singular +structure. + +Against this wall, through a fleet of fishing canoes, now paddling out +into the lake, Techeechee seemed to direct the little skiff, much to +Juan's surprise, until, having drawn nigher, he perceived that it was +perforated by several gateways or sally-ports, very low, and evidently +designed to give entrance only to the humble vessels which composed the +Mexican navy. The largest was wide enough to admit two or three of the +largest piraguas abreast, and the smaller ones seemed intended only for +the private gondolas of the royal family. All were defended by stout +wickets, which, as Juan soon perceived, were raised and let fall from +within, somewhat in the manner of a portcullis. + +The tranquillity that seemed to reign within this sanctified recess, +betrayed at once its royal character. In every other quarter of the +city, as he passed it, Juan could hear a roaring hum, as if proceeding +from a vast multitude pent within the narrow island,--as was indeed the +case, the whole military strength of the empire being concentrated +within the limits of the island and the shore-cities that commanded the +causeways. But here all was a profound calm, broken only by the songs of +birds, and, occasionally, by what seemed the cry of some tamed and +domesticated beast of prey. + +As Techeechee urged the canoe towards one of the smaller gateways, Juan +beheld the wicket ascend from the water, but without seeing by whom or +in what manner, it was raised. An instant after, he was on the very +point of entering the narrow chasm, perhaps never more to repass it. He +turned his eye back again to the lake, and strove to discover the dim +lines and masses of shore and city, palace and pyramid, among which he +had so lately dwelt in sorrow and confinement. The mists were nearly +dispersed, and the sky was clear; but the fiery track of the rising sun +over the lake, dazzled his eyes, and, with a veil of radiance, hid the +towers of Tezcuco. He caught an indistinct view of two or three +brigantines, becalmed at a distance from the shore, which they were +endeavouring to regain by the force of oars; but the city of the +Acolhuacanese was no longer visible; and by and by, the whole prospect +of the lake was shut out by the garden wall, under which he had passed. +He had scarce turned away his eyes, when the wicket sunk, with a plunge, +into the water. He looked back: but those who had loosed it, were +already hidden among the shrubbery. It seemed as if the falling of that +portal had shut him out for ever from the society of his countrymen. His +companions were now to be found among the uncivilized and the godless. + +A narrow canal, bordered with banks of flowers, conducted the canoe from +the gateway to a little stone basin, planted round with trees, at the +roots of which were placed carved blocks of stone, as if designed for +seats. Here Techeechee sprang ashore, followed by Juan and Befo, the +latter now completely refreshed, and, though evidently somewhat +surprised, and even daunted, by the novelty of his situation, without +showing any symptoms of having repented his change of masters. + +"The Great Eagle is in the house of the king, his brother," said the +Ottomi, "and his enemies cannot reach him,--no, not even if they were +the Tlatoani of the great city. Sit down then, and be at peace; for +presently the king will come from the lake, and speak to his brother. +Techeechee will go to the wall and look out. The big tiger,--the +dog,--Pepo."--He had already acquired the dog's name, or as near an +approach to it as his organs could overmaster, and was not a little +pleased, when the animal, raising his head at the sound, stalked +amicably towards him, rubbing his nose against him in token of +good-will. "Pepo! amigo, friend, good rascal!" he said, affectionately, +but not without some nervousness--"very pretty Pepo, Techeechee's +brother. Guatimozin is the Young Eagle's brother; Techeechee will be +Pepo's!" Then, Befo having returned to Juan, he continued, "Let not Pepo +roam through the garden; the watchmen on the walls would think him a +tiger escaped from his cage, and shoot him with arrows. This is the Pool +of the Full Moon: here the king will come to his brother." + +So saying, Techeechee glided away through the shrubbery, and was +presently seen ascending the wall, by certain steep steps constructed +for the purpose, up to a ledge, undoubtedly prepared to give footing to +defenders, from which he could overlook the outer parapet, and enjoy an +extensive view of the lake. + +And now the outcast Juan, after giving way, for a few moments, to a +grief that was the stronger perhaps, from the opportunity thus offered +of indulging it in secret, began gradually to be moved by other +feelings, in which curiosity soon became predominant; and looking about +him, he beheld with his own eyes an example of the strange and barbaric +magnificence which characterized the royal gardens of Anahuac. + +The sun was already high in the east, and the last rain-drop was +exhaling from the leaf. The sky was cloudless, the waters were at rest. +It was such a day as lent beauty to objects not in themselves fair; and +to the green brilliance of foliage and the harmonious hues of flowers it +imparted a loveliness as dear to the imagination as the senses. It was +the spring time, too,--the season of Nature's triumph and rejoicing. + +The Pool of the Full Moon, as Techeechee had called it, doubtless, from +its circular shape, and its diminutive size, was surrounded by a wall of +trees as dense as that which enclosed the memorable pond in the garden +of Tezcuco. But besides the addition of the stone seats and basin, it +was ornamented with banks of the richest flowers, behind which rose a +thick setting of shrubbery; and from the branches of the trees hung rich +tufts and festoons of that gray moss--the Barba de Espana, which gives +an air of such indescribable solemnity to the forests of the lower +Mississippi. A few little birds warbled among the boughs, and the +field-cricket chirped in the bushes. In other respects the place was +silent and wholly solitary; and as its green walls shut out almost +altogether the spectacles disclosed from other places, Juan left it, +after seeing that Techeechee maintained his stand on the wall, as if the +fleet were still at a distance. + +He now perceived that the garden, though very beautiful, was a +labyrinth, or rather, as it seemed, a wilderness of groves, glades, and +fountains, some of which last burst from mounds of stone, that were the +pedestals of rude and fantastic statues, perhaps idols, and some spouted +up into the air, from the mouths of porphyry serpents and dragons, as if +the science of hydraulics had already begun to dawn upon the minds of +the Mexican artisans. The noblest cypresses rose over the humblest vine, +and many a convolvulus rolled its cataract of flowers over the tops of +lesser trees, and many an aloe, from a vast pyramid of leaves, reared up +its lofty pillar, crowned with a yellow canopy of blossoms. All the +splendour of the vegetable world known to Anahuac, found its place in +this magnificent retreat: and the plants of the lower zones, and even +the palms of the coast, had been made to thrive side by side with those +productions which were natural to the elevated valley. + +Besides these ornaments and a thousand similar, the animal kingdom was +made to add a charm, and, as it soon appeared, a horror to the royal +garden; for Juan had no sooner left the pool, than he beheld, besides a +thousand birds of every dye among the trees, some half dozen deer +frisking over the glades, and heard at but a little distance, the roar +of fiercer animals, such as came to his ears, while he was yet on the +lake. + +At a sound so hostile, Befo bristled and uttered a low bark, as if to +apprize his master of the presence of danger; but Juan knew enough of +the habits of the Mexican kings to understand that their gardens, +besides enclosing all that was beautiful among plants, contained also +aviaries and menageries, in which were collected the birds and beasts of +their empire;--in other words, they were Zoological Gardens, such as the +advance of science is now establishing in the countries of Europe. A +little fawn, feeding hard by, started with more terror at this unusual +cry of Befo, than at any of the howls to which it had been long +accustomed, and ran timidly away. As it fled, Juan remarked that its +neck was encircled by a chaplet of flowers, as if lately put on by some +caressing hand. + +At this sight a new impulse seemed to seize the youth. He faltered, +hesitated, cast his eye to the wall, on which Techeechee was yet +standing, and then marking the quarter whither the little animal had +fled, he beckoned to Befo to take post at his heels, and immediately +followed. + +He soon found himself among a maze of copses, among which were scattered +divers cages or baskets, of great strength, secured to the trunks of +trees, and little paddocks equally strong, each containing some +ferocious or untameable beast, many of them brought from the most +distant provinces. Thus he beheld,--besides an abundant display of pumas +or mitzlis, (the maneless lion,) jaguars, wolves, ounces, and wild +dogs,--the bison of Chihuahua staggering in his pen, the antelope or +prong-horn of the north, and even the great bear from the ridges of the +Oregon or Rocky Mountains. The tapir of Guatemala rolled by his fenny +pool, and the peccary herded hard by. Here were apes, ant-eaters, +porcupines, and a thousand other animals; and among them, imprisoned +with the same jealous care, in suitable cages, were the reptiles of the +country,--lizards and adders, and all the family of the Crotalus, from +the common rattlesnake of America to that frightful one of Mexico and +South America, which has been distinguished as especially the Horrid. +Here was the phosphorescent _cencoatl_, whose path through the bushes +and grass by night is said to be indicated by the gleaming light of his +body; the _tlilcoa_, or great black serpent of the mountains, and the +still more formidable and gigantic _canauhcoatl_, or Boa-Constrictor, +which, like his neighbour, the cayman or crocodile, from the same +boiling fens of the coast, made his prey upon the largest stags, and +even human beings. With these were many smaller snakes, distinguished +for their beauty, and sometimes their docility, some of which latter, +entirely harmless, were allowed to crawl about at liberty. + +It would require a book by itself, to particularize and describe all the +members of this fearful convocation of monsters; of which it was +afterwards written by Bernal Diaz, that when the beasts and reptiles +were provoked and irritated, so as to howl and hiss together, 'the +palace seemed like hell itself.' It is very certain that Befo lost much +of his dignity of carriage at the mere sight of such assembled terrors, +creeping along reluctantly and with draggling tail; and Juan himself was +not without some sensations of alarm, as he found himself now startled +by the growl of an angry mitzli, now perturbed by the sudden rustling of +a boa among the dried reeds of his couch. The rattlesnakes shook their +castanets at his approach, the cayman tumbled, with a sudden plunge, +into his muddy pool, the wolf showed his sharp teeth, and the ape darted +towards him from the tree, with a wild, chattering, and half hostile +scream. But he had remarked that the little fawn directed its course +immediately through the thickest of the assemblage; and if that +circumstance did not convince him of the safety of the path, he was +certainly ashamed to show less courage than the young of a doe. He +therefore trudged onwards, and, in a few moments, exchanged the scene +for one less frightful, though not less striking. + +He was now among the birds of Mexico. A grove,--it might have seemed a +forest,--of lofty trees, was covered over with a curious contrivance of +nets, some of which were confined to their tops, while others were made +to surround the shrubbery at their roots, in all which were confined the +noisy prisoners. Other nets were flung over little pools, whose banks +and surface were enlivened by the presence of water-fowl. In some places +cages were hung upon the trees, containing the more precious or +unmanageable captives. Through this grove one might penetrate in all +conceivable directions, and seem to be confined along with its feathered +inhabitants, and yet be really separated from them by the nets. + +The outer portion or border of the grove, was devoted to the endless +tribe of parrots, whose magnificent colours gave a beauty to the +treetops, not to be lessened even by the horrid clamour of their voices. +The singing birds were confined within the silent recesses of its +centre. + +If curiosity and a mere love of barbarous display, without other motive, +had collected together in the gardens of Mexico her beasts and reptiles, +utility had some little influence in the selection of her birds. Their +feathers were devoted to a thousand purposes of ornament, and among +others, to the construction of those very singular Mosaic works, or +pictures, which have won the admiration even of European painters and +virtuosos. But while thus providing for the supply of one of the most +elegant of wants, the Mexican kings secured to themselves the means of +adding the loveliest and most natural feature to their gardens. It would +be impossible to convey any just idea of the splendid creatures that +went wandering and leaping, like sunbeams, among the leaves and over the +grass. Eagles and kites sat on the trees, and storks, herons, and +flamingos stalked through the pools. Here the macaw flashed, screaming, +through the boughs; there the wood-pigeon sat cooing by his mate. The +little _madrugador_, or early-riser, the happiest of his species, who +chirps up his companions, when the morning-star peeps from the horizon, +repeated his jovial note; the white-sparrow, the calandra, the cardinal, +the sable-and-golden orible, and the little spotted tiger-bird, added +their charming voices; and the Centzontli, or mocking-bird, as it is +trivially called, for it is worthy of a name much more poetical and +dignified, whistled and sang with such a power and variety of +melody, as left all other songsters in the background. The little +_chupa-rosas_,--rose-pickers, or humming-birds,--darted about from +blossom to blossom, needing and acknowledging no bonds save those of +attachment to their favourite flowers. + +Through this delightful grove Juan stepped, enchanted with its music; +and following a pleasant path, over which there echoed no notes louder +than those of the little wood-pigeon, such as the traveller yet hears +cooing in the copse that surmounts the mouldered pyramid of Cholula, he +was soon introduced to a spectacle more striking, more lovely, and to +him far more captivating, than any he had yet beheld. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +In a green nook, exceedingly sequestered, and peculiarly beautified by +banks of the richest flowers, were five Indian maidens, three of whom +danced under the trees on the smooth grass, to the sound of a little +pipe or flute, that was played by a fourth. The other, half kneeling, +reclined hard by, fastening a chaplet of flowers round the neck of a +fawn, younger and tamer than that which had fled from Befo, and which +was now seen frisking uneasily, or perhaps jealously, about its +companion. + +Young, pretty, and robed with such simplicity as might have become the +Hamadryads of Thessaly, revelling around the green oaks with which their +fate was so inseparably connected, the dancers might indeed have been +esteemed nymphs of the wood, as they moved gracefully and a-tiptoe over +the velvet grass, all unconscious of the presence of any person or +anything to make them afraid. Their naked feet and arms glimmered with +ornaments of gold and native rubies; and the white _cueitl_, or cymar, +with a peculiar vest or jacket of brilliant colours, while allowing +unrestrained motion to their limbs, gave almost a classic and statuary +beauty to their figures. The youthful musician leaned against a tree, +pleasantly absorbed in the melody she was drawing from the pipe; while +the fifth maiden, for whose amusement the diversion was obviously +continued, was too much occupied with the pet animal, whose ambition +seemed rather to be to browse upon the chaplet than to wear it,--to give +much attention to either the dance or the roundelay. + +The whole scene was one of enchanting innocence and repose; and even +Befo, who was wont to indicate the presence of a stranger with a growl, +betrayed no token of dissatisfaction, so that Juan stood for a little +time gazing on, entirely unseen. His looks were fastened upon her to +whom the musician and the dancers were but attendants, and who, from +other circumstances, had a stronger claim on his regard. + +In her he beheld the young infidel, whose influence over his mind, +operating upon it only for good, had altered the whole current of his +fortunes, and changed what had once seemed a destiny of aggrandisement +and renown, into a career of suffering and contumely. He was now in the +presence of one, for whom he had incurred the hatred of a vindictive +rival, (for all his miseries were dated from the period of his quarrel +with Guzman;) for whose sake he had refused the intercession, and +spurned the affection, of the still more unhappy Magdalena; and for whom +he now thought that even the last and greatest of his griefs, his exile +from Christian companionship, was a happiness, since it promised her the +inestimable gift of a faith, which he would have gladly purchased her +with his life. How far a barbarian and the daughter of a barbarian was +worthy of, and capable of inspiring, an affection so romantic and so +noble, we must inquire of our hearts, rather than our reason. + +She was of that age, which, in our northern climes would have +constituted her a girl, but which, in a tropical region, entitled her to +the name of woman. Her figure was neither mean nor low, but of such +exquisite proportions as, in these days of voluntary degeneration, are +seldom found except among the children of nature. Her skin was, for her +race, wonderfully fair; and yet there were, even among the men of +Mexico, skins much lighter than those of some of the Spaniards, of which +Guatimozin was a famous example. Her dress was similar in fashion to +that of the other damsels, but consisted of many more garments, +according to the mode of the very wealthy and noble maidens, who were +accustomed to wear one cueitl over another, each successive one being +shorter than the preceding, so that the borders of each could be +distinguished. Thus, when they were of different colours, as was often +the case, the whole figure, from the ankles to the waist, seemed +enveloped in one voluminous garment, distinguished by broad horizontal +stripes, exceedingly gay and brilliant. The colours upon the garments of +this maiden were of a more modest character, and richness was given to +them rather by borders singularly embroidered in gold and gems, than by +any splendour of tints. A little vest or bodice of very peculiar fancy +was worn over the shoulders and bosom, secured by a girdle that might +have been called a chain, since it was composed of links of gold. Her +arms were bare like the others', and her feet, not entirely naked, as +was the case with the rest, were protected by a sort of pretty shoes, +too complete to be called sandals, and yet too low to be moccasins. With +this graceful figure, was a face, singularly sweet and even beautiful, +with eyes so broad, so large, so dark, so lustrously mild and saintlike +in expression, that they rivalled those of the young fawn she was +caressing, and perhaps, more than the trivial circumstance presently to +be mentioned, had contributed to obtain for her a name, by which her +countrymen seemed to compare her to the lights of heaven. Among the gold +ornaments and gems of emerald and ruby, with which her hair was +interwoven in braids, was a large jewel of pearls, the rarest, and +therefore the most precious, of trinkets in Tenochtitlan. It was in the +form of a star, to which it bore as much resemblance among the sable +midnight of her hair, as does the snowy blossom of the great Magnolia +amid the dusky obscurity of its evergreen boughs. + +Upon this vision Juan could have gazed for hours; but the fawn which he +had followed to the retreat, perceiving the formidable Befo so close at +hand, bleated out a hasty alarm, and thus directed upon him the eyes of +the whole party. The dance and the music ceased; the maidens screamed, +and would have fled, but for the sense of duty which constrained them to +await the bidding of their mistress. She, though much alarmed at the +sight of neighbours so unexpected, yet mingled with her terror feelings +which kept her chained to the spot, while the attendants clustered +around her, confused, and anxious to fly. + +As soon as Juan perceived the alarm of the party, and saw the eyes of +the princess directed upon him, he bent a knee half to the earth, as if +in the presence of a princess of Christendom, saying gently, + +"I am Juan Lerma, a Castilian--an exile from the Spanish camp, +entreating welcome from my enemies, and yet am no enemy. Fear me not, +daughter of Montezuma; and fear not this animal, who shall be to thee as +harmless as the young fawns." + +At these words, pronounced in their own tongue, and with a voice so mild +and conciliating, the maidens recovered somewhat from their fright, and +assuming at once an air characteristically sedate, cast their eyes upon +the earth, while the young princess stood regarding Juan, with a +countenance indicative of many changing emotions. Seeing, when he had +finished, that he preserved an attitude of submissive respect and +expectation, she stepped timidly forward, and presenting him the garland +which she had failed to secure around the neck of the favourite, said +artlessly, and yet with both dignity and decision, + +"The king is the Great Eagle's friend; the daughter of Montezuma is his +bondmaid--he is welcome to Mexico. I remember the friend of Montezuma my +father,--I remember the good acts of the Christian.--He is welcome." + +Then putting the chaplet into his hand, and taking this into her own, +with a confidence that was perhaps as much the result of unsophisticated +feelings as of peculiar customs, she touched it with her +forehead,--indicating by her words, her gift, and her act of ceremonious +salutation, that, with her welcome, she confessed the obligation of +friendship and gratitude for acts of past kindness. + +"I will wear the garland upon my breast," said Juan, with a look of +purer satisfaction than he had shown for many long days; "and if heaven +grant me fulfilment of the hope that is nearest to my heart, I will wear +it there for ever. Noble and lovely maiden, I am here by the will of +Guatimozin,--I know not well for what purpose, nor how long I shall be +suffered to remain in your presence. This, at least, is certain: the +dark day of war has arisen, and this happy garden may soon become a +theatre of fierce contention, in which the fairest and the best may +perish at the same hour with the worst. Let not that day find Zelahualla +without the Christian's cross on her bosom." + +"Guatimozin will drive the wicked from the land," said Zelahualla, +mildly. "Has my lord the Great Eagle forsaken his wicked people, and +will he yet cling to their gods? After a time, Centeotl, the mother of +heaven and the earth, will prevail over Mexitli, and redeem men from +sorrow: then will men bleed no more on the pyramids, but flowers and +fruits will be the only sacrifices demanded by heaven. How is it with +the gods of Spain? do they not call for victims for ever? The gods of +our land are more just and merciful." + +"Alas," said Juan, "this is a delusion brought upon you by our sinful +acts, not by any defects of our holy religion. Know, Zelahualla, that +there are no gods but ONE, and He is both just and merciful,--the god +alike of the heathen and the Christian. But of this I will not speak to +you now; though perhaps I may never have opportunity to speak again. If +death should come upon you suddenly, call then, in that grievous hour, +upon the name of the Christian's God, and he will not refuse to hear +you, who are in ignorance, and therefore sinless. And wear upon your +neck this cross, given to me by one who was a beloved friend." (It was +the gift of Magdalena.) "Look upon it with reverence, and heaven may +vouchsafe a miracle in your favour. Let it not be forgotten, when danger +comes to you." + +The spirit of the Propaganda had infected the minds of all the Spaniards +in America. The ambition of conversion was inseparably linked with that +of conquest; and on all occasions, except those of actual battle, the +rage of making proselytes was uppermost in the minds of many. This was +undoubtedly fanaticism, and, in the case of the fierce and avaricious, +it developed itself with all the odious features of superstition. With a +few of more gentle and kindly natures, it was a nobler and more +benignant passion. While others sought proselytes for the glory of the +church, these thought only of doing good to man. The best, the most +enthusiastic and successful missionaries, were those whose efforts were +prompted by affection. The first impulse, therefore, of Juan, who had +long since felt and cherished, even among distant deserts, a strong +interest in the fate of this young princess, was to secure to her the +blessings of salvation, which his religious instruction could not lead +him to hope for any one dying in unbelief. It was a consequence and +evidence of affection; but a still stronger proof was given, when he +drew from his breast a little silver cross, which, up to this moment, he +had treasured with the most jealous regard, and proffered it to +Zelahualla. It was, as has been mentioned, the gift of Magdalena, +presented before the evil acts of Hilario and Villafana had interrupted +the affection fast ripening in Juan's heart, and accepted because it +possessed little value beyond that imputed by consecration and +superstition. It was, indeed, as Magdalena had told him, the gift of her +deceased mother, and she had always been taught to believe it possessed +some of the extraordinary virtues of a talisman. In these virtues Juan +was sufficiently benighted to believe; and it was perhaps for this +reason, rather than from any grateful memory of the giver, that he had +from that day worn it in secret upon his bosom, so that it had even +escaped the hands of his jailers in Mechoacan, and from the eyes of his +Spanish companions. It was a proof of the pure and disinterested nature +of his regard for the Indian princess, as well as of his reliance upon +its heavenly protection, that he could rob himself of a relic so prized, +in order that its presence might secure to her the benefits of a belief +she neither understood nor professed. + +If such were his own superstition, it could not be supposed that +Zelahualla's was less in degree. On the contrary, she received the +humble trinket with a look of respect as well as gratitude, saying with +the greatest simplicity, + +"What the Great Eagle loves must be good, and Zelahualla will listen +when his god speaks to her." + +"Is it possible," thought Juan, while flinging the chain of silver beads +by which it was secured round his neck, "that a creature so beautiful +and so good--so pure, so innocent, so lovely to the eye and the +thought--should be really a pagan and barbarian?" + +The question was indeed natural enough. A sweeter impersonation of +beauty both mental and corporeal, could scarcely be imagined; and the +light of her eyes was so mild and seraphic, that one might wonder whence +it came, if not from the operation of that divine belief, which chases +from the heart the impurer traits of nature. + +What further thoughts might have crowded into Juan's breast, and what +might have been the conclusion of an interview so interesting, it is not +necessary to imagine. While he was yet securing the chain around the +bended neck of the princess, a step, previously heralded by the growl of +Befo, rang upon the walk, and the Lord of Death, followed at a little +distance by Techeechee, stalked into the covert, arrayed in all the +Mexican panoply of war and knighthood. Instead of a tunic of cotton +cloth or other woven material, he wore, doubtless over some stronger +protection, a sort of hauberk of dressed tiger's skin, fitting tight to +his massive chest, and bordered by a skirt of long feathers, reaching +nearly to his knees. On his head was a helmet or cap which had once +adorned the skull of the same ferocious animal, the teeth and ears +flapping about his temples, and the skin of the legs, with the talons +remaining, hanging at the sides over his shoulders and breast, waving +about in connexion with his long black locks and the scarlet tufts among +them. His shield of stout cane-work, painted, and ornamented with a long +waving penacho of feathers, hung at his back, and a macana of gigantic +size swung from his wrist. His legs were swathed, merry-andrew-wise, +with ribands of scarlet and gilded leather, that seemed to begin at his +sandals; and his arms, otherwise naked, were ornamented up to the elbow +in a similar way. On the whole, his appearance was highly formidable and +impressive, and not the less so that many marks of blood, crusted about +his person, as well as divers rents in his spotted hauberk, told how +recently and how valiantly he had borne his part in the terrors of +conflict. + +As he entered the covert, his step was bold, springy, and majestic, such +as belongs to the native American warrior, when he treads the prairie +and the mountain, beyond the ken of the white man. It happened that his +ear being struck by the growl of Befo, his attention was not immediately +directed to the princess and her companion; but, seeing the dog, and +conceiving at once, though not without surprise, the cause of his +presence, he turned round in search of his master, and beheld him +engaged securing the relic around the neck of the daughter of Montezuma. + +At this sight, his countenance changed from the haughty joy of a +soldier, and darkened with gloom and displeasure. He even grasped his +macana, and took a stride towards the pair, who were unconscious of his +intrusion, until Befo made it evident by a louder growl, and by taking a +stand, ready to dispute the warrior's right of approach. + +The person of the Lord of Death was at first unknown to Juan; but he +beheld enough in his visage to convince him it was not that of a friend. +Still, he knew too much of the almost slavish reverence with which even +the highest nobles regarded their king and the child of a king, to +apprehend any danger from the warrior's wrath. In this belief he was +justified by the act of the barbarian, who, perceiving Zelahualla look +towards him with surprise, released the weapon from his grasp, and +sinking into the lowest obeisance of humility, kissed the earth at her +feet. Then rising and surveying her with a melancholy, but deeply +respectful look, he said, + +"What am I but a slave before the daughter of Montezuma? The young man +of the east is the king's brother. I speak the words of Guatimozin: 'My +brother shall look to-day upon the king of Mexico, with the crown upon +his head, at the rock of Chapoltepec, among the people.' These are the +words of the king. Shall the king's brother obey the king?" + +"Doth Guatimozin call the Eagle his brother?" exclaimed Zelahualla, with +a look of the greatest satisfaction. "Then shall no evil befall him +among the people. Let my lord the Christian and Great Eagle depart, and +fear not: for the men of Mexico know that he was good to the king and +the king's daughter, when the king was a captive; and therefore +Zelahualla will remember what he says of the god of the silver cross." + +Thus summoned, and thus dismissed, Juan withdrew his eyes from the +beaming and singularly engaging countenance of the maiden, and looked to +the Lord of Death, as if to signify his readiness to depart. But the +Lord of Death seemed for a moment to have lost his powers of locomotion. +He remained gazing upon the princess with an aspect increasing in gloom, +and once or twice seemed as if he would have spoken something in anger +and reprehension. Yet deterred by the divinity of royalty that hedged +about her, or more probably by the divinity of her beauty, he roused up +at last, and, after making another deep reverence, which was as if a +lion had bowed down at the feet of a doe, he strode away without +speaking, followed by Juan and Techeechee. + +From Techeechee Juan learned what he had in in part gathered from the +obscure expressions of the noble: He was summoned to witness the +coronation of the young king in form before the assembled Mexicans, on +the consecrated hill of Chapoltepec, on which occasion he was to be +honoured and his person made sacred, by the king bestowing on him the +title of friend and brother. + +The path led Juan as before through the royal menagerie; and while +passing among the wild beasts, Techeechee signified to the Christian +that the presence of Befo among the Mexicans would subject him to much +difficulty, if not danger; and would certainly, the moment he was seen, +produce a confusion in the assemblage, indecorous to the occasion, and +highly displeasing to the king and the Mexican dignitaries. To this Juan +justly assented, and not knowing in what other manner he could dispose +of his faithful attendant, he agreed, at Techeechee's suggestion, to +confine him in one of the several empty cages, wherein he was assured +and believed, he would remain in safety. This being accomplished, and +not without trouble, he endeavoured with caresses to reconcile the +animal to his novel imprisonment, and then left him. + +He found the Lord of Death at the pool, with a piragua, very singularly +carved and ornamented, in which were six Mexicans, known at once by +their dress to be warriors of established reputation, the rules of +Mexican chivalry not allowing any soldier, even if the son of the king, +to wear, in time of war, any but the plainest white garment, until he +had accomplished deeds worthy of distinction. These were arrayed in +escaupil, variously ornamented with plumes and gilded leather; they had +war-clubs and quivers, and their appearance was both martial and +picturesque. + +At a signal from Masquazateuctli, they seized their paddles and began to +urge the piragua towards the water-gate of the wall, and Techeechee +leaping into the little canoe, Juan prepared to follow after him. He was +arrested by the Lord of Death, who touched his arm, though not rudely, +and looking into his face for awhile, with an expression in which anger +seemed to struggle with melancholy, said, + +"The Great Eagle is the brother of Guatimozin,--Masquazateuctli is but +his slave. Where would the king's brother have been this day, had the +king not taken him from the prison-house?" + +"In heaven, if it becomes me to say so--certainly, at least, in the +grave," replied Juan, in some surprise. "In this capture, or this +rescue, as I may call it, the king will bear witness, I did not myself +concur; for such concurrence I esteemed unbecoming to my state as a +Christian and Spaniard. Yet I am not the less grateful to Guatimozin, +and I acknowledge he has given me a life." + +"It was a good thing of the king," said the barbarian; "but what is +this? Are you a Spaniard in Mexico, and alive? neither upon the block of +the pyramid, nor in the cage at the temple-yard? The king feeds you in +his house, he gives you water from his fountain, and robes from his +bed,--he takes you by his side, and, among his people, he says, 'This +man is my brother; therefore look upon him with love.' Is not this good +also of the king?" + +"It is," replied Juan, gravely; "and I need not be instructed, that it +becomes me to be grateful, even by a warrior so renowned and noble as +the Lord of Death." + +The eyes of the barbarian sparkled with a fierce fire while he +continued,-- + +"What then should you look for in Mexico, but shelter and food?--a house +to hide you from the angry men of Spain, and bread to eat in your +hiding-place? Where are the quiver and the macana? Will the king's +brother fight the king's enemies?" + +"If they be my countrymen, the Spaniards, _no_," replied Juan, with great +resolution, yet not without uneasiness; for he read in the question, an +early attempt to seduce him into apostacy. "I am the king's guest,--his +prisoner, if he will,--his victim, if it must be,--but not his soldier." + +"Hearken then to me," said the Indian, with a stern and magisterial +voice: "The king is the lord of the valley, the master of men's lives, +and the beloved of Mexico; but he has not the heart of the old man gray +with wisdom, and he knows not the guile of the stranger. Why should his +brother do him a wrong? The king thinks his brother a green snake from +the corn-field, to play with;[9] but he has the teeth of the rattling +adder!" + +[Footnote 9: The Mexicans were accustomed to tame and domesticate +certain harmless reptiles.] + +"Mexican!" said Juan, indignantly, "these words from the mouth of a +Spaniard, would be terms of mortal injury; and infidel though you be, +yet you must know, they bear the sting of insult. What warrior art thou, +that canst abuse the helplessness of a captive, and do wrong to an +unarmed man?" + +"Do I wrong thee, then?" replied the Lord of Death, grimly. "Lo, thou +art here safe from thy bitter-hearted people, and wilt not even repay +the goodness of the king, by striking the necks of his enemies, who are +also thine! Is not this enough? Put upon thee the weeds of a woman, and +go sleep in the garden of birds, afar from danger,--yet call not the +birds down from the tree; hide thee in the bush of flowers, yet pluck +not the flowers from the stem. Let the guest remember he is a guest, and +steal not from the house that gives him shelter.--Does the king's +brother understand the words of the king's slave?" + +"I do not," said Juan, with a frown. "They are the words of a +dreamer;--" and he would have passed on towards the canoe, which he now +perceived was waiting him near the wicket, but that the Lord of Death +again arrested him. + +"The king is good," he said with deep and meaning accents, "but the +wrong-doer shall not escape. Perhaps,"--and here he softened the +severity of his speech, and even assumed a look of friendly +interest,--"perhaps the Great Eagle has left his best friend among the +fighting-men of Tezcuco? Let him be patient for a little, and his friend +shall be given to him." + +"You speak to me in riddles," replied Juan, impatiently. "Let us be +gone." + +The Mexican gave the youth a look of the darkest and most menacing +character, and uttering the figurative name which Guatimozin had already +applied to the princess, said, + +"The Centzontli is the daughter of Montezuma,--the bird that is not to +be called from the tree, the flower that is not to be pulled from the +stem.--The king is good to his brother; but Mexico is not a dog, that +the Spaniard should steal away the daughter of heaven." + +Then, clutching his war-axe, as if to give more emphasis to his warning, +the nature of which was no longer to be mistaken, he gave the young man +one more look, exceedingly black and threatening, and strode rapidly +away. The next moment, he leaped, with the activity of a mountain-cat, +into the piragua, and speaking but a word to the rowers, was instantly +paddled into the lake. + +Juan followed, not a little troubled and displeased by the complexion +and tone of the menace, and stepping into the canoe, was soon impelled +from the garden. He perceived the piragua floating hard by, and the Lord +of Death standing erect among the rowers. As soon as the canoe drew +nigh, the warrior-noble made certain gestures to Techeechee, signifying +that he should conduct the youth on the voyage alone. Then giving a sign +to his attendants, the prow of the piragua was turned towards the east, +and, much to the surprise of Juan, and not a little even to that of the +Ottomi, was urged in that direction with the most furious speed. As they +started, the rowers set up a yell, as if animated by the prospect of +some stirring and adventurous exploit. + +Techeechee gazed after them for a moment, and then handling his paddle, +he directed the canoe round the point of Tlatelolco, and was soon lost +among a multitude of similar vessels, all proceeding to the southwest, +in the direction of the hill of Chapoltepec. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +The review, division, and minute organization of the vast army now at +the disposal of the Captain-General, occupied nearly the whole day, +which was unexpectedly propitious, as the rainy season might be said to +have already commenced. Clouds, indeed, gathered over the sky, in the +afternoon, giving a melancholy aspect to the hills and meadows; and a +thick fog rose from the lake and spread around, until it had pervaded +the lower grounds on its borders. Yet not a drop of rain fell during the +whole day, and, by sunset, the clouds dispersed, without having +disturbed the firmament with thunder; and the lake was left to glimmer +in the light of a young moon, and the multitude of stars. + +The whole native population of Tezcuco had been drawn to the meadows, to +witness the glories of military parade, and the city was deserted and +solitary. Nay, even the watchmen on the walls, forgetting the audacious +assault of the past night, and anxious to share a spectacle from which +their duties should have separated them, stole, one after another, from +their posts, until the northern gates were left wholly unguarded. The +vanity of the Commander-in-Chief could not permit the absence of a +single effective Spaniard from the scene of display, and the walls had +been left to Tlascalans. + +Late in the afternoon, and when the mists were thickest, and the hues of +the fields most mournful, a single individual passed from that gate at +which Juan Lerma, eight or nine weeks before, had terminated the first +chapter of his exile. A friar's cassock and cowl enveloped his whole +form, yet the dullest eye would have detected in the vigour and +impetuosity of his step, the presence of passions which could not belong +to the holy profession. His eye was fixed upon a shadowy figure, almost +lost among the mists, that went staggering along, as if upon a course +not yet defined, or over paths difficult to be traced; and while he was +obviously watching and pursuing the retreating shape, it seemed to be +with a confidence that feared not the observation of the fugitive. Thus, +when the figure paused, he arrested his steps, and resumed them only +when they were resumed by the other; and, in this manner, he followed +onwards, with little precaution, until Tezcuco was left far behind, +hidden in the fog. As he moved, he muttered many expressions, indicative +of a deeply disturbed and even remorseful mind. + +"All this have _I_ done," he exclaimed, bitterly, and almost wildly. +"Mine own sin, though black as the soot of perdition, is stained a +triple dye by the malefactions it has caused in others--_Mea culpa, mea +culpa, mea maxima culpa!_ Cursed avarice! cursed ambition! There _is_ a +retribution that follows us even to the grave; sin is punished with +sin,--the first fault lays fire to the train of our vices, and in their +explosions we are further stained,--punished, destroyed. That sin! and +what has come of it? Where is the gain to balance it? Cajoled by the +demon that seduced me, cheated and flung aside--suspected, degraded, +demoralized--a wanderer, a villain, a cur--the friend of rogues, and +myself their fittest fellow--Heaven is strong, and justice +oppressive.--_Munda cor meum ac labia mea!_ for I blaspheme!" + +Thus muttered the distracted Camarga, for it was he who gave vent to +such troubled expressions. Some of these were uttered so loudly, that +they seemed to reach the ear of the fugitive, who turned round, looked +back for a moment, and then diving into a misty hollow, was for a short +time concealed from his eyes. + +"Ay,--fly, fly!" he muttered, gnashing his teeth; "fly, wretch, fly! But +wert thou fleeter than the mountain-deer, thou couldst not escape the +fiend that is already tearing at thy vitals. Fling thyself into the +lake, too, and after death, open thine eyes upon a phantom of horror, +that will sit before thee for ever!" + +Then pursuing with greater activity, he again caught sight of the +fugitive, who was ascending the little promontory of the cypress-tree, +on which Juan Lerma had first beheld the faces of his countrymen. + +"And Hernan Cortes will yet have me speak the story!" he murmured. "Be +it so--live she or die she, he shall hear it, and curse the curiosity +that compelled it. Ay! and his anguish will be some set-off to the joy +of having triumphed over the poor wretch he persecuted. God rest thee, +Juan Lerma! for thou at least hast died in ignorance; and but for this +mischance,--this fatal mischance,--hadst been worthy of a better fate, +and therefore saved from destruction." + +As he uttered these broken words, he perceived La Monjonaza,--for it was +this unhappy creature whom he followed,--steal over the mound to the +right hand, as if turning her steps from the lake landward. But being +aware that she had beheld him, and suspecting this to be merely a feint, +designed to mislead him, he directed his course to the water-side, and +stepping among the rocks and brambles at the base of the hill, passed it +in time to behold Magdalena stalking, with a countenance of distraction, +towards the lake, as if impelled by some terrible goadings of mind, to +self-destruction. + +"Wretched creature!" he cried, springing forwards, and staying her +frenzied steps, "what is this you do? Fling not away the grace that is +in wait.--_You_, at least, may live and be forgiven." + +To his great surprise, the unhappy girl, whose countenance had indicated +all the iron determination of desperation, offered not the slightest +resistance, while he drew her from the water-side; but turning towards +him with the face of a maiden detected in some merry and harmless +mischief, she began to laugh; but immediately afterwards, burst into +tears. + +"Good heavens!" said Camarga, with compassion, "are you indeed brought +to this pass? What! the mind that even amazed Don Hernan--is it gone? +wholly gone? Miserable Magdalena! this is the fruit of sin!" + +At the sound of a name, so seldom pronounced in these lands, the lady +rose from the rock, on which she had suffered herself to be seated, +although it was observable that she showed no symptoms of surprise. She +gazed fixedly at Camarga for an instant, and a dark frown gathering on +her brows, she turned to depart, without reply. Camarga, however, +detained her, and would have spoken; but no sooner did she feel his hand +laid upon her mantle than she turned suddenly round, with a look of +inexpressible fierceness, saying, with the sternest accents of a voice +always strikingly expressive, + +"Who art thou, that comest between me and my purpose? If a priest or an +angel, fly,--for here thou art with contamination; if a man, and a bad +man, still fly, lest thou be struck dead with the breath of one deeper +plunged in guilt than thyself.--If a devil, then remain, and claim thy +prey from the apostate and murderess. Dost thou forbid me even to die?" + +"Ay--I do," replied Camarga, trembling, yet less at her terrible +countenance than her fearful expressions: "I am one who, in the name of +heaven,--a name which is alike polluted: in thy mouth and in +mine--command thee to recall thy senses, if they have not utterly fled, +and bid thee, thinking of self-slaughter no longer, leave this land of +wretchedness, and, in a cloister, and with a life of penitence, obtain +the pardon which heaven will not perhaps withhold." + +"Pardon comes not without punishment," said Magdalena, sternly; "and I +would not that it should: and for penitence,--the moaning regret that +exists without torture and suffering,--know that it is but a mockery. +Kill thy friend, and repent,--yet dream not of paradise. Scourge +thyself, die on the rack or gibbet, and await thy fate in the grave. +Begone; or rest where thou art, and follow me no more." + +"Till thou die, or till thou art lodged within the walls of a convent," +said Camarga, grasping her arm with a strength and determination she +could not resist: "thus far will I follow thee, rave thou never so much. +Oh, wretched creature! and wert thou about to rush into the presence of +thy Maker, unshriven, unrepenting, unprepared?" + +Magdalena surveyed him with a look that changed gradually from anger to +wistful emotion; and then again shedding tears, she dropped on her +knees, saying, with a tone and manner that went to his heart, + +"I will shrive me then, and then let me go, for thy presence persecutes +me.--Well, and perhaps it is better; for it is long since I have looked +upon a man of God--long since I have spoken with any just Christian but +_one_,--and him I have given up to the murderers. Hear me then, and then +absolve or condemn as thou wilt, for I judge myself; and I confess to +thee, only that my words may drive thee away, as would the moans of a +coming pestilence. Hear me then, friar, and then begone from me." + +"Arise," said Camarga, "I seek not thy confession, at least not now: I +have that will draw it from thee, at a fitter time and place. In this +distant spot, thou art exposed to danger from the infidels." + +"If thou fearest them, away! Why dost thou trouble me? If thou stayest, +listen to my words; for though they come too late, yet will they cause +thee to do justice to the name, and say masses for the soul, of Juan +Lerma." + +"Speak of Juan Lerma," said Camarga, with a trembling voice, "and I will +indeed listen to thee. _In nomine Dei Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus +Sancti_, speak and speak truly. Cursed be thou, even by my lips, if thou +speakest that which is false, or concealest aught that is true!" + +"Truth, though I die,--and let me die when it is spoken," said +Magdalena, placing her lips with the instinctive reverence of habit to +the cross which Camarga extended. As she kissed it, her heart seemed to +soften, and she shed many bitter tears, while pouring forth her broken +and melancholy story. + +"Know, father," she said, not once doubting that she had a true father +of the church before her, "that it was my misfortune never to have known +the kindness and care of a parent." + +"Let that be passed," said Camarga, hurriedly. "Speak not of the sins of +thy youth, a thousand times confessed, and a thousand times absolved. +Speak of thy coming to the island,--of thy broken vows,--thy--" But here +perceiving that Magdalena started with a sort of affright, at finding +how far his knowledge had anticipated her divulgements, he continued, +with better discretion, "Thus much do I know--_how_ I know, ask not; and +yet thou mayst be told, too, that much of thy fate was interwoven with +that of Villafana." + +"_My_ fate, and that of Villafana!" cried Magdalena, with a withering +look of contempt. But instantly changing to a more submissive air, she +exclaimed, "My _story_, indeed, father, but not my fate. If he have +confessed to you, then do you know enough,--perhaps all. He told you, +then, that his avarice, gratified at the expense of a horrible +crime,--the destruction of the ship, and the lives of all within it, +abbess, nuns, sailors, and all,--was the cause of all my calamities, +since it was my hard fate not to perish with the rest. He robbed the +ship of the golden and silver church-vessels, when we were near to the +port, and made his escape to the shore, leaving us to sink in the midst +of a storm then rising. Our pilot having no hope but in running upon the +shore, then within sight, ran the vessel among certain rocks, where it +was beaten to pieces. Father, it chanced to be my fate, and mine alone, +to be plucked out of that roaring sea, by one to whom, when lying in a +gulf ten times more hideous, I refused to stretch out my hand. Father! +last night a word from my lips would have saved the life of Juan Lerma, +and I did not speak it!" + +"Dwell not on this," said Camarga, sternly. "Rather thank heaven that +thou wert rendered unable by any exercise of criminal love, to preserve +on the earth's surface a wretch, at whose footstep it shuddered." + +"Hah!" cried Magdalena, starting up in a transport of indignation, and +sending daggers from her eyes, "who art thou, that speakest so falsely +and foully of Juan Lerma? Wert thou, instead of a pattering friar, a +canonized saint in heaven, still wert thou but a thing of dross and +earth, compared with him thou malignest!" + +Before Camarga could rebuke this burst of passion, she sank, as before, +to the earth, weeping afresh; for she was in that pitiable state of +mental feebleness, in which life seems only to continue in impulses,--a +chain of convulsions and exhaustions. "Alas, father," she continued, +with sobs, "you have been taught, like the rest, to misconceive and +belie the best and most unfortunate of men;--for such is Juan +Lerma;--and you have perhaps joined with the rest to compass his +destruction. Has he wronged you? no--you have imagined a wrong. Has he +wronged Cortes? no--he has wronged no one; but the ear of Cortes was +open to his enemies. Hear me, father, and while you condemn me, listen +to the refutation of slander. Father, when I opened mine eyes to the +light, and in the presence of him who had saved me, I forgot my vows; +nay, I thought that heaven had absolved them in the wreck, and ordained +that I should be happy in a new existence. Never before had I looked +upon the world, and the people of the world,--never before had I looked +upon Juan Lerma. When had I seen one smile upon me with affection? +Father, for a second such smile, I would have moaned again on the wreck, +seeing my companions swept from me one by one. I grew cunning and +deceitful, and when they asked me of the ship and people, I told them +falsehoods, lest they should bring me the veil and the priest, and carry +me from his presence. Alas! and my deceit availed not; he smiled no +more; and when Hilario spoke of affection--affection for me,--Juan Lerma +withdrew without a sigh, without a struggle." + +"Saints of heaven!" cried Camarga, starting with horror, gasping for +breath, and, in the sense of suffocation, forgetting his assumed +character so much as to fling back the cowl that had concealed his +features. "Dost thou speak me the truth? On thy life,--on thy hopes of +heaven's forgiveness,--on thy love even for this lost, perhaps this +dead, youth,--I charge thee speak me the truth. Went there no more than +this between you? And Juan Lerma loved you not? and Villafana belied ye +both? And you are not--" + +He paused in agitation, unable to utter another word; and Magdalena, +surprised as much at his extraordinary interest in her story, as well as +confounded by the absence of the tonsure, and the glittering of an iron +gorget about his throat, seemed for a moment unable to answer his +questions. But summoning her spirits at last, she said, + +"Thou art not a priest, but a layman, a stranger, and a man of sin! But +be who thou wilt, friend or foe, thou knowest now enough of my history +to be entitled to know all. Never did man couple my name with shame, and +think of any but him who died under the dagger of Villafana. As for Juan +Lerma, not even Cortes, his bitterest enemy, would dare accuse him of a +deed of dishonour. Stranger, if thou art interested in the betrayed and +murdered Juan, know at least that he died innocent of any wrong to +Magdalena." + +"Now God be praised for this good word!" said Camarga, dropping on his +knees, and speaking with what seemed a distraction of fervour and +delight: "God be praised that I may not think, at my death-hour, that my +sins have caused among my children the crime of incest! God be praised! +God be praised!" + +"Incest! _Thy_ children!" exclaimed Magdalena, wildly. "What art thou? +What is this thou sayst?" + +"What do I say I and why need I say it?" cried Camarga, springing up and +wringing his hands--"have we not slain him among us? Oh, wretched +Magdalena, if, by thine influence, he was brought to this pass, know +that thou hast slain thine own brother!" + +At this strange and exciting revelation, Magdalena, who had, in the +ecstacy of expectation, seized upon Camarga's hands with a convulsive +grasp, uttered a scream, wild, loud, and thrilling, and yet how unlike +to that which rose from her breaking heart in the prison! It was some +such cry as might be supposed to come from a despairing Christian, who +finds that the gates, which he thinks are conducting him to hell, have +suddenly ushered him into the walks of paradise. It mingled fear and +astonishment with joy, but joy predominant over the others; and though +it sounded as if coming from a bursting heart, it was as if from one +bursting in the over-bound and expansion of a breast released from a +mountain of oppression. It echoed over the lake, and seemed to have +called up the spirits thereof; for before its last hysterical echo had +vibrated on the ear, there sprang up, as if they had risen from the +earth or the waters, six or seven athletic barbarians, flourishing heavy +macanas, who rushed at once upon the pair. + +At the sight of such unexpected and formidable antagonists, though taken +entirely by surprise, Camarga snatched his concealed sword from the +scabbard, leaped with great intrepidity betwixt Magdalena and the +nearest savage, who seemed the leader of the party, and made a blow at +him, while calling to her, + +"Fly! fly! and tell Cortes that thy brother--" But his lips finished not +the sentence. Whether it was that he was rendered helpless by long +continued disease, was embarrassed by the friar's cassock, or was really +unskilful in the use of weapons, it is certain that his blade dropped +harmless on the macana of the warrior. Before he could recover his +guard, the battle-axe of the Mexican fell upon his head with deadly +violence, and he rolled, to all appearance a dying man, on the ground. + +At the same instant, another warrior clutched upon Magdalena, who, +though pale as death, and agitated by a long succession of passions, yet +drew the dagger she always carried at her girdle, and aimed it at the +breast of the infidel. Before it could do him any harm, it was snatched +out of her hand, and she herself caught up as by the grasp of a giant, +in the arms of the leader, and hurried to the water. In an instant more, +she was placed in a piragua, which her capturers drew from a reed-brake +hard by, and secured, though not rudely, beyond the possibility of +further resistance, among the infidels. They caught up their paddles, +uttered a wild yell, and the next moment dashed from the shore, and were +hidden among the mists of the lake. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +Are the refinements and delicate sensibilities of the spirit confined to +the highborn and polished? They are undoubtedly the offspring of nature: +Education supplies their place only by the substitutes of affectation. +Though poverty may crush, though wretchedness and evil habits may +corrupt and extinguish them, yet they throb in the breasts of the lowly, +during the days of youth, and are not always banished even by the +rigours of manhood. They dwell under the painted lodge of the barbarian, +and they burn even in the heart of the benighted heathen. + +Let us fancy the moonlight streaming over the lake of Tezcuco. The moon +is in her first quarter, and the evening-star, almost her rival in +lustre and magnitude, precedes her in the blue paths of the west. The +golden radiance of sunset trembles no more on the mountain peaks; but +the thin vapours floating through the zenith, are yet gleaming faintly +with the last expiring glories of day. The birds are at rest in the +garden of Mexico,--all save the little madrugadores, that yet chirp +merrily in the trees, and the centzontli, who leaves her ravishing +melody, to mock them with their own music, made yet more musical. The +breeze sleeps among the boughs, or it stirs only through the poplar +leaves, and its rustling sound is mingled with the hum of a thousand +nocturnal insects. In such a night, one forgets that man is not an +angel. We see not the frown of malevolence in the sky; we hear not the +step of the betrayer on the grass; nor does the dew-drop, falling from +the leaf, admonish us of the tears that are streaming, hard by, in +sorrow. In such a night, the feelings of the kind are kindest, the +thoughts of the pure, purest; youth gathers about it the mantle of hope, +and hope whispers in the voice of affection. At such a time, it is good +to look into the hearts of the youthful, and forget the excitements of +years. A draught from the waters of Clitorius was fabled to extinguish +the thirst for wine.[10] He who can creep into the bosoms of the young, +and drink of the fountain of innocent affections, will turn with +loathing from the impure and maddening currents, that convert the human +family into a race of moral Bacchanals. + +[Footnote 10: + + Clitorio quicunque sitim de fonte levarit + Vina fugit. + + _Metam. Lib._ XV.] + +Can we think that among the worshippers of the ferocious Mexitli, and +the fierce invaders of his people, there were none with natures worthy +of a better belief, and a nobler cause? Destiny had thrown together two, +at least, whose spirits were but little tainted with the evil of their +place and their day,--in whom, perhaps, feeling rather than reason, had +set a talisman that left them incorruptible. A good heart is to man what +the galvanic bar of the philosopher was to the ship's copper-sheathing. +It gives this protection, at least, that, through the whole voyage of +life, it preserves the integrity of the vessel. The barnacle and the +remora will indeed deaden its course, but the metal remains clean and +bright: the billows of the world waste their corrosive powers only on +the protector. Morality itself is two-fold; it is of the head, and of +the heart. The first belongs to the philosopher, the second to the poet. +The one is an abstraction of reason; the other an exhortation of +passion. The morality of the head is the only one that is just; but it +is loveliest and best when the heart enforces its precepts. With good +hearts, Juan Lerma and the princess of Mexico, moved among the +corruptions of superstition, uncorrupted; and preserved to themselves, +unabated and unsullied, the pure and gentle feelings, which nature had +showered upon them at their birth. + +The moon, falling aslant upon the garden, lighted the countenances of +the young Spanish exile and the orphan child of Montezuma, as they +rested upon the summit of a little artificial mound, ornamented with +carved stone seats and rude statuary, constructed for the purpose of +overlooking the walls. The visage of the Christian was illumined by +pensive smiles, and his lips breathed gently and fervently the accents +that were sweetest to the ears of the Indian maiden. But did he +discourse of worldly affection and passion to one so ignorant and +artless? A nobler spirit animated the youth. He spoke of the faith of +Christians, and laboured with more than the zeal, though not perhaps +with the wisdom of the missionary, to impress its divine truths upon the +mind of his hearer. If his arguments were somewhat less cogent and +logical than might have been spoken, it must be remembered that his +religion was like that which will perhaps belong to the majority of +Christians to the end of the world,--a faith of the heart, which the +head has not been accustomed to canvass. + +He directed her eyes to the moon, to the evening star, and to those +other celestial wanderers, by which the heart of man was 'secretly +enticed,' even before the days of the perfect man of Uz. + +"They are the little bright heroes that hang down from the house of +Ometeuctli, king of the city of heaven," said the poor infidel,--"all +save Meztli," (the moon) "who is the king of night, brother of +Tonatricli," (the sun) "god of the burning day. This is what they say of +the two gods: There were men on the earth, but wicked: the ancient gods, +the sons of Ipalnemoani killed them. Then Ometeuctli sent forth from the +city of heaven his sons, who descended to Mictlan,--the dark hell,--by +the road that leads between the Fighting Mountains, and the Eight +Deserts,--and stole the bones of men, that Mictlanteuctli had heaped up +in his cavern. The sons of Ometeuctli sprinkled the bones with their +blood; and these men lived again, and the sons of Ometeuctli were their +rulers and fathers. But the earth was dark,--it was night over the +world, and the only light was the fire which they kindled and kept +burning in the vale of Teotihuacan. The sons of Ometeuctli pitied the +men they had revived; and, to give them light, they burned themselves in +the fire. Ometeuctli, their father, then placed them in the +sky,--Tonatricli the first born, to be the sun, Meztli to be the moon, +and the others to be stars. So they hang in heaven, turned to fire: and +men built pyramids to them, on the place of burning, Micoatl, the Field +of Death.[11] They are very good gods, for they shine upon us." + +[Footnote 11: The vale of San Juan de Teotihuacan, where stand the great +pyramids of the Sun and Moon, and the smaller mounds erected to the +Stars.] + +"Forget these idle fables," said Juan, with a gentleness much more +judicious than any zeal could have been. "Forget, too, Mexitli, +Painalton, Quetzalcoatl, Centeotl, and the thousand vain beings of +imagination, with which your priests have peopled the world. Think only +of the great _Teotl_, whom you have called Ipalnemoani,--the great God, +the only God,--for there is no other than He, and the rest are but +fables. Yonder moon and stars are not divinities, but great globes like +this on which we live; and to worship them is a sin--it angers +Ipalnemoani, who is the only God,--the Creator,--whom all men worship, +though under different names. Worship but Ipalnemoani, and in mode as I +will tell thee, and thou art already almost a Christian." + +"But is not Christ another god of the Spaniards?" said the maiden, +doubtfully. + +"The Son of God, a portion of God, and God himself," replied the +Christian, launching at once into all the theological metaphysics with +which he was acquainted, and succeeding in confounding the mind of the +poor barbarian, without being very sensible of the confusion of his own. +But if he could not teach her how to distinguish between categories, not +reducible to order and consistency by the poor aids of human language, +he was able to interest her in the fate and character of the divine +Redeemer, by no other means than that of relating his history. And it is +this, to which men must chiefly look for instruction, belief, and +renovation, without reference to dogmas and creeds; for here all find +the unanimity of belief and feeling, which entitles them to the claims +of fraternity. + +When Juan had excited her sympathy in the character of the Messiah, he +began to discourse upon the object and the ends of his mission. But +unfortunately the doctrine of original sin, with which he set out, had +in it something extremely repugnant to the rude ideas of the child of +nature. It inferred a native wickedness in all, to be banished only by +belief; and it seemed at once to place _her_ in an humble and degraded +light, in the eyes of the young Christian. + +"What has Zelahualla done," she said, with maidenly pride, "that the +king's brother should make her out wicked?" + +At this application of the doctrine, Juan was somewhat staggered in his +own belief. He looked at the mild eyes of the catechumen, beaming as +from a spirit without stain and without guile, and he said to himself, +'How can this be? for she has known no sin?' His imagination wandered +among the moral and religious precepts stored in his memory, and settled +at last with the triumph of a controversialist, as well as the +satisfaction of a Christian, upon the first rules of the +decalogue,--broken in ignorance, and therefore he doubted not, easily +atoned. He told her that the worship of false gods was a sin, and homage +shown to idols of wood and stone a deep iniquity; and these being common +to all benighted people, he satisfied himself, and perhaps her, that +they were unanswerable proofs of the existence of natural depravity. But +a stronger light was thrown upon the maiden's mind, when he showed its +effects in the scene of bloodshed, commenced long since in the days of +her sire, and now about to be terminated in a war of massacre. + +"He of whom I speak," he said, "came into the world, in order that these +things should cease. He offers men peace and good-will; and when men +acknowledge him and follow his commands, peace and good-will will reign +over the whole world. Think not, because my countrymen are sometimes +unjust, and often cruel, that our divine Leader is the less divine. +These are the wickednesses of their nature, not yet removed by full or +just belief; for the belief of some is insufficient, of others +perverted, and some, though they profess it, have no belief at all. +Know, then, that our religion, justly considered, and with a pure mind +not selfish, has its great element in _affection_. It teaches love of +heaven, and, equally love of man. It denounces the wrong-doer, who is as +a fire, burning away the cords that bind men together in happiness; and +it exalts the good man, who unites his fellows in affection. It punishes +vicious deeds and forbids evil thoughts; for with these, there can be no +happiness and peace. This it does upon earth; and it prepares for the +world beyond the grave, in which no human passion or infirmity can +disturb the perfect purity and enjoyment, of which the immortal spirit +is capable." + +Thus he conversed, and thus, guided by the native bias of his mind, +dwelt upon that feature of our heavenly faith, of which it requires no +aid of enthusiasm to perceive the amiableness and beauty. "_Peace and +good-will to all!_"[12] There is a charm in the holy sentence, at once +the watchword and synopsis of religion, that thrills to the hearts even +of those, who, to obtain the base immortality of renown, are willing to +exchange it for the war-cry of the barbarian, the _Vae victis!_ of a +hero. + +[Footnote 12: According to the Vulgate, the good tidings of great joy +offered peace only 'to men of good-will,'--_pax hominibus bonae +voluntatis_,--which, whether the translation be right or wrong, +undoubtedly destroys the sublimity of the conception, by narrowing down +the benevolence of the deity, and deprives of the blessing of peace that +majority of men, who, _not_ being men of good-will, have the greatest +need of it.] + +Thus far, then, the heart of the Indian maiden was softened, and +tears,--not of penitence, for it never entered her mind that she had +anything to repent,--tears of gentle and pleasurable emotion stole into +her eyes, as she listened to tenets explained by one so revered and +beloved. + +"The religion that my lord loves, is good; and Zelahualla shall know no +other." + +"God be praised for this then," said Juan, fervently; "for now is the +desire of my heart fulfilled, mine errand accomplished; and I will die, +when I am called, cheerfully; knowing that thou wilt follow me to +heaven. Now do I perceive that heaven works good in our misfortunes. The +miseries that I have lamented,--the hatred of Don Hernan, the malice of +my foes, my downfall, my condemnation,--what were they but the steps +which have led me to effect thy conversion and salvation? God be praised +for all things! and God grant that the seeds of the true faith, now sown +in thy heart, may grow and flourish, till transplanted into paradise!" + +Thus saying, Juan fell upon his knees, and invoked blessings upon the +proselyte, who knelt beside him, confirmed greatly in her new creed by +the evident pleasure her conversion, if it could be so called, had given +him. + +"Know now, Zelahualla," he said, as he raised her from the ground, and +folded her in an embrace that had more of the gentle affection of a +brother, than the ardent passion of a lover, "that now thou art dearer +to me than all the world beside. While thou wert a worshipper of idols, +I wept for thee; now that thou art a Christian, I love thee; and through +this storm of war, that is gathering around thee, I will remain to +protect thee, and, if need be, to perish by thy side." + +"What my lord is, that will I be," said the young princess, with such +looks of confiding affection as belong to the unsophisticated child of +nature--"Yes, Zelahualla will be a Christian,--Juan's Christian,"--for +she had been long since instructed to pronounce the name of her young +friend--"and she will think of none but him--" + +She paused suddenly, and disengaged herself from the arms of the +Castilian, who, looking round, beheld almost at his side, surveying him +with manifest satisfaction, the young king of Mexico. The gorgeous +mantles of state were upon his shoulders, the golden sandals and +_copilli_, or crown, bedecked his feet and head; and though no +sceptre-bearers or other noble attendants followed at his heels, his +appearance was not without dignity, and even majesty. + +He stepped forward, and taking the princess by the hand, said to Juan, + +"The Centzontli is the king's sister;--thus said I, when Montezuma lived +no more; for the Spaniards have killed the sons of the king, and who +remains to be her brother? It is enough--the Eagle of the east is the +king's brother.--The king will speak with his brother." + +At this signal, the maiden stooped humbly over Guatimozin's hand, kissed +it with mingled love and respect, and immediately stole from the mound. + +"My brother beheld me among my people," said Guatimozin, as soon as she +was gone. "What thinks he of the warriors of Mexico?" + +"They are numerous as the sands and leaves. But hear the words of him +who knows the Spaniards as well as the Mexicans. Before a blow is +struck, speak good things to Cortes. Acknowledge thyself the vassal of +Spain, and rule for ever." + +"Is my brother yet a Spaniard? and does he tell me this thing?" + +"If I anger thee, yet must I speak! for I speak with the heart of one +grateful to thyself and friendly to the race of Montezuma. As a true +Spaniard, I should counsel thee to resist; for resistance would excuse +rapacity. How wilt thou fight upon this island, with thine enemies round +about thee? They will sit down and sleep, while the king perishes with +hunger." + +"The houses are garners," replied Guatimozin, proudly: "There is food +provided for many days; and how shall the big ships see the peasant's +canoe, when it brings corn in the night-time?" + +"The lake is broad, but thou knowest not of all the craft and skill of +thy foes. Think then of _this_: Can a man drink the water of the salt +lake and canals? Are the pipes of Chapoltepec under the mountains? The +Spaniards will tear them up from the causeways; and the warriors will +despair for drink." + +"Is Guatimozin a fool?" exclaimed the royal barbarian, with a laugh. +"The rains have begun to fall; and for seven[13] months, the sky will be +my fountain. Is not Malintzin mad, that he should besiege me at this +season? He is not a god!" + +[Footnote 13: Mexican months, of twenty days each.] + +"Were it for thrice seven months," said Juan, "be assured that Cortes +will still remain by thy city, awaiting its downfall." + +"And what shall be done by the warriors of Mexico? Will they look from +the island, and wring their hands, till he departs? For every grain of +corn in the garners of Tenochtitlan, there is an arrow in the quivers of +the warriors. Count the bones that lie in the ditches of Tacuba,--number +the bearded skulls that are piled on the Huitzompan, the trophies +gathered from the Spaniards in the night of their flight,--there are not +so many living men in the camp of Malintzin, as perished that night when +we drove them from Mexico." + +"Dost thou hold, then, for nothing the two hundred thousand Tlascalans, +Tezcucans, Chalquese, Totonacs, and other tribes, that follow with +Cortes?" + +"There are but three roads to Mexico.--Can they hurt me from the +shores?" + +"The ships are fourteen more; and by and by, there will be no canoe that +swims the lake, but will bear the soldiers of Don Hernan. Think not +resistance can do aught but protract the fate of thine empire, and +incense the miseries of its subjects. Its history is written. Heaven is +angry with your gods and with your acts. The blood of human sacrifices, +detestable in the eyes of divinity, calls for revenge. Alas, thou didst +this day condemn a poor Spaniard to the altar, and thus stain thine +installation with cruelty! God will punish the Mexicans for this." + +The eyes of Guatimozin flashed in the moonlight with indignation. + +"Is not the prisoner," he cried, "the prey of the victor? The Spaniard +burns the captive in the shoulder, and makes him a slave. Which is +cruel? The prisoner and the felon we give to the gods--it is good. Did +the Eagle ever behold a Mexican chain men to a stake, and burn them with +fire? Yet he saw Malintzin burn the Chief of Nauhtlan and the fifteen +warriors, in the palace-yard, in a great fire made with Mexican bows and +arrows! Which, then, is cruel?" + +"This act I will not defend," said Juan, "and it was my presumption in +censuring it, that made Cortes my enemy. But, prince, let us speak of +these things no more, for our arguments shake not each other's minds. +Let me speak of myself, for it is just thou shouldst know my resolve. I +am thy friend, but I will not lift my hand against my countrymen." + +The countenance of the king darkened: + +"Is not the Great Eagle brave? He fears his enemies!" + +"I fear _nothing_," said Juan, with conscious dignity, "else would I +speak no words to lose thy favour. I will be thy prisoner, thy +sacrifice, if thou wilt.--I lament the fate that is coming upon thee, +but I cannot fight in thy cause." + +Guatimozin eyed him earnestly, as if to read his soul; and then said, a +little softly, + +"The Great Eagle knows all things: he shall rest in the palace all day, +and at night, speak wise things to the king." + +"Neither in this can I aid thee," replied Juan, resolutely. "What I know +of religion and moral duties,--nay, all that I know of civilized arts, +that are not military,--this much I am free to communicate; but nothing +more. I can no more help thee to fight with my knowledge, than with my +arm." + +This was a declaration of principles somewhat above the powers of the +infidel to appreciate, and it filled him, as Juan saw, with serious +displeasure. He took him by the arm, and spoke sternly and even +menacingly: + +"The faith of a Christian is not that of a Mexican. The Indian kills his +foes and the foes of his friend: the Christian forgets his friend, when +his friend is in trouble." + +Juan was stung by the reproach, and replied with emphasis: + +"The king took me from the prison-house of Tezcuco: the block was in +waiting for me. Who talked to me of prisons and of blocks, before Olin +came to the garden?" + +Guatimozin grasped his hand, and spoke with impetuosity,-- + +"I have said the thing that was false, and my brother does _not_ forget +his friend. He did a good deed to Olin; why should he turn his face from +Guatimozin? Was Olin in greater distress than the king, beset by enemies +who cannot be counted? My brother has looked in the face of the +Centzontli, my sister.--The princes of the city, and the kings of the +tribes, have said, each one, 'Give me the daughter of Montezuma, and I +will die for Mexico.' But the king thought of his brother. Thus it shall +be: the Great Eagle shall take the princess for his wife, and be a +Mexican; and then, when Guatimozin entreats him to strike his foe, he +will call upon his god of the cross,--the Mexitli of the Spaniards,--and +strike with all his force. Is it not so?" + +"Prince!" said Juan, sadly, "even this cannot be. According to our +thoughts, there are sins of the deepest turpitude in acts which your +customs cause you to esteem virtues. The Spaniard may change his +country, but he cannot become the foe of his countrymen. What wouldst +thou think of one of thine own people,--thy friend, thy subject--whom +thou shouldst find among the Spaniards, and aiming his weapon against +thee?" + +"There are many thousands of them," said Guatimozin, giving way to +passion. "Malintzin fights with weapons more destructive than the big +thunder-pipes. He goes among the serfs that pay tribute, and he says, +'Pay no more--Is it not better to be free?' Thus he seduces them. But my +brother shall think of this again. And now he shall eat and sleep." + +So saying, and perhaps thinking it unwise to pursue his designs at the +present moment, he drew Juan from the mound, and was leading him towards +the palace, when the sound of voices and footsteps came from the bottom +of the garden, accompanied by the fierce barking of Befo, who was still +confined in the cage. + +"Now do I remember me," said Juan, with a feeling of shame, "that I have +suffered the noble animal--" + +But his words were cut short by an unexpected circumstance. No sooner +had his voice sounded, than a wild cry burst from a neighbouring copse, +and a female figure, pursued by Mexican warriors, rushed forwards, +calling upon him by name, and by a title that had never before blessed +his ears. + +"Juan! Juan! my brother! oh, my brother!" + +It was Magdalena,--her hair disordered and drooping in the damp air of +evening, her face, as far as it could be seen in the imperfect light, +pale and distracted. No sooner did her eyes behold him than she +redoubled her speed, and throwing herself upon his neck, she cried, with +transports of emotion, while the pursuers gathered round in no little +amazement. + +"Oh, Juan! my brother! pardon me and forgive me; for I am your +sister,--yes, your sister, your own sister,--and I have come to die with +you!" + +Confounded as much by the strange declaration as by her presence, Juan +endeavoured gently to disengage himself from her embrace, but all in +vain. She clasped his neck with tenfold strength, weeping and exclaiming +he scarce knew what; and, though much affected, he began to think that +sorrow and passion had turned her brain. What therefore was his +surprise, when he gathered from her incoherent exclamations, that +Camarga, the masking stranger, who had, on three several occasions, +betrayed such an unaccountable desire to take his life, had, even with +his dying lips, pronounced them brother and sister. His heart thrilled +at the thought; for his affection for the singular being whose destiny +of mourning was so like his own, had ever been great, though chilled and +pained by the belief of her unworthiness. He pursued the idea with a +thousand questions, the answers to which provoked his curiosity, while +they damped his hope. Was Camarga their father? and was he dead? What +did he say? What,--no more than _this_--'He was her brother?' No more? +And no one alive to confirm the story? "Alas," he said, his thoughts +reverting to what he remembered of his childhood; "this fancy has made +me as distracted as thyself. Camarga was a dreamer--an evident madman. +_My_ father died at Isabela in the island; for was not I at his side? +This cannot be, Magdalena;--deceive thyself no longer." + +"Speak not to me of deceit, my brother--for my brother thou art," said +Magdalena, vehemently. "Can my heart deceive me? Is it not the work of +heaven, seen in our whole life? Heaven kept thee--yes, Juan, while +heaven punished _me_ the sin of neglected vows with the torments of +unavailing affection--it kept thee from loving me as much, because thou +wert my brother. Yes, this it is! The angels spoke with the lips of that +man, who now lies dead on the lake-side! But what of that, Juan? We will +go to Cortes--I can win thy forgiveness. Alas, alas! I could have saved +thee before, but thou madest me mad. Why didst thou treat me so, Juan? I +was innocent--indeed I was; and Hilario's recantation--oh believe me, I +knew not of his murder, till it was accomplished! Villafana killed him +from fear, for Hilario had discovered how he scuttled the ship; and thus +it was that Hilario gained Villafana to corroborate the falsehoods he +spoke of me. I can make all clear to thee, indeed I can.--But now, dear +Juan, cast me not off again,--for you are my brother. We will go to +Cortes,--he will pardon thee. We will find out the friends of Camarga, +and it must needs be that we shall discover all. And then I will go to a +convent again,--and then I care not what befalls me; for I shall have a +brother in the world left to love me." + +While Magdalena was pouring forth these wild expressions, for a time +almost unconscious of her situation in the heart of the pagan city, and +in the presence of so many barbarians, Guatimozin, who had looked on +with an astonishment that was soon converted into the darkest +displeasure, turned to the capturers of Magdalena, who had ceased their +pursuit the moment they beheld the king, and flung themselves reverently +at his feet. The Lord of Death, who made the like prostration, had +assumed an erect posture, in virtue of his high rank. But his looks +wandered from the king to the Christian pair, whose endearments he +watched with exceeding great satisfaction, and indeed with exultation. + +"What is this that I see?" said the king, in a low but stern voice; "and +who hath brought this woman to my garden?" + +Masquazateuctli bent his head to the earth, replying with the +complacency of one who has achieved a happy exploit,-- + +"The king made the Great Eagle of the East his brother; he took him to +the hill of Chapoltepec that his people might know him, and do him +honour. Shall not Masquazateuctli do a good thing to the king's brother? +He was sorry because of his loneliness in the king's garden, and the +Maiden of the East was afar in Tezcuco. I thought of this, and I crept +to the gates of Tezcuco: and I said, 'I will take a prisoner for the +king, and perhaps I shall find a maiden with white brows; which will +gladden the heart of the king's brother.' Mexitli was with me. But I +killed the man that came with her, for I saw she was that daughter of a +god, with eyes like the full moon, of whom the king had spoken, when he +came from Tezcuco alone, and my heart was very joyful. The Eagle is +glad--he will not ask the king for the daughter of Montezuma!" + +Guatimozin muttered a fierce interjection betwixt his teeth, but replied +with dignity, + +"The Lord of Death should have spoken this to the king; but if he be +angry, he remembers that Masquazateuctli was Montezuma's soldier. By and +by, I will speak with him in the palace.--I have said." + +The Lord of Death, thus dismissed, and not a little mortified at such +insufficient thanks, beckoned to his followers and departed. + +Guatimozin strode up to the Christians, and touching Juan on the +shoulder, said, with a stern voice, + +"What shall the king say of his brother, to the daughter of Montezuma?" + +The colour rushed into Juan's cheeks; but he replied immediately, and +even firmly, + +"That he brings her his sister, to whom, for his own sake, he prays her +to be kind and gentle." + +"Does my brother tell me this?" said the king, starting. "The Great +Eagle said he was alone in the world, with none of his kin remaining." + +"And so I thought, until this hour," said Juan, not without +embarrassment: "and now must I tell the king, that though I call this +maiden my sister, and pray heaven she may prove so, yet neither she nor +I have aught upon which to found our belief, but the words of one whom +the Lord of Death killed, when he seized her." + +Guatimozin intently eyed the maiden, who watched with painful interest +the changes of his countenance and Juan's, for she understood not a word +of their speech; and then said, + +"Let it be so: Guatimozin will think of this. The Spanish lady is +welcome--the Eagle shall speak with her a little, and then give her up +to the women, that they may be good to her.--The king's house is very +spacious." + +He then turned gravely away, signing to the outcast pair to follow him. + +They were suffered to be alone together for a brief hour, in which +Magdalena, rejecting impetuously and passionately all Juan's doubts, +poured out all the secrets of a life full of unhappiness, but not of +crime; and Juan himself, forgetting the weakness of all her claims of +consanguinity, melted into belief, and learned to call her his sister. +There were indeed certain circumstances of mystery about his birth, +which might have often disturbed his thoughts, had he been of an +imaginative turn. The man whom he had called and esteemed his father, +had died a violent death in the islands, while Juan was yet very young. +He could recollect little of him that was agreeable to remember; and all +that had afterwards come to his ears, only served to chill his +curiosity; all persons, who had not forgotten him, representing the +elder Lerma as a most depraved and infamous man. No one knew whence he +had come, or if he had any relatives left in the world; and Juan +remembered well, that the planters had, on several occasions, when the +unnatural parent, if parent he was, had maltreated and abandoned him, +taken him away from Lerma, and comforted Juan with the assurance that +the villain had undoubtedly _stolen_ him from some one. It is, however, +very certain that Juan never seriously thought of doubting that this man +was his parent; nor would he have recalled such trivial circumstances to +his mind, had he not been staggered by the impetuosity of Magdalena, and +by his own feelings of affection, into a credulity almost as ample as +her own. That he should desire also to find a relative in one, who, +considered without reference to the weakness shown only in her love for +him, was of a soul as stainless as it was noble, is not to be doubted; +and such love he could be rejoiced to return. In truth, his reasons for +admitting her claims were as flimsy as hers for making them, as he came +to discover, when left to examine them in solitude. They made, however, +a deep and lasting impression upon his mind. Perhaps the impression +would have been still deeper, had the two been permitted to remain +longer together; but before Magdalena had yet been able to speak with +composure, there came a train of maidens, bearing chaplets of flowers, +and rich ornaments of feathers, giving Juan to understand, that it was +the king's will his companion should now leave him. + +Magdalena turned pale, when this command was announced to her by Juan, +and seemed at first as if resolved never to be parted from him more. But +being persuaded by Juan that she had nothing to fear--that the king was +his friend--that they should certainly meet again,--she at last +consented. She strode to the door--she listened to his words of +farewell, and she sobbed upon his breast; and then departed with the +happy but delusive hope of seeing him again on the morrow. + +It was the last night of peace that ever darkened over the Mexico of the +pagans. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +To one whose perverted imagination can dwell with pleasure on 'the pomp +and circumstance of glorious war,' no better study can be recommended +than the history of the siege of Mexico, which may be considered as one +single battle, lasting for the space of ninety-three days, counting from +the time when the different divisions of the besieging army had taken +their positions in form, upon the different causeways. This does not +include the period occupied in the march of these bodies from Tezcuco, +and which was not devoted to inactivity. On the contrary, the +Captain-General took advantage of the occasion to discipline his naval +force, by sweeping over the lake from bay to bay, and town to town, +destroying every piragua that made its appearance, as well as such +chinampas, or floating gardens, as he could approach, and frequently by +cannonading the imperial city itself. Besides this, he assaulted and +took, on each occasion after a most sanguinary combat, certain +fortresses upon two island rocks, one of which rose near to Iztapalapan: +the other, though no longer insulated, still lies a little to the east +of the republican city, and is called the Penon, or Crag, of Montezuma. + +The preparations of the Mexicans were extensive and anticipative of all +the peculiar evils which they thought it in the power of their great +enemy to inflict. They had cut through the causeways numberless ditches, +each of which was furnished with a light bridge, to be withdrawn, when +about to fall into the power of the Spaniards; and the earth and stones +thus removed, were built up before and behind the chasms, into strong +ramparts, which were still further strengthened with palisades. In this +manner, while opposing the greatest obstructions to the passage of the +foot-soldiers, they made it impossible for horses to be brought against +them,--a precaution that, for a long time, robbed the Spaniards of their +greatest advantage. + +The beginning of the siege of Mexico, then, lay in the struggles of the +besiegers to obtain possession of the ditches, which were to be filled +up, by levelling the ramparts. This was a work both of infinite danger +and toil, the besieged fighting from behind the advanced barriers with +unexampled resolution, and, however overpowered, never retreating beyond +the ditch, until their companions had left but a single plank for their +passage, which was immediately afterwards withdrawn. After this, the +Spaniards were forced to overturn the first barrier into the chasm, +before they could rush across the slough of mud and water, to attack the +second; and all this was to be done not only against violent opposition +in front, but with a most dangerous and audacious species of annoyance +practised on one flank or the other, and sometimes on both. Wherever the +shallows admitted, the Mexicans drove into the bottom of the lake, and +at but a short distance from the dike, strong piles, to which they +secured their canoes, furnished with high and thick bulwarks of planks, +almost musket-proof; and from these they drove arrows, darts, and stones +against the soldiers with destructive effect. Nay, with such wisdom had +the young king of Mexico devised means to embarrass his adversary, that +he had even secured his little flotillas from the possibility of +approach, by sinking rows of piles in the lake, parallel with the +causeways, through which the brigantines could not pass, to disperse +them. It was to but little purpose that Cortes battered them from a +distance with his falconets; the following morning saw replaced every +loss of men and canoes. The soldiers were excited to fury by an +annoyance so irritating, and some were found at times frantic enough to +leap into the lake, where the waters happened to be sufficiently +shallow, and endeavour to carry the flotillas, sword in hand. + +The narrowness and obstructed condition of the dikes making it +impossible that all the forces could act upon them together, the vast +multitudes of native allies were left in reserve, with the cavalry, on +the shore,--where they were not idle, the numbers, as well as the +boldness of the Mexicans being so great, that they frequently sent +armies to the shore by night, who, at the dawn, fell upon the reserved +troops with all the rancour of opponents in a civil war. + +This was the condition of the war at its commencement. The grand +desiderata,--the removal of the flotillas, and the profitable employment +of the confederates, were not effected until Cortes had seized all the +piraguas of the shore-towns, and sent them, manned with Tlascalans, +against the palisaded posts, where, besides doing what execution they +could upon the enemy, the allies tore away the piles, and thus admitted +some of the lighter brigantines among the canoes. + +Aided in this manner, the soldiers were able to advance along the +several dikes, until they got possession of certain military stations, +on each, which might have been called the gates of Mexico. + +It has been already said, that the causeways of Iztapalapan and +Cojohuacan, coming respectively from the south and southwest, united +together at the distance of less than a league from Mexico. At the point +of junction, the causeway expanded into a mole or quay, where was a +strong and lofty stone wall, the passage through which was contrived by +the overlapping of the walls, in the manner described at Tezcuco. This +rampart was defended by very strong towers and by a parapet with +embrasures, from which the defenders could easily repel any enemy, +inferior in strength and determination to the Spaniards. The point was +called Xoloc, and when wrested from the hands of the Mexicans, became +the head-quarters of Cortes. + +A similar expansion of the dike of Tacuba, fortified in the same way, +and at the distance of two miles from the city, and one from the shore, +afforded a resting-place and garrison for the forces under Alvarado, +whose first act, after reaching Tacuba, was to destroy the aqueduct of +Chapoltepec, which consisted of a double line of baked earthenware +pipes, carried across the lake on a dike constructed only for that +purpose, and therefore so narrow and inconsiderable, that it does not +appear that the Spaniards derived any advantage from the possession of +it. + +The division of De Olid united with that of Sandoval at the point Xoloc; +the latter of whom was afterwards directed to take possession of the +northern dike of Tepejacac, the remains of which may yet be traced +between the city and the hill of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on which was a +fortification resembling the others. + +These positions being thus assumed, the Captain-General divided the +fleet of brigantines among the three captains, to whom they were of vast +service, by protecting the flanks of their divisions. + +From this period, the siege may be considered to have been begun in +form; and it was continued with a fury of attack and resistance almost +without parallel in the history of conquest. Foot by foot, and inch by +inch, the invaders advanced, staining the causeways with their blood, +and choking the lake with the bodies of their foes. Ditch after ditch +was won and filled, and almost as often lost and re-opened. The day was +devoted to battle, the night to alarms. The only periods of rest were +when the daily tempests, for it was now the heart of the rainy season, +burst over the heads of the combatants, as if heaven had sent its floods +to efface the horrible dyes of carnage, and its thunders to drown the +roar of man's more destructive artillery. Then, the exhausted soldier +and the fainting barbarian flung themselves to rest upon the trodden mud +of their ramparts, within sight of each other, regardless of the wrath +of the elements, so much less enduring than their own. + +At first, the Spaniards after winning a ditch and filling it, were +content to return for the night to the fortified stations, to shelter +themselves in the towers, and in miserable huts of reeds which they had +constructed, from the rains, that, usually, continued until midnight. +But finding that the infidels, more manly or more desperate, devoted the +night to repair the losses of the day, by again opening the chasms, they +denied themselves even this poor solace, and threw themselves to sleep +on the spots where they fought, ready to resume the conflict at the +first glimmer of dawn. + +Thus, day by day, the approaches were effected, and by the end of the +second month, the besiegers had advanced almost to the suburbs, which +jutted out into the lake along the three causeways, supported upon +foundations of piles, and sometimes piers of stone. The houses stood +apart from each other, but were connected, in seasons of peace, by light +wooden drawbridges, running from terrace to terrace; so that the +_streets_ of these quarters may be said to have been on the tops of the +houses,--and the same thing was true of the gardens. The communication +below was effected always by means of canoes. Among these edifices, the +water was often of sufficient depth to float the brigantines of lighter +draught, which sometimes entered them, to fire the buildings, that were +so many fortresses, from which the soldiers on the causeways could be +annoyed. + +The labours and sufferings of the besiegers were constant, and almost +intolerable; yet they endured them with a patience derived from the +assurance of a certain though tardy success. The toils and distresses of +the Mexicans were greater, and endured with heroism still more noble, +because almost without hope; and it may be said with justice of these +poor barbarians, whose memory has almost vanished from the earth, that +never yet did a people fight for their altars and firesides with greater +courage and devotion. They saw themselves each day confined to narrow +limits,--they fought the more resolutely; they beheld all the marine +forces of the neighbouring towns, late their feudatories, led against +them,--they sent navies of their own to chastise the insurgents, and +still kept their ground against the Spaniards. + +It was certain that Cortes had found in the young king an antagonist far +more formidable than he had expected. The resistance at the ramparts, +the sallies by night that were often made with fatal effect, the secret +expeditions against the shores, and the stratagems put in execution to +cripple the brigantines, all indicated, in the infidel prince, a +capacity of mind worthy of his unconquerable courage. A single exploit +will prove his daring and his craft. He decoyed two of the largest +brigantines into a certain bay, where many of his strongest piraguas lay +in ambush among the reeds. With these, he attacked, boarded, and carried +the two vessels, and had he possessed any knowledge of the management of +sails, would have conducted them in safety to his palace walls. As it +was, they were maintained against an overpowering force, sent to retake +them, and not yielded until the captors had destroyed every Christian on +board, fifty in number, as well as the sails and cordage, and cast the +falconets into the lake. + +Another stratagem of a still more daring character, and infinitely more +fatal to the Spaniards, was conceived and executed, almost at the moment +when they thought the young monarch reduced to despair. But of that we +shall have occasion to speak more at length hereafter. The thousand +conflicts on land and water, that marked the progress of a siege so +extraordinary, have but little connexion with the adventures of the two +outcasts; and we are glad of the privilege to pass them by. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +When Magdalena was led from the presence of Juan, she was conducted +through many chambers and passages, which gave her an idea of the +immense extent of the palace, to the quarter especially appropriated to +the women, and which was as carefully guarded from the approach of the +other sex as the harem of an oriental monarch. It consisted of a series +of dormitories and other small apartments, as well as a vast hall, +covered with pictured tapestry and knots of flowers, in which the daily +labour of the loom and spindle was shared by all, the princess and the +slave alike, mingled with the more elegant occupations of embroidery and +feather-painting. + +But the toil of the day had been long since over, and when she entered, +the maidens were amusing themselves, some talking and laughing, and +others dancing to the sound of flutes, and all unconscious or heedless +of the perils that were about to hem them in. + +The appearance of a vision so strange, so often imagined, yet never +before seen--a woman of the race of the invaders, and one at once so +majestic and lovely as Magdalena--produced an immediate sensation +throughout the merry crew. The dancing ceased, the music of the pipe was +exchanged for a murmur of admiration, and all eyes were turned upon the +novel apparition. But it was observable, that the maidens indulged in no +rude demonstrations of curiosity or surprise. They neither thronged +about her, nor uttered any loud exclamations; and however ardently they +gazed, when unperceived, each cast her looks modestly to the floor, the +moment she found the eyes of the stranger directed upon her. + +Troubled as were Magdalena's thoughts by the strangeness of her +situation, and conscious of her inability to exchange a word with these +new companions, she yet felt a sort of relief, and even pleasure, to +find herself once more surrounded by individuals of her own sex, who, as +was evident from their appearance, were neither rude in manners nor +degraded in mind. + +In this happier frame of feeling, she suffered herself to be conducted +to a chamber, where two young female slaves attended her with +refreshments of meats, fruits, and confections, and pointing to a couch +of robes, upon a little platform under a canopy, left her to her +meditations. + +She rose from a troubled and dreamy slumber at the dawn, and waited +impatiently for the moment when she should be led to Juan. The slaves +again made their appearance, bearing, besides food, which they set +before her, rich garments of the most splendid hues, which they desired +her by signs to substitute for her monastic attire. To this she acceded, +after some hesitation, thinking it needful to humour the wishes of those +upon whose friendship her existence, as well as that of Juan, so +obviously depended. She exchanged, at least, the gray veil for a broad +mantle embroidered with feathers and gold, and placed over her other +dress three several tunics, each of a different hue, and each gorgeously +ornamented. Her toilet was completed when the slaves had encircled her +arms and neck with jewels, and wreathed her hair with chains of gold; to +all which she passively, yet impatiently, submitted. + +Thus dressed and decorated, she was conducted again to the great hall, +and seated upon a throne cushioned over with feathers of every hue, +when, to her great surprise, she found herself the object upon whom was +to be showered marks of the most extraordinary honour. The crowd of +maidens was huddled in the farther end of the apartment, where they +stood with downcast eyes, giving place to a female, evidently of exalted +rank, who came from among them, followed by five or six girls, much more +splendidly dressed than the others, one of whom bore in her arms a +sleeping infant. + +The Indian lady was distinguished from her attendants by apparel similar +in hues and splendour to that worn by Magdalena, and she had on her head +a little cap or caul of emeralds, mingled with pearls. Her face was +prepossessing, her figure well proportioned, and her bearing not without +dignity. Yet there was in her aspect something of trouble and +hesitation, and she went through the business of salutation, or rather +homage, for so it appeared, with visible reluctance. She approached the +throne, and kneeling before it, took Magdalena's hand, and laid it upon +her head, speaking a few words which the Christian did not comprehend. +Then taking the infant from the girl who bore it, she laid Magdalena's +hand upon its innocent brows, in the same manner; after which she +stepped aside, and the young attendants went each separately through the +same ceremony. This accomplished, she stole from the apartment, and in a +few moments, the spindle rolled, the shuttle of the simple loom rattled, +and the fingers of the embroiderers and feather-painters moved over +their tasks. + +The morning passed away, and Magdalena still expected a summons to the +presence of Juan. The evening darkened, the fragrant torches were +lighted, the pipe and dance were again summoned to close the labours of +the day, and Magdalena was, a second time, conducted to her chamber, to +muse with fear and distrust over her singular situation. + +The second day beheld the same ceremonies, succeeded by the same labours +and diversions, and still not a movement indicated the approach of a +messenger. She looked upon the maidens around,--their faces were grave +and placid. They gazed upon her no more, except when her eyes were +averted. She imagined a thousand reasons to account for her seclusion. +Was her brother, notwithstanding his assurances to the contrary, in a +state of as much restraint as herself? Or--was it possible?--did it not +depend upon himself?--was it possible, he did not desire to see her? She +thought of his slowness to admit her claim of consanguinity; she thought +of the words of Camarga,--of their wildness--Had not Juan said he was +insane?--of their insufficiency. Nay, she remembered that Juan spoke of +_his_ father, whom he well remembered; and among the tears she shed of +doubt and disappointment, she blushed at the boldness and warmth with +which she had advocated her claims. + +Another day came,--another, and still another; and her heart sickened +and her cheek grew pale with suspense and humiliation. Then impatience +waxed into anger, and she stalked among the maidens with looks of +determination, as if she would have commanded them to lead her from what +she justly conceived to be imprisonment. But _how_ command them? Her +language was as the language of the gods to them, and their words were +to her as unmeaning as the songs of the birds at the windows. Eyes can +speak many things, but not all; and signs are of too arbitrary a nature +to serve as the medium of communication betwixt two hemispheres. If she +strove to depart from the chamber, she was followed by the two slaves, +who seemed to be specially devoted to her service, and who, attending +her from room to room, yet arrested her with humble and supplicating +gestures, when she seemed to be overstepping the limits of the harem. If +she persisted, she found herself in the power of certain antique +beldames, who prowled around the sacred chambers, bearing wands to +indicate their authority, and who opposed themselves, though without +rudeness, to further egress. If she still made her way through these, +she found herself stopped by passages, in which were armed barbarians, +who did not hesitate to block up the avenues with their shields and +spears. In other words, she found that she was a prisoner, confined to a +society as recluse, as peaceful, and perhaps as happy as that from which +it had been her misfortune to be released. The pride and energy of her +nature were here lost; for there was nothing with which to contend, +except her feelings, and nothing to excite, save a sense of wrong, +inflicted she knew not by whom, nor why. + +This was precisely the state of things to tame her spirit into +submission and inaction; and, almost insensibly to herself, she began to +accommodate her deportment to her condition, substituting anxiety for +anger, and despondence for decision. She began to think that Juan was, +like herself, a prisoner; and the apprehension of his distresses weighed +on her heart more heavily than the sense of her own; and, as with all +her strength of mind and passion, there was a tinge of superstition +running through all her thoughts, she beheld, in the singular train of +calamities that had brought her so often to his side, a revelation and +proof that she was ordained, finally, to rescue him from this, as well +as the other ills, which oppressed him. Another thought brooded also in +her bosom. Hitherto, whatsoever efforts she had made for his good, had +ministered only to his griefs; and what had they brought to _her_? From +the moment in which she had first attempted deceit, by concealing the +sanctity of her profession, her life had been but a history of agony and +shame. Had she avowed herself, immediately after the shipwreck, the +bride of the cross, Hilario had not died under the knife of the +assassin, Juan Lerma had not forfeited the favour of his general, and +she herself had, perhaps, closed her life in the peace with which it had +begun. She began to picture to herself the sinfulness of her evasions of +vows, and to consider these the causes of her sufferings. Such thoughts +as these, and a thousand others, divided and harassed her mind by turns, +and confounded while they tormented. But one idea never left her--and +that was, the uncertainty of the fate of Juan Lerma, and the hope that +it might be reserved for her to free him from the bondage of infidels. +But how was this to be effected? She knew not. + +Her first vague desire was to gain a friend among the grave and +passionless creatures, by whom she was surrounded. She examined all +their countenances, and soon fixed upon several in which she thought she +could trace kindly feelings and simplicity of character. She strove also +to acquire a little of their language,--an effort which she soon gave +up, not so much from the difficulty of acquisition, as from the +remoteness of any benefit to be derived in that way. + +She perceived that the Mexican lady who, each morning, for the first +fortnight of her captivity, (after which time she was seen no more,) +commenced the ceremonies of salutation, so humble, and indeed to her so +irksome, must be of the highest rank,--perhaps the queen of Guatimozin +himself; though it seemed improbable that one so exalted would +condescend to homage so servile. She was conscious also, that the six +maidens who attended upon this princess were of no mean rank; for though +they frequently remained in the hall, engaged in labour, like the rest, +it was clear that the others looked upon them with the greatest +deference. Of these she had long singled out one who was superior to the +others in beauty and mildness of countenance; and it seemed to her that +this one, in going through the morning ceremony, endeavoured to make her +sensible that she did so with sincerity and feeling. Thus, besides +placing Magdalena's hand on her head, she carried it also to her lips, +expressing as much desire as her countenance could convey, to be +esteemed the Christian's friend. + +These things almost escaped Magdalena's notice at first; but she +afterwards remembered them, and strove to respond with manifestations of +similar inclination. She observed, however, that the maiden gradually +changed from tranquillity to melancholy, as if something preyed upon her +spirits. She repeated, indeed, her salutation each morning, but it was +no longer with smiles, and with a disposition to linger about +Magdalena's person. On the contrary, she retired without delay to a +little nook under a window, where she continued her task among feathers +and flowers, seldom stirring from the spot. It was evident to the +penetrating eye of Magdalena, that the Indian maiden was wasting away +under some grief as poignant and enduring as her own; and though she +attributed it only to some of the evils of war, the commencement of +which had long since been indicated by the distant explosions of +artillery, she was the more favourably impressed by the damsel's +emotion, since none of the others seemed to share it, nor to betray +either fear or anxiety. + +She attempted then to come to some understanding with this maiden. She +sat down by her in her little nook, and watched, with what, had she been +in a better frame of mind, would have been admiration, the progress of +her toils, as well as the effects of previous labours. She beheld, with +surprise, garlands and bouquets of flowers, constructed of feathers, and +imitated with such wonderful precision, that when they were mingled with +a few natural ones, and impregnated with their odours, it seemed almost +impossible that they could be artificial. The same art has existed in +other parts of the continent, and is practised to this day, in some of +the nunneries of Brazil. There were also pictures, worked with the same +beautiful materials, upon a groundwork of prepared cloth, which were +chiefly confined to the representation of flowers and birds. When +Magdalena first visited the maiden, she found her engaged upon what +seemed a wood-pigeon, surrounded by a little wilderness of flowers and +leaves. The design, though simple, was pretty and spirited; yet the +maiden seemed dissatisfied with her work, and altered it daily, as if +each day still more displeased; until, at last, she seemed to have hit +upon a plan more to her taste, when she pursued her task with what +seemed a morbid ardour. When Magdalena looked at it last, she found the +whole design and character of the work changed. The flowers had been +displaced by stones and brambles; an arrow was represented sticking +through the neck of the bird; and the story of a wounded heart was told +in the metaphor of the poor flutterer, harmed by some wanton bolt, and +left dying in a desert place. + +When Magdalena beheld this painted sentiment, she took the hand of the +artist, and pressing it as if with sympathy, pointed to her bosom. A +faint tinge of blood passed over her embrowned visage, but she looked +confidingly into Magdalena's face, as if not ashamed to confess her +grief. When Magdalena was persuaded she was understood, she directed the +painter's eyes to the bird, and then pointed expressively to her own +bosom, as if to signify that she also was unhappy. The maiden bowed her +head upon her breast, and Magdalena saw that tears were stealing from +her eyes. She thought they were the tears of sympathy; and when the +damsel looked up, she cast off all reserve, and indicated as plainly as +she could, by gestures, that she desired to make her way into the +garden. + +The maiden shook her head, and would have departed, but that Magdalena, +rendered indiscreet by her impatience, arrested her, to make trial of a +new appeal. She took the jewels from her hair, and without reflecting +that the rank of the maiden, indicated by gems quite as valuable as her +own, might render her inaccessible to such temptation, she made as if +she would have thrown them upon her head and neck. She was sorry for the +act; for as soon as the maiden understood what she designed, she drew +back with a look of offended dignity, and with cheeks burning at once +with mortification and anger. Then, gathering up her little picture, her +bodkins, and basket of coloured feathers, she left the apartment, and +returned to it no more that day. + +Amid all her grief at the disappointment of her hopes, Magdalena had yet +generosity enough to appreciate the spirit of the young pagan, and to +lament having outraged her feelings. + +That night, when the female slaves had departed from her chamber, and +she was musing disconsolately in the light of a little night-lantern, +consisting of a taper of resinous wood, surrounded by thin plates of +gold, perforated with holes in many fantastic figures, which transmitted +the light, she was roused by a sigh; and looking up, she beheld, to her +great surprise, the young artist standing before her, in an attitude of +sad and patient humility. As soon as the visitor perceived that she was +seen, she approached, and knelt at Magdalena's feet, who now saw, with a +touch of shame, and, at first, even of resentment, that, as if in +requital of the insult of the morning, she held in her hands all the +jewels that had decorated her hair and person, and offered them for her +acceptance. But Magdalena's displeasure soon passed away; for the jewels +were proffered with the deepest humility, and the damsel's eyes were +suffused with tears. She murmured out some words, too, and the tone was +expressive of grief. + +All this was mysterious to Magdalena, who puzzled herself in vain to +account for the act and the donation. She restored the jewels, and the +maiden being wholly submissive, she replaced them about her person with +her own hands; and then, taking advantage of the opportunity, made +another effort to come to a better understanding with her. She +remembered that her companion was a painter, and being herself a little +skilled in the art, she drew with a bodkin from her hair, upon the soft +wood of the table that supported her lamp, the figure of a man in +Spanish costume, bound in a cell. The representation was awkward, yet it +appeared that the damsel understood it; for she took the bodkin, and +immediately, though with a trembling hand, completed the picture by the +addition of another figure, representing a Mexican, with a crown like +that Magdalena had seen on the head of Guatimozin, who, with one hand, +extended to him the handle of a macana, while threatening him with +another, brandished above his head. + +This was expressive enough, and Magdalena's alarm for the safety of the +young man was only removed when the maiden drew what was plainly +designed for a buckler, interposed between the weapon and his head. + +Magdalena then, without further hesitation, leaped to the grand object +of her desires, by drawing the figure of a man paddling in a canoe. This +also her companion understood, and replied to it significantly enough, +by surrounding the little vessel with many others, filled with Indians, +or other human beings, who attacked it with showers of arrows and darts. + +"Alas! is there no hope for us then? no hope for my poor brother?" +exclaimed Magdalena, wringing her hands. "Maiden! maiden! carry me but +to him!--Alas, I speak as to a stone statue!" + +She then resumed the bodkin, and returning to the first sketch, she drew +the figure of two women, entering the cell. The response to this ended +her hopes immediately. The Indian girl sketched the outlines of men, +armed with spears, circling around the whole cell. + +Magdalena sank upon the couch in despair, and almost in a frenzy. The +maiden, frighted by the vehemence of her grief, endeavoured to soothe +her, by pressing her hand to her bosom and forehead, and covering it +with kisses and tears; after which she stole quietly from the chamber. + +It was many weeks before Magdalena beheld her again. She vanished from +the hall, she came no more to kneel on her footstool in the morning, and +display her melancholy visage to the stranger. Magdalena's heart died +within her. She was in a solitude among living creatures,--the most +oppressive of all solitudes. Her suspense was intolerable, and preyed +upon her health, until she was wasted to a shadow, and the pagan damsels +eyed her, when she appeared among them, with looks of pity. She +succumbed at last to her fate; the fever of her mind extended to her +body; and she was missed from the hall, as well as the young artist. She +became ill, and she threw herself upon her couch, to waste away with +passion and delirium. But there was still a gleam of happiness to break +upon her. + +One night, when the dancing,--now no longer pursued with spirit, for the +cannon of the Spaniards sounded each day louder and nearer,--had ceased, +and the flutes were breathed upon no more, she felt her hand pressed +with a gentle grasp. She looked up, and beheld the Indian girl at her +side, eyeing her with compassion. She sprang to her feet, in an ecstacy +of delight, and embraced her; for she hailed her appearance as the +herald of joy. + +"Oh, maiden! maiden!" she cried, "what news of my brother?" + +The damsel replied with the only words in her power, but the best she +could have used, had she been acquainted with the whole speech of +Castile. She looked sadly but firmly into Magdalena's face, and murmured +softly, + +"Juan Lelma"-- + +The accent was imperfect and false, but the sounds were music to +Magdalena. She clasped the young barbarian again in her arms, but her +caresses were only responded to by tears and sobs, which seemed to +increase in proportion to her own raptures. But Magdalena was too wild +with hope to think of the sorrows of her friend. She saw that the Indian +held in her hand, two long and capacious mantles of a plain stuff, +which, she knew, were to veil them from evil eyes, while they crept to +the cell of her brother. But the maiden checked her impetuosity. She +removed the trinkets from her head and person, and again offered them to +the Christian; and persisted to do so, though still most gently and +humbly, until Magdalena, thinking this might be some important ceremony, +a proof perhaps of friendship offered and received, and perceiving, what +was more influential still, that it was necessary to hasten the +proceedings of her visitor, consented to receive them. She yielded to +her importunities, and the Indian girl clasped around her ankles, arms, +and neck, and twisted in her hair, all the jewels that had decorated her +own person, besides hanging round her neck the silver cross and +rosary,--Magdalena's own gift to Juan,--which she received with rapture, +not doubting that he had sent it to her as a token and a full warrant to +submit herself to the guidance of the young infidel. This accomplished, +she assisted Magdalena to secure the larger mantle about her figure, and +wrapped herself in the other. Then beckoning the Christian to follow, +and signing to her to preserve silence, she led the way from the +chamber. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +A short passage through which they stole, darkly, for it was not +lighted, conducted them to a chamber, where the guide paused a moment, +as if in doubt and fear. A strong light beamed through the curtained +door. They listened for a time, until hearing no one stir within, the +Indian maiden pulled the curtain timidly aside, and then beckoned +Magdalena to follow her. It was a spacious apartment, richly tapestried, +and lighted by many such masked torches as Magdalena had seen in her own +chamber. The hangings were even continued over the ceiling, so that it +resembled a pavilion rather than the sleeping apartment of a king,--for +such it was. In the centre was suspended a magnificent canopy, wrought +with feathers, overhanging a couch blazing with gold, and bedecked with +the richest spoils of the parrot and flamingo, with little pedestals +both at the head and foot, on which incense was burning before golden +idols. Upon this lay sleeping the Indian lady, whom Magdalena had so +often seen during the two first weeks of her durance; and the infant +slept clasping her neck. Magdalena doubted no longer that she beheld the +queen of the young monarch. But she crept softly after her guide, and +was soon buried again in darkness. After many turnings and windings, +which made her fancy the palace was a great labyrinth, she suddenly +found herself conducted into the open air, by a door exceedingly narrow, +and concealed by a mass of trailing vines. But secret as this entrance +appeared, it was not unguarded. A tall savage with a spear, started up +from the bushes, as if to dispute their right of egress. But a word from +his companion, low as the whisper of a breeze, removed his opposition. +He flung himself upon the earth, as if to his divinity, and thus +remained, until the maidens had passed. + +It was by this time midsummer--for so long a period had elapsed since +the departure from Tezcuco; but it was the season of the rains, and the +chill winds from the lake penetrated Magdalena to the heart. The sky was +overcast, the grass loaded with moisture, and every gust shook down a +shower from the trees. + +It was very dark, and she knew not well to what quarter she was bending +her steps. But she could see a line of fires running as it seemed across +the lake, from a point in the city to the right hand, and lost in the +distance or obscurity of the left. This was, in fact, the northern +causeway, or dike of Tepejacac, the nearest point of which was scarce a +mile distant from the garden. It was occupied by the troops of Sandoval, +who had extended his approach already within the limits of the water +suburb. Two or three of his brigantines were also perceived anchored +near to the calzada,--at least, their lanterns were seen shining from +their prows. + +While Magdalena was yet stealing along after her guide, her eyes fixed +upon this line of fires, she heard suddenly a great tumult begin among +them, in which the yells of men were faintly distinguished amid the +crash of fire-arms and artillery. Shocked and frighted as she was, at +being thus made a witness, though afar, of the terrors of human wrath, +she soon began to look upon the conflict as of good omen for herself. It +would certainly be a more attractive spectacle to any wandering infidels +in the garden than might be furnished by the obscure figures of herself +and companion. + +Apparently the Indian maiden thought so too; for she increased her pace, +and instead of skulking as before, among green-arched and shadowy +alleys, she walked boldly along in a broad exposed path, that led +directly to a corner of the palace. But from this very corner they saw +rushing a tumultuous throng of barbarians, some of whom ran directly +towards them, though the course of others was in another direction. + +The young guide drew Magdalena into a sheltered walk, and crept +timorously along until she reached the palace wall, when she sank down, +from fatigue or fear, signing to Magdalena to do the same thing, and +thus remained, until the last of the barbarians had vanished. The path +now seemed clear, but still the Indian maiden remained cowering on the +earth; and Magdalena, whose impatience distracted her mind and almost +hardened her heart, perceived that she was sobbing bitterly. She touched +her arm. The guide shrank away, but seemed to collect her spirits and +courage at the sign. She rose up, and led the way to a broad door, where +an armed Indian stood, holding a flambeau. He seemed alarmed, though not +surprised at the sight of the pair, and spoke earnestly to the guide, as +if to dissuade her from entering. She passed him, however, with a word, +and the next moment stopped, in great agitation, before the curtain of a +door. Magdalena looked eagerly to her to confirm her hopes; but before +the maiden could lift her finger, signing to her to enter, she heard, +from within the apartment, the well known growl of Befo. + +"Juan! dear Juan!" she exclaimed, and darted through the curtain. + +The young man was pacing to and fro, not bound hand and foot, as her +fears had anticipated, but evidently excited in the most painful degree +by the distant firing. He turned at the sound of her voice, and threw +himself into her arms. + +"Sister! for I believe thou _art_ my sister," he cried,--"else how could +I love thee with a love so unlike that of man for woman? God be praised +that I have seen thee once again: for it is time thou wert wrested out +of this place. But what is this? Thou art wasted and thin! very thin: +thy hands burn, thy cheek is hot--Sister, dear sister, thou art ill!" + +"Think of it not," said Magdalena, with the delight of a maiden, +listening for the first time to the voice of affection, and caressing +him without reserve: "Oh, Juan, I could die twice over, to hear you +speak so; and I care not if I do die, so you are but saved; for you have +made me very happy.--You are a prisoner, Juan,--we are both prisoners. +An Indian girl brought me here--she will help you to escape, for you can +speak her language. You can go to Cortes, and tell him you are the +brother of Magdalena. He will not wrong you then,--no, he will not +dare--Or perhaps we can fly together--we can fly in a canoe. The maiden +will help us, the good maiden: She is at the door--I will call her in." + +At this moment, the Indian girl, driven in, immediately after Magdalena, +by some sudden alarm, stood at a distance, near the door, muffled in her +cloak, and shrinking almost within herself. A single dim and half +expiring torch twinkled in the apartment; and its light scarcely +reaching her, she remained unobserved, a spectator of every thing, but +of course unable to understand a word of the conversation. + +"Go not, dear Magdalena," said Juan, folding her in his arms; "for it +may be that we have but a moment more to share together. Tarry, and hear +what I have to say. I am, as I may say, a prisoner; yet it seems, if I +can believe the young king, more because I have incurred the wrath of +the Mexicans than his own. Thus it is: the king rescued me from prison +in Tezcuco, first, because I had not long before given him liberty, to +my own great misfortune, and secondly, because he doubted not, that the +wrongs I have suffered would incense me to take part with him, and fight +against my countrymen; whereby, as he thinks, he would gain an +invaluable auxiliary. On the day of his coronation, he presented me to +his people, and called me his brother; nevertheless, they gave me but +sour looks, for bitterly do they hate the sight of a Spaniard. If I will +fight with them and for them, I win their love,--so he assures me, and +so I can well believe; but this is clearly impossible. I have not +fought, and I will not; and they say, therefore, that the king should +give me up to be sacrificed; and twice already, after having suffered +some severe losses, they have come turbulently to the palace, to demand +me. For this reason, I dare not appear among them, unless to be torn to +pieces.--Tremble not, fear not," he continued, as Magdalena clasped him, +as if to shield him from approaching weapons: "I have seen thee bold and +resolute among roaring breakers,--else how could I have saved thee, dear +sister?--Heaven pardon Hilario! and heaven pardon me, my sister, that I +imputed his death to thy warrant!--I have seen thee bold and intrepid. +Now summon back what courage thou hast; and, if heaven will, I will save +thee yet again from destruction. I can myself escape, but not with +thee--" + +"Think not of me, Juan, think not of me," said Magdalena, earnestly and +fondly. "Thou canst do nothing to make me so happy, as to tell me how I +can die for thee. Fly, then; pause not a moment, but fly; and know, +that, if I meet thee not again but in heaven, yet thou wilt leave me in +heaven, even upon earth, knowing that thou art saved, and that I have +ministered somewhat to thy liberation." + +"Be of this heart, Magdalena," said Juan, "and rest assured that I will +soon return, if I have life, with such a force as will rescue thee +likewise from thraldom. My plan of escape involves duplicity, nay, even +perfidy; yet are mine ends all pure, honourable, and humane. I perceive +that Guatimozin is incapable of resisting much longer. His people are +slain by thousands each day, and thousands must soon perish from want. +Cortes has already his foot upon the island; and house by house, the +city is tumbled into ruins. The poor king is distracted, and resolved to +die, burying himself and his whole people under the ruins of his +capital. This may be excused in a soldier, and in men; but the town is +thronged with poor women and children; there are thousands of them--tens +of thousands; and they must perish, if the siege be longer continued. To +save them--to save the king himself (for thus only can he be saved,) I +will break faith with him; and thus also will I save thee. My only fear +is, that his anger may fall upon thee, when he finds I have deceived +him; yet this he may not discover. There is one here, with whom, could I +but find speech, I could secure thee a protector. Magdalena, I have one +friend here, who will be thine. An unfortunate attempt to escape has +perhaps robbed me of her assistance. Yet I spoke of thee to her, +and--But, dear Magdalena, thou art sick and feeble!--I talk to thee too +much. If thou art alarmed, I will not leave thee: we will await our fate +together." + +"I _am_ sick, Juan, and I know not what is the matter with me," said +Magdalena, faintly, suffering the young man to place her upon a seat. +"But who is this of whom you speak? Your friend, Juan--surely I shall +love _your_ friends." + +At this moment, Juan, as he bent over her, caught sight of the jewels +which the Indian maiden had placed upon her head and neck, and among +others, beheld the star of pearls which had gained for the daughter of +Montezuma the name of Zelahualla, or the Lady of the Star, and the +silver crucifix. + +"Good heaven!" he cried, "do you wear her jewels, and yet ask me who she +is?" + +Magdalena started to her feet, and both turning together, they beheld +the Indian princess, shrinking in the shadow of the room, behind Befo, +who seemed to consider her an old friend, her arms crossed upon her +breast, her head drooping, and her whole attitude and appearance +indicative of a spirit entirely crushed and broken. + +"Zelahualla!" cried Juan, with a voice of delight; and rushing towards +her, he folded her in his arms, and strove to draw her towards his +sister. "Why didst thou not speak to me, Zelahualla? Why dost thou turn +from me, Zelahualla?" + +The maiden sobbed, and strove to disengage herself from his embrace, +saying, + +"There is no Zelahualla now--The bright lady of the east is Zelahualla. +Juan and the bright lady shall go. Why should Juan think there are +_two_?" + +In these broken expressions, Magdalena, had they not been in an unknown +tongue, would have traced the workings of jealous and wounded affection. +They filled Juan with surprise. + +"What is this you say to me, Zelahualla?" he cried, "and what do you +mean? Did not Zelahualla promise she would love my sister?" + +"She did," replied the princess, without abating her grief: "she will +love Juan's sister, and any one that Juan loves; and she has brought the +bright lady to Juan, and she has given her her jewels, that Juan may +love her more, and forget Zelahualla,--and the cross of his God, too, +that he may not be sorry." + +"Alas, Zelahualla, what evil-eye has struck thee? Dost thou think I +deceive thee? Wilt thou not believe this is my sister?" + +The princess looked at him doubtfully and sadly: + +"It is all as Juan says: but the king has asked questions, and the +nobles have spoken to him with the words of captives; and they say, he +has spoken falsely of the bright lady." + +"Wilt thou believe _them_, and not _me_?" said Juan, not without +emotion, for he was touched by the deep and unreproachful sorrow of the +young princess, though greatly surprised to find how her ear had been +abused. "I swear to thee, and may heaven judge me according to my truth, +that, in this matter, I deceive thee not. There is but one Zelahualla, +and she is the daughter of Montezuma." + +The maiden sank upon his breast, sobbing, but now with rapture. Then +running to Magdalena, who had surveyed the scene with varying and +extraordinary emotion, she threw herself at her feet, and embraced her +knees. + +Magdalena stood like one entranced, until Juan, raising up the princess, +placed her in her arms, saying, + +"Dear sister, give her thy friendship; for there is no one more pure or +noble of spirit, though artless, than this poor ignorant maiden; and let +the cross again hang on her bosom, for she has confessed her Redeemer. +She will watch thee and guard thee while I am gone;--nay, she will nurse +thee too, for thou art very ill, and needest kind nurture." + +Magdalena returned the embraces of the Indian maiden, but it was with a +wildness of manner, that greatly disturbed her brother, and even +frighted the princess. He took her hand,--it was hot and trembling. He +kissed her, and found her lips burning with fever; and he perceived that +excitement had wrought her indisposition into a degree of illness that +might prove serious. + +"Compose thyself, dear Magdalena," he said. "All now depends upon thy +coolness and courage. If thou becomest ill, my scheme must needs +miscarry--Nay, I cannot attempt it, until thou art better; for it seems +to me now thou art almost delirious." + +"Delirious, Juan? No, I am not delirious. Yet I am ill,--very ill, I +think. Thou goest alone, dost thou not? Tarry not a moment.--We will +leave thee,--we will not stay longer, lest the guards should return and +find us." + +"Listen to me, Magdalena," said Juan, earnestly, as if he feared lest +her senses should wander. "If I fall into the Spaniards' hands alive, I +will come to this garden in canoes, with a proper force, and enter it by +surprise. If it be possible, I will seize the person of the king, having +previously secured him such terms from Cortes as shall protect him in +person and in his government, as the vassal of Spain. This will end the +war at once. But in this I may not succeed, yet be able to liberate both +thee and the princess. Through her address, thou wilt be enabled to walk +often in the garden. Walk therein, as near to the lake as possible, +especially late in the day, and in the first hours of the evening. The +dog Befo I will leave in a cage: when you are in fear, give him +liberty.--The princess hath often fed him, and he will guard you well; +and his voice, if I come in the night-time, will show me where to seek +you.--Do you understand me, dear sister? Struggle but a little against +this fever, and perhaps it may leave you. At all events, the thought of +your suffering will arm me with double strength, when I return, bringing +you relief. Alas, Magdalena, I am sorry to see you thus!" + +"It shall be as you say, Juan," said Magdalena, a little incoherently. +"I will be governed by this maiden, and for your sake, I will love her +well. We will walk in the garden, too. Yet think not of us. If you are +safe, we will be content." + +"Farewell, Magdalena, dear Magdalena," said Juan. "Walk, if thou art +able, even to-morrow; for in the morning I will essay to depart. At any +rate, be thou sick or well, if thou hearest a bugle winded in the +garden, at any hour, be it morn or midnight, then be sure that you sally +out, and Zelahualla with you.--Farewell, sister, farewell!--and +farewell, thou, dear princess. When thou thinkest of me, let the cross +be in thy hands and on thy lips!" + +With these words, and having tenderly embraced them both, Juan led them +to the door, and putting their hands together, he had soon the +satisfaction to hear them step from the passage into the open air. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +What Juan had said in relation to the cause of his confinement, was +true, although he was not aware of the whole extent of the truth. In +releasing him from impending death at Tezcuco, the young infidel did not +doubt, in the simplicity of his heart, that he was adding a powerful +engine of defence to his preparations, as well as requiting the +obligation, which, he believed, had been the principal cause of Juan's +downfall. He reckoned confidently upon Juan's desire for vengeance, the +absence of which feeling, after wrongs so stirring and manifold, his +nature did not allow him to anticipate; and he dwelt also, with the +security of pride, upon the incentive offered in the love of the +daughter of Montezuma. In this spirit of confidence, without much +regarding Juan's previous averments, he introduced him to his assembled +forces, upon the day of coronation, that all might know him, and respect +him thenceforth as one honoured with the highest of titles--the king's +brother. So far, all was well: the name of the Young Eagle was not +wholly unknown to the Mexican warriors; and the sight of his manly +figure, arrayed in a native cloak, his head crowned with a lofty +penacho, put on by the king's hand, and the glittering axe of obsidian +received from the same quarter, and grasped a moment with a military +air, made an impression in his favour, that could only be obliterated by +his own act of rejection. The spectacle was hailed with acclamations, +and + + Far and wide, the thundering shout, + Rolling among reduplicating rocks, + Peal'd o'er the hills and up the mountain vales.[14] + +[Footnote 14: Southey's Roderic.] + +Unfortunately, Juan, unwilling that any act should be interpreted as +expressing his assent to take arms against his countrymen, immediately +threw down the macana, and would even have taken the plumes from his +head, had he not been arrested by Techeechee, and made sensible that +such a proceeding would be followed by the most fatal consequences. The +movement, however, had been observed by many of the nobles; and from +that moment, Juan saw that he was watched by jealous and hostile eyes. +His explicit and absolute refusal to take part in the conflicts, had +convinced the young king of his error; yet, though greatly exasperated, +he took such measures, from motives of honour or humanity, as protected +the obdurate Christian from the daily increasing anger of his people. He +confined him in the palace, and forbade even the ardent Zelahualla to go +near him. In this he was actuated by suspicions, constantly inflamed by +the Lord of Death, and not unnatural in themselves, that the young man +had abused his credulity in the case of Magdalena. The love of the +Indian maid, however, penetrated through guards and prison-doors; and +Juan, almost as impatient of confinement and suspense as Magdalena +herself, resolved to effect his escape, and by throwing himself upon the +mercy of the Captain-General, make one effort to liberate his unhappy +sister. The attempt was discovered and thwarted; and from that moment +his confinement had been very rigid. + +Still, however, the young infidel was wont frequently to visit him, +after the combat of the day, in the hope of overcoming his scruples, or +of gathering from his accidental expressions some hints that might be +turned to advantage against the besiegers. On all such occasions, he +refused to satisfy the prisoner's questions concerning his sister and +the princess; giving him plainly to understand that nothing but the +assumption of the pagan battle-axe, or positive counsels in his straits, +which he did not attempt to conceal, could purchase a sight of either. +In all these things, if the infidel acted with more crafty selfishness +than generosity, he only proved that he belonged to his race. The whole +conduct of Juan was, according to _his_ scale of morals and honour, both +unfriendly and unaccountable. He designed, this very night, to visit the +prisoner, of which intention Juan was apprized; and hence his eagerness +to dismiss the maidens from the chamber, before the conclusion of the +attack upon the neighbouring dike, with the nature and objects of which +he was well acquainted. + +Before the maidens had departed, it was evident that the firing and +other noises on the causeway were subsiding. Before they had been gone +the full space of an hour, a heavy step rang in the passage, and the +next moment the Indian monarch stood before the captive. He was +singularly and sumptuously armed. From head to foot, his body was +covered with a garment, perhaps of escaupil, fitting so tightly as to +display his limbs to advantage; and over all was a coat of mail, +consisting of copper spangles or scales, richly gilded, and stitched +upon a shirt of dressed leather. His head was defended by a morion of +the same metal, shaped not unlike to those of the Spaniards, and equally +strong; and its ability to resist a violent blow was increased by the +folds of a stout serpent, painted green, wreathing over its whole +surface. A shield of tapir-skin, studded with copper nails, hung from +his neck; and he bore a macana, which was stained with blood. He wore +none of the emblems of royalty, and his appearance was only that of some +highly distinguished noble. His eye was bright and fiery, his step firm +and proud, but his aspect was thin and haggard. + +"Has my brother heard the shouts of men near him, and does he yet say, +'Let me sleep?'" were the words with which he saluted the captive. + +"Prince," said Juan, eyeing him anxiously and interrogatively, though +speaking with positive emphasis, "as I told you before, so has it +happened. The cannon were ready on the dike, the falconets were charged +in the ships, and the men of Sandoval slept with swords and matches in +their hands, and with their eyes open. Guatimozin does not come back a +victor!" + +"He comes back with a prisoner," said the prince, proudly; "and, +to-morrow, the lord with red hair (Sandoval) will count the dead and +weep, and Malintzin shall see the flames of sacrifice rising from the +pyramid." + +"Alas!" exclaimed Juan, "in condemning captives to this horrible death, +against your will, for I know your heart is not cruel, you harden the +soul of Cortes against you; and he will remember each sacrifice, when +the day of surrender comes at last." + +"Let it be harder than it is, what cares the Mexican who dies?" replied +the king. "Does my brother think that I am weary, or that Malintzin can +fight longer than I?" + +"Think not to deceive me, prince--I know that already your altars and +palaces are within reach of the cannon-shot--nay, of the +musket-bullet--You are hemmed in, like a wild-cat on a tree--Your +enemies are all round you, and they look into your eyes. Are not the +water-suburbs already taken?" + +"Why should I lie?" replied Guatimozin. "If you go to Tacuba, you will +see the banks of the island--the city of the water is not there. If you +look from Iztapalapan, the surges go rushing up towards the great +temple--the houses are under the lake--If you look from the door of my +dwelling, you will see the quarter of Tepejacac falling also into the +lake. When Malintzin calls aloud in the morning, the lord of the red +hair answers him, and Malintzin hears. Thus it is with Mexico; yet my +brother sleeps, while I die, saying to his soul, 'It is all very just, +for I sleep and see not.'" + +"If I see not and help not, yet is my heart torn by your distresses," +replied Juan, earnestly. "But why should I help? It would be a great sin +upon my soul, and could do you no good. Listen to my counsel, +Guatimozin: It is not yet too late. Cease to protract an unavailing +resistance; send to Cortes with offers of submission, and be assured of +reigning still, a king, though a vassal." + +"Does Guatimozin fight to be a king?" said the infidel, with dignity. +"He struck the Spaniard before he thought of a crown. He thinks not of +palaces and fine garments, but says, 'Why should the people of Mexico be +made slaves?' The king fights for Mexico." + +"He will fight best for Mexico with peace. The kings of Tezcuco and +Iztapalapan pay tribute to Mexico--are their people slaves? Thus shall +it be with Mexico: the king shall give gold, as the tributary of Spain, +and Mexicans shall remain in freedom." + +"Will my brother prattle like Malintzin?" demanded the monarch, sternly. +"Where is the freedom of Zempoala, of Tlascala, of Cholula? The people +talk of it, while a Spaniard strikes them with a lash. Where is the +freedom of Tezcuco? The young king, who is a boy, sits on the throne; +but the Spaniard, whom my brother struck in the face with a sword, when +he chased Olin-pilli, is there with him, and he robs and abuses the +people, so that they have sent their tears to Malintzin. What was the +fate of Montezuma? He sat in the Spaniards' house in chains, and the +soldiers murdered his nobles, who danced in peace in the courtyard. What +was the fate of Montezuma? The Spaniard, who is lord of the king of +Tezcuco, would have done violence to the captive maiden--Does my brother +remember?" + +"Ay!" replied Juan, with the gleam of passion that visited his eyes, +only when he spoke of Guzman: "I remember, and I hope yet to +avenge--Sinner that I am, I cannot think it a crime, to covet the blood +of this man!--But, prince, let me know--My captivity is very hard--Why +should I not be allowed to speak with the princess? Why should my sister +be hidden from me?" + +The countenance of Guatimozin darkened. + +"When my brother will fight for them, he shall be at liberty. My brother +thinks again of the canoe at the bottom of the garden?" + +Juan coloured, and said, + +"You keep me a prisoner--I strove to escape. The king mocks me, to call +me his brother." + +"The warriors are very angry, yet the Great Eagle is alive. He cannot go +among them in safety, unless as their friend." + +"And who," said Juan, "shall warrant me of safety, if I go even as a +friend?" + +He deemed it now the period to commence acting upon his scheme of +escape, yet hesitated, stung with shame at the thought of the duplicity +to which he was descending.--"It is better to die on the dikes than to +pine in the dungeon." + +Guatimozin's eye gleamed with a sudden fire: + +"Does my brother jest with me?" he said. "If my brother think it wrong +to strike a Spaniard, he shall not be called upon to fight. He can teach +me the things it is needful to know; and be in no fear." + +"When did Guatimozin see me afraid?" cried Juan, stifling as well as he +could the sense of humiliation and disgust, with which he began the +office of a deceiver. "To give you counsel how to resist or attack, will +make me as much a renegade as to draw sword at once. If I do become +apostate, it shall be boldly, and with the sword. Prince, I have thought +over this thing: my heart is grieved with your distress; and for my +sister, and for Zelahualla, I will do what my conscience condemns. Does +the king know what shall be my fate, if I am found fighting by the +Spaniards?" + +"Twenty chosen warriors shall circle my brother round about, and he +shall keep aloof from the van of battle." + +"If I fight, it shall be in the van," said Juan, his self-condemnation +giving a character of sullenness to his tones. "But what, if I +fall,--what shall become of my sister?" + +"She shall be the sister of Guatimozin and of Zelahualla," said +Guatimozin, with energy, yet with doubt; for he could hardly believe +that Juan was speaking seriously. + +"Let the king say _this_, and I will go out with him to battle:--If I +die, he will cause my sister and the princess to be delivered into the +hands of Cortes." + +"The Spanish lady shall be sent to Malintzin; but the Centzontli shall +remain with her brother the king. It is better she should die with him +than dwell with the Spaniards. Why shouldst thou think it? Are there not +more Guzmans than one?" + +Juan muttered painfully to himself, + +"Perhaps it _is_ better. Heaven will protect her, for she has +acknowledged her Redeemer.--Will the king swear, then, if his brother +falls, that Magdalena shall be sent to the Spaniards?" + +"He will swear," said Guatimozin, ardently. "It is better for the +Spanish lady; for she knows not our speech, and she pines away with +grief. And if the king prevails over his enemies, the king will remember +what Juan says of her." + +"Now, then, let the king tell me the truth, and mislead me not. How much +longer can he maintain the city?" + +"Till he is dead!--But he may soon die," he added, confidingly, for now +he doubted no longer that he had gained his purpose. "My brother shall +first teach me how to get food. The ships move about at night, and no +canoe can reach the shore. The king sits down to eat with the warriors, +and he eats no more--but the warriors cry all night for food." + +"Good heaven!" said Juan, surveying the wasted cheeks of the monarch; +"are you already so straitened? your garners already exhausted?" + +"Who can reckon for so many mouths?" cried Guatimozin. + +"I dreamed not of this--Sure, _I_ have never been denied abundance!" + +"My brother is a prisoner; and the women and children are feeble. Why +should _they_ want, when the warriors can endure hunger better?" + +The communication of this painful intelligence nerved Juan more strongly +in his purpose. He perceived the necessity of acting without delay, if +he wished to protect the young infidel from the consequence of his own +despairing fury, and the maiden of his love, and his sister, from a fate +too dreadful to be imagined. His eagerness the more fully deluded the +young monarch, not prone to suspicion where he loved, and he was soon +made acquainted with the whole condition of the beleaguered city, and +the situation of the Spaniards. He was also instructed in the +particulars of a design of Guatimozin, to be practised upon the ensuing +day, the boldness of which, as well as its strong probabilities of +success, both astonished and dismayed him. He perceived that perhaps the +fate of the entire Spanish army depended upon the course he might +pursue, and his honour and feelings seemed all to call upon him for some +exertion to arrest the impending destruction. + +When he had been made acquainted with all that Guatimozin thought fit to +divulge, and had again and again repeated his resolution to take arms +and accompany the Mexicans against his countrymen, the king embraced him +with great warmth, promising to provide him with a good Spanish sword +and helmet from among the spoils; but recommending that, in all other +respects, he should assume the guise of a Mexican. + +When these arrangements were completed, he turned to depart, and yet +seemed loath to go. Finally, he took Juan by the arm, and said, + +"To-night the king will sleep by the side of his brother: we will wake +in the morning and go out together." + +"Why will not the king speak kind things to the queen? It will rejoice +her to look upon the king." + +"Has she not a little sick babe by her side? and are they not very +wretched?" said Guatimozin, exposing, without reserve, the miseries +preying upon his own bosom, and abandoning himself to a grief that +seemed to mock the greatness of his station. "When I look upon them," he +said, "I am no longer the king who thinks of Mexico and the people, but +a man with a base heart, who cries, 'Why am not I a prisoner and a +slave, that my little child may be saved, and his mother protected from +the famine that is coming?' The king should not think these things,--he +should not look upon his household, but his country." + +"Go, notwithstanding," said Juan, touched still further by the +distresses of the infidel. "Comfort them with your presence, and let +their sufferings admonish you of the only way to end them. It is not too +late to submit." + +"Is this the way my brother begins the duties of a Mexican?" said +Guatimozin. "The gods tell me to die, not yield. I fight for +Mexico,--not for the wife and child of Guatimozin." + +With these words, and having banished all traces of weakness and +repining, he left Juan to slumber, or to weigh, in painful anticipation, +the risks and uncertainties of his projected enterprise. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +As Guatimozin had confessed to Juan Lerma, the three suburbs of the +causeways were already demolished, and their ruined walls, battered by +cannon and blackened by smoke, peered over the lake, along the +causeways, in melancholy ruins. The hand of desolation had extended +still further; at least, in the quarter that was pierced by the dike of +Iztapalapan. Here Cortes commanding in person, and fighting every day at +the head of his army, he had infected the whole division with a share of +his own energy. While Alvarado and Sandoval were contending for a +foothold on the very borders of the city, he had already penetrated it +to the distance of half a mile, destroying many houses, though without +being able to effect a secure and permanent lodgment upon any portion of +the island. + +It must not be supposed, that, having reached the island, the Spaniards +could exchange the narrow and ditched causeways for firm and spacious +streets. On the contrary, the causeways, so to speak, were continued up +to within half a mile of the principal square which was in the very +centre of the city, and contained the great pyramid, as well as the +chief temples of Mexico. On either side was a canal both broad and deep, +dividing the road from the houses; and others, running from intersecting +streets, perforated the causeways with chasms, the number of which the +Mexicans had long since greatly increased. The island, which was +circular, did not exceed three miles in diameter, of which the central +third only was dry and solid. Hence the advanced posts of the three +divisions were at no considerable distance from each other; and if the +call of Cortes in the morning was not absolutely heard and answered by +his two lieutenants, the bugles of each could be easily distinguished, +cheering one another as they advanced to the daily assault. + +The labour of Cortes in destroying the suburb in his quarter, was less +than that of the others; for here, the lake being deeper, the houses +extended but a short distance from the island. His advanced post was +almost within the limits of the suburb, and separated from the island by +only one ditch, which he had twice or thrice taken and filled up, but +was as often obliged to yield again to the foe, subduing his impatience, +until his lieutenants had advanced equally far in their quarters. + +The outposts were always guarded with the most jealous vigilance, +particularly in the later hours of the night, after the rains, which, in +this climate, commonly prevail with the greatest violence between the +hours of noon and midnight. A guard of forty men, with two pieces of +artillery, kept watch until midnight; when, yielding their places to +forty more, but not retiring, they threw themselves to sleep upon the +damp stones and clay. Two hours before dawn, the post was strengthened +by another company of forty, who watched until morning, the others +flinging themselves in their cloaks among the first watchmen. Thus, +there were ready, before day, one hundred and twenty men, the strongest +and boldest of their divisions, who, in case of sudden attack, could +preserve the station, until reinforced by the whole strength of the +division, from the towers of the gates, which were still the +head-quarters of the several divisions. The causeway between the gates +and the pickets, was occupied by patrols of horsemen, who watched lest +the enemy, coming in canoes, should make a descent behind the advanced +post, and thus cut it off. + +Two hours after midnight, upon the night in which Juan revealed his +purpose of escaping, the second guard on the causeway of Iztapalapan was +relieved from watch by the coming of the third; and the soldiers flung +themselves, as usual, upon the earth, to prepare for a morning, which, +it was known to all, was to witness a general assault, made +simultaneously by all the divisions, from their three several quarters. + +The watchfires were replenished, and two subalterns, the leaders of the +party, advanced a little beyond them, to reconnoitre the condition of +the enemy. Three hundred paces in front, the causeway was intersected by +the ditch, held by the Mexicans; and beyond it, on a strong rampart, +blazed a great fire, in the light of which the pagan sentinels could be +seen, squatting upon the mound, or stalking idly about. The gap was +bridgeless, as was well-known; but this the Spaniards could not observe +with their own eyes, not thinking it prudent to advance within the range +of a Mexican arrow. + +As they returned, they conversed together in low voices; and it was +worthy of remark, as indicating how little their spirits were occupied +by the dangers around them, that they bestowed more words upon the +ordinary scandal of the camp than upon the horrible conflicts through +which they had passed, or in which they were yet to mingle. + +"They lay this thing of Camarga entirely to the door of Guzman," said +one; "and, in my mind, the imputation were reasonable, could we discover +any cause for enmity between them. They say, that Guzman smothered him +with pillows of cottontree-down. Wherefore--" + +"Pho, Najara," said the other, bluffly; "blame not a man upon these vain +fancies; for Camarga was killed by a hard weapon, and by no pillows of +cotton-down or feathers. I found him myself." + +"Ay," said Najara, for it was the hunchback, whose companion was no +other than the worthy historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo,--"Ay, senor +amigo, but he was not dead; and we are speaking of two very different +events: to make which palpable to thy historical wits, we must e'en go +back to the starting point. It is with a man of ill mind as with a +cannonier; who, if he look for the mark of his ball in a forest, must go +back to the place whence he shot it, and take the range over again." + +"I do not understand thy trope," said Bernal, "nor what thou meanest by +an 'ill mind,' not having one myself, but one that harbours animosities +against none but Indians. As for Camarga, I found him myself. It was +when we marched out of Tezcuco, by the northern road; for I was then +with Alvarado, going to Tacuba. I say it, and it is to my honour, not +shame, that Cortes, when he left the brigantines, demanded me of +Alvarado; 'for,' said he, 'Bernal Diaz is one of my best friends, and a +soldier second to none:' which is true, though I say it myself. De Olid +was with us, with his men. The story is this: When we passed by the +cypress-tree on the hill, I bethought me of a chapter of my book, which +I had lost, I knew not where nor when. 'Now,' said I, 'perhaps I left it +under this tree;' for what with the sudden coming of Juan Lerma, poor +fellow, and the quarrel I had with Gaspar on his account, I departed +from that place, without much thought of what might be left behind me. +But pondering on this, as we passed, I dropped from the ranks, and +hunting about, I saw Camarga lying mangled at the bottom of the hill; +and when we came to examine him, it was plain he had been struggling +there for many hours,--perhaps, all night. We thought he was dead; but +Juan Catalan, the cannonier, who is so good at a fresh wound, said, his +heart was yet beating, and he might live. So we sent him back to +Tezcuco, then in charge of Guzman, that the Indian doctors might see +what could be done for him. And there he died." + +"Ay, if we can believe Guzman," said Najara; "and no doubt, he did: but +_how_? Know now, Bernal, for thou art too innocent to look further than +thy nose, that this man's death has made a great noise at head-quarters; +for, somehow, they have come to associate it with the marvellous +disappearance of La Monjonaza; for which there are but two ways of +accounting." + +"As how?" said Bernal, gravely. "Gil Ortaga told me, he saw her ghost, +six nights after, in Iztapalapan, dragging the spirit of Villafana by +the hair; which frightened him very much." + +"The first thought," said Najara, "is, that she drowned herself for the +love of Juan Lerma, of which--that is, of her love, at least--there is +some proof that might be mentioned, were there any wisdom in speaking +it; and the second, that Guzman hid her in some den about Tezcuco, +trusting to the departure of Cortes on the morrow. It is well known that +Guzman will play rival with the devil himself, if he have taken a fancy +to a woman." + +"Fu," said Bernal, "that is a foolish thought." + +"Dost thou not know," demanded the hunchback, "that he is in disgrace, +for acts still darker than these? He abused the Indians in the palace, +robbing them of their gold and women, at his will, and greatly incensed +the young king Ixtlilxochitl, who complained to Cortes. Cortes sailed to +Tezcuco in person, and removed him from his government; and now he is in +such disgrace, that were it not for some old friendship between him and +the Captain-General, it is thought, Cortes would utterly renounce him. +The Indians say, that he murdered Camarga, when the poor man was +recovering. But this is improbable. Camarga was a stranger, and without +foes. Yet his fate has greatly troubled the general. As for the lady +Infeliz, Don Francisco persists in averring that he knows nothing about +her. He brought a Tlascalan, who swore he saw both her and Camarga walk +out from the northern gate together, during the review; whereby he would +have us believe they fell into the hands of the Mexicans; but Indians +will swear anything, if you tell them how. It is said, that Guzman has +got permission to serve in the fleet with Garci Holguin, his old friend. +They are two dare-devils together, and neither in very good odour; so +they will doubtless do some desperate act to regain favour.--Hark, +Bernal! dost thou hear nothing?" + +"Nothing but the whistling of the Indians at the fire;--for that is the +way they make their signals. We shall have hot work to-morrow, +Najara."-- + +"Hark!--Ah, 'tis the sound of oars! One of the night-ships is +approaching the dike. What's in the wind now?--Hah, sirrah! what brings +thee out of limits?" + +These words were directed to a tall man, cloaked to the eyes, whom they +had not before noticed, who stood hard by, peering into the lake, as if +he sought to discover the approaching vessel. Najara hobbled up to him, +in no little dudgeon, and repeated the question, before the stranger +deigned to answer him. He then turned, and replied, with great coolness, + +"Curiosity, crookback, curiosity,--some little itching to know how thou +and thy brother ass, Bernal Diaz, discourse of thy betters. Well, +rogues, have you done? have you despatched mine honour twice over again? +I am not in good odour, hah? I have murdered Camarga, and suborned +Indians to invent fables of La Monjonaza? Out upon ye, fools! I thought +thou wert not so sodden-brained, Najara!" + +As if his voice were not enough to make him known, the cavalier removed +the cloak from his visage, and exhibited the iron features of Don +Francisco de Guzman, illuminated by the watchfire hard by. There was +something about his countenance unusually dark and fierce; yet he did +not speak angrily, although Najara perceived he must have overheard some +of his concluding expressions. But Najara was not a man to be daunted +even by a stronger arm and a sterner eye. He replied therefore, with +composure, + +"What we have said, senor Don Francisco, we have said, and may take the +same liberty again. But under your favour, senor, I am, just now, the +captain of the guard; and as I cannot number you among my company, I +must e'en make bold to ask your will, as well as your business, here, in +advance of the post?" + +"Thou shalt ask, and be answered," said Guzman, clapping his fingers to +his lips, and whistling with a strength that might have done honour to +the neighbouring infidels, though in a manner differing entirely from +any of their signals. "One, two,--three,--and _too-whit! too-whit!_ like +a hungry kite in the morning! Dost thou understand _that_, mi Corcobado? +If thou dost not, then _poco a poco, y paciencia_, as we say after +dinner; for presently thou shalt be made wiser. After which, get thee to +thy dogs there, in the mud, and snore with them.--Ah, _amigo y hermano_! +Garci, _mi corazoncito_! I will know thy pipe among a thousand, for it +whistles out of the nose, like the hiss of a serpent!--Fare ye well, +patches; and heaven send ye a rough rouse in the morning." + +While the cavalier was yet speaking, a little boat from the brigantine, +the heavy oars of which they had long since heard, though they could +scarce trace it in the gloom, shot against the causeway; and an officer +of a powerful frame and forbidding aspect, just rendered visible by the +fire, rising up, extended his hand to Guzman, who immediately jumped +aboard, and took a seat at his side. It was then pushed off, and soon +vanished on the lake. + +"There they go," said Najara, not without admiration, "two imps after +the devil's own liking, strong-handed, tough-headed, hard-hearted! Wo +betide ye, brown lambkins of Mexico! for these wolves have scented a +hole in your pinfold. I tell thee, Bernal, man, we shall have rare work +to-morrow, and these men will make it rarer. When the gall comes from +Guzman's lips, the devil is waked up in his liver. 'A rough rouse in the +morning!' For thy good wish, mayst thou have as rugged a couch in the +evening--Amen! for I love thee not." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + +The two subalterns now rejoined their companions, and passing them, as +they stood patiently to their arms, waiting for the dawn and the battle, +they crept through the sleepers towards the cannon, which were placed in +the rear, the cannoniers sleeping around them. Here, they found a +solitary individual of the watch they had relieved, leaning moodily +against one of the pieces, instead of sharing the slumber of his +comrades. + +Bernal Diaz surveyed him for a moment, and then touched him on the +shoulder: + +"Townsman," said he, "it is but a foolish thing of thee to stand upon +thy legs, watching, when thy guard duty is over. Sleep a little, +Gaspar--We shall have toilsome work to-morrow." + +"Sleep thyself, Bernal," replied Gaspar Olea. "What care I for sleep? +Come, get thee into the mud, and I will take thy place. Thou shalt have +my cloak, too, if thou wilt, to keep the rain out--I can warm me by +walking." + +"I will do no such thing," said Bernal, grasping the hand of his friend, +though Gaspar turned from him, and seemed desirous to continue the +conversation no longer; "if thou wilt wake, why well. I will talk thee +out of thy melancholy. Thou art very much changed, Gaspar. I know not +why thou shouldst grieve after this boy. Thou must now confess, he is +unworthy thy friendship." + +Gaspar returned no answer, and Bernal continued to give consolation by +inflicting pain,--which is the common way. + +"It is allowed by all, that he is a renegade; and doubtless, also, he +has become a worshipper of false gods; for he who will turn his sword +against his countrymen, is a rogue and a blasphemer--That is my opinion. +Gil Ortaga said--" + +"The fiend seize Ortaga, and thee into the bargain!" said Gaspar, +angrily. "If a deer be wounded, and hide himself in a by-way, his +fellows will not hunt after him, to gore him!--Why shouldst thou have +less humanity than a deer?" + +"Come, Gaspar, if I have offended thee, I ask thy pardon," said Bernal +Diaz; "for thou art my townsman and friend, though we have quarrelled +sometimes; and what I say, I say with a good meaning." + +Gaspar looked over his shoulder, and finding that Najara had returned to +the front, he grasped Bernal's hand, and said earnestly, + +"Let there be ill will and ill words between us no more; for who knows +what may come to us to-morrow? I know what is said of Juan Lerma. He is +with the infidels--but what drove him among them? He is a renegade, +too,--yet what made him so? He teaches the enemy to cut ditches and +throw up ramparts, to lay ambushes and attack ships, and a thousand +other feats and stratagems, not to be looked for among barbarians. This +they say,--all say; and some swear they have seen him, in a Mexican +cloak, fighting at the head of the pagans, and knew him by his stature +and voice. Let us believe all this--What then? Bernal, it is a thought +that preys upon me, remembering his honour, his goodness, and +truth,--and this it is,--that a damnable malice has driven him, against +his own will, into the den of perdition. Hark thee, here, in thine +ear--Thou rememberest the expedition to the South Sea? Before that, thou +knowest, I was in great favour with Cortes, whom I loved well, for he +had done me many good deeds in Cuba. About that time, Juan Lerma lost +favour, and no one knew why; for as to censuring the indignities offered +to Montezuma, that was a crime committed by some hundreds besides, who +were never punished. The cause, Bernal, the true cause,--I would I might +tell thee the true cause: but I swore an oath never to breathe it to +mortal man. But _this_ I may speak, (and thou must afterwards forget +it.) I see things more clearly than I did before; and methinks, this +night, mine eyes are further opened. I see very well, that we are all +deluded and abused, and Juan Lerma an innocent man. Hearken then to what +I say. One night, Cortes came to me, looking more like a demon than a +man, and he said to me, 'Gaspar Olea, thou must kill me a snake, that +has stung me upon the breast.' And with that he told me a thing, which I +cannot speak; but this followed--I agreed that I would kill Juan Lerma." + +"Thou art beside thyself, Gaspar!" said Bernal, with the utmost +astonishment. + +"I had good reason given to me," continued Olea; "and at that time I had +but little acquaintance with the young man, and no love; and I was bound +very strongly to Cortes. Understand me, Bernal: I did not consent to +play the part of an assassin, for that was no part for Gaspar Olea. But +being convinced the thing was just, and that the young man was a knave +deserving death, I agreed to exasperate him into a quarrel; wherein I +appeased my conscience, by thinking of the risk I ran, he being reckoned +very good at all weapons. But what dost thou think? The very next night +comes me Cortes again, with quite another story. 'Gaspar,' said he, 'the +thing I told thee was false, and I have done the young man a wrong. +Wherefore, quarrel with him not, and forget what I have told thee;' +adding many things which satisfied my mind, that the youth was an +innocent man, very basely slandered. This caused me to think well of +him; and I consented to go with him to the South Sea. There, Bernal, I +learned to love him, for he was brave, and noble, and good;--ay, by my +faith, I loved him better than ever I had loved the general. But 'What +then?' you will say; 'Whereto tends this?' To this--and it is damnable +to think upon: The General deceived me,--he repented having made me his +confidant; but he still longed for the blood of Juan Lerma. Hence the +South Sea scheme, devised for our destruction--(At this moment, I see it +plainly,)--for Juan's, because of the General's hate, and for _mine_, +Bernal, because he had confided to me a secret of which he was ashamed. +Ay, by my faith! he repented him that passion had made him so +indiscreet; and therefore designed to put me out of the way. The +soldiers have a story that he was angry with me for some freedom of +speech. This is false. He smiled on me to the last, and thus lulled my +fears. Neither Juan nor myself had any suspicion of evil intentions. He +made it appear, that the expedition was given to us, because of his +regard for our courage; and he deigned to tell me in secret, that his +chief reason for sending Lerma, was that he might be angered no longer +by his censures,--Juan being then very melancholy and peevish, in +consequence of the death of some old companion he had killed in +Espanola. But, Bernal, he deceived us both, as I can now see clearly. He +made it appear to the soldiers, that he was sorry to punish Juan--Nay +some said he shed tears, among the Indians, when he signed the +death-warrant. But this was hypocrisy. I know that he was rejoiced; for +he remembered the old cause, and abhorred him." + +"Marry," said Bernal Diaz, "it cannot be doubted he did. But the cause, +Gaspar? I do not ask thee, what it was: but was it enough to excuse such +rancour?" + +"If true, _yes_," replied Gaspar, with deep emphasis: "But it was not +true. Juan was innocent. I have probed his heart a thousand times, while +we were in the desert together, and when he knew not what I was doing. +He has not wronged Cortes--no, nor any other living creature. This I +told the General, when we returned to Tezcuco, after the campaign round +the lake. But what wouldst thou think? He averred that he had forgot the +thing;--that it was very foolish;--a groundless slander brought against +Juan by an enemy;--that he loved him as well as ever, and proceeded +against him only on account of broken laws and decrees;--that he durst +not pardon him, since his affection was well known, (his _affection_, +Bernal!) and the men would cry out against his favouritism. I knew he +spoke falsely, and so I told him. He hardened my heart; and then I ran +to Villafana, who had the power to save him, and promised to make him +our chief captain." + +"Now that you speak of Villafana," said Bernal, "it reminds me of this: +Why, had Juan Lerma been a man of honour and a Christian, should he have +joined in the murderous plots of that detestable traitor?" + +"Thou shouldst ask that of _me_," said Gaspar, fiercely. "But it matters +not. Who says that Juan Lerma joined him? Najara avers that he kept them +from speech together; and Luis Rafaga, who died of the wounds he got +among the piraguas, a week since, declared to his comrades as well as +the priest, (and being of the prison-guard, he knew all,) that Juan +fought in the prison with Villafana, about the list, the very night that +Villafana was hanged, and would have been killed, but for the coming of +La Monjonaza. I saw the traitor, myself, when he came among the +cavaliers; and he was hurt in the shoulder. Does this look like joining +him? Trust me, Bernal, we have done a great wrong to my young captain; +and I cannot die, without thinking that I leave behind me one man, at +least, to do him justice. This is what I say:--Not his crime, but the +general's secret malice, has driven him among the infidels. He is a +prisoner with them, or perhaps he has already died the death of +sacrifice. They lie, who say they have seen, or will see him in arms +against us. On this I will gage my life; and I pray heaven to take it, +the moment the pledge is forfeited! I swear it--Amen." + +The worst point in the character of a dog, is that, in all the quarrels +betwixt others of his species, he always takes part against the feebler. +In this particular, he is sometimes aped by his master,--not, indeed, in +an absolute conflict between man and man; for ninety in a hundred will, +in such case, befriend the weaker party,--but in those combats which an +individual wages with an evil destiny. Ill thoughts naturally follow +upon ill luck; and it is the curse of misfortune to be followed by +ungenerous suspicion and still more odious crimination. As the whole +army were acquainted with the manner of Juan's flight, or rather +captivity, they did not hesitate to believe him up in arms against them; +and every repulse which they endured from the barbarians, they traced to +the malignance and activity of the exile's treason. Fear and invention +together clothed him with the vestments of a fallen angel; and if some +savage, more gigantic and ferocious than the rest, distinguished himself +in the front of battle, straightway a dozen voices invoked curses upon +the head of the unhappy Lerma. There were few who did not forget his +sorrows and wrongs, and speak of him only with execrations; and many had +already begun to anticipate, as the chief triumph of victory, and the +most delightful of all their hopes, the privilege of burning him alive +on the temple-top, or even sacrificing him to their vengeance, after the +equally horrific manner of the Mexicans. + +While Bernal Diaz was thus conversing with the outcast's only friend, +there came from the distant gates of Xoloc, a suppressed hum, as of an +army arising from its slumbers. This was soon followed by the sound of +heavy bodies of men, approaching over the causeway; and it soon became +evident, that the morn was to be ushered in with the usual horrors of +contention. + +"Up, knaves!" cried the voice of the hunchback, "ye grumbling, growling, +wallowing, swine, that call yourselves lions and tigers! up, and shake +the clay from your cloaks, before it is trodden off by the hoofs of the +horsemen!" + +As he spoke, a cavalier galloped up to the party, and drawing in his +steed, while the men rose to their feet, he exclaimed, + +"_Halon_, Najara, man! where art thou? Dost thou talk thus in thy +sleep?" + +"Ay, may it please your excellency," said the hunchback, recognizing the +voice of Cortes; "for it is well, on such a post, that a soldier should +have the faculty of issuing commands asleep, as well as waking." + +"Dost thou hear, Diaz?" muttered Gaspar in his companion's ear. "Wouldst +thou think now to what the devil has tempted me, ever since I have seen +clearly that of which I have spoken? I tell thee, man, I have sometimes +thought it were but a turn of good friendship, to kill the man who has +brought these things upon Juan Lerma!" + +"Thou art mad!" said the historian in alarm. But his further +remonstrance was cut short by Cortes riding by, and even urging his +charger, though at a cautious pace, beyond the watchfire, as if to +reconnoitre with his own eyes, the situation of the foe. + +"Fear me not," said Gaspar, bitterly. "You shall see me do what I have +done before at Xochimilco,--pluck him out of the jaws of the devourers, +if need be. I think I was then enchanted; for, when I saw the Indians +have him off his horse, I said to myself, 'If I let him die now, no harm +happens to Juan Lerma.' But come--let us follow after him. And bid some +of your dull sluggards along with us, lest the pagans should make a +sally from the rampart. Hark! he has ridden up, till their fire shines +on his armour, and they see him! He will have the villains upon us, +before the reinforcements arrive!" + +The Captain-General did, indeed, advance so far that he was seen by the +pagan sentinels, who whistled out a shrill note of alarm, and then bent +their bows against him, till his corslet and the iron buckler which he +carried before his face, rattled under the crashing arrowheads. Thus +admonished, he rode a little back, and was joined by three or four other +cavaliers, who came galloping up from the causeway. + +"What say ye, cavaliers?" he cried. "Methinks there is not even a duck +lying near the causey-side, much less a brace or two of my brigantines." + +"If your excellency be looking for the ships," said Najara, "I can +satisfy your mind. There were some five or six here an hour since: I +heard the plunging of their anchors on both sides of the dike." + +"Ah! I will set thine ears against mine eyes any dark morn, +Corcobado.--Fetch up the Indians, Quinones; and bid the horsemen follow +at their heels. And hark ye, Najara,--let your drowsy knaves take post +on the causey-sides, lest they be trampled to death under the feet of my +red pioneers. Wheel up the pieces some ninety or an hundred paces in +advance; and see that your matchsticks be dry and combustible. Where +didst thou hear the sound of the anchors?" + +"But a little distance on the lake; and methinks I can see two of the +vessels on the left, betwixt us and the Indians.--His valour, Don Garci +Holguin, did but now take up the senor Guzman--" + +"A pest upon Guzman!" said the general, sharply. "Get thee to thy men, +and move me the ordnance without delay." + +"'A pest upon Guzman?'" muttered Gaspar. "I have a thought of him also; +but I know not that he has done Juan a wrong. At all events, methinks, +his case is like mine.--The general's secrets are unlucky." + +With that, he retired, and took post among the soldiers. + +In a few moments, a numerous body of Indian auxiliaries made their +appearance, bearing, besides their ordinary weapons, which were slung on +their backs, certain hoes and mattocks, called _coas_, some of stone, +others of copper, but most of them of some hard wood. It was the +business of these men to fill up the ditches, after the defenders had +been driven away by a fierce cannonade from the ships, and by incessant +discharges of stones and arrows from fleets of piraguas, manned by other +Indian confederates, which lay near the brigantines. And here it may be +observed, that the labour of filling a ditch was much inferior to that +of re-opening it; and the causeways being constructed of stones as well +as clay, it was not possible to remove the former to any great extent. +Hence, the gaps that had been once or twice filled, remained, +notwithstanding the toil of the besieged, so shallow, that they might, +at almost any period, be forded; though this, usually, was not done, +until they were filled above the level of the water. + +Immediately after these pioneers, came a small body of horsemen, behind +whom were ranged the lancers and swordsmen; the musketeers and +cross-bowmen being chiefly distributed among the ships. + +These arrangements having been made, and the Tlascalans halting within +the distance of two hundred paces from the ditch, and throwing +themselves flat upon their faces on the causeway, to guard against the +first volleys of the foe, all were directed to remain in repose, until +the coming daylight should give the signal for battle. + +Nothing now broke the silence of the hour, save the dropping sound of +paddles from two numerous squadrons of canoes, filled with allies, which +were stationed on the flanks of the rear. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +Slowly the morning dawned; and the foremost Tlascalan, raising his head +from the earth, could behold, dimly relieved against an atmosphere of +mist, the outlines of the foe, yet loitering upon the rampart behind the +ditch, and warming his naked body, for the last time, over his +smouldering fire. And now, also, were seen the brigantines, four in +number, which had taken post, long before day, on either flank of the +ditch, while a line of well-manned piraguas extended some distance +beyond them. + +The savages gathered up their arms, and leaping upon the ramparts, shook +them with defiance at the besiegers, taunting them with such words of +opprobrium as marked both their hatred and resolution. + +"Ho-ah! ho-ah! What says the king of Castile? what says the king of +Castile?" they cried,--for all the offers of peace and composition, +(sent occasionally by the hands of liberated captives,) being made by +Cortes in the name of his master, the barbarians prefaced every defiance +by expressing their contempt for his authority,--"what says the king of +Castile? He is a woman,--he shows not his face,--he is a woman. What +says Malintzin? what says Malintzin? He calls for peace,--he is a +coward: he fights in the house, when his foe is a prisoner, but he calls +for peace, when Mexico comes out upon the causeways. What say the +Teuctlis,--the Spaniards,--the sons of the gods? They bring the +Tlascalans, to fight their battles,--the Tlascalans, the Tezcucans, the +Chalquese, and the other little dogs of Mexico. Their flesh is very +bitter, and their hearts sour: the mitzlis and ocelotls, the wolves and +the vultures, in the king's garden, say, 'Give us better food, for this +is the flesh of crocodiles.' What say the men of Tlascala? They are +slaves,--they say they are slaves, and what matters it where they fight? +If Malintzin prevail, wo for Tlascala! for he will scourge her with +whips, and burn her with brands, even from the old man with gray hairs +down to the little infant that screams: If Mexico be victorious, wo for +Tlascala! for we will strike her down with our swords, as we strike the +maize-stalks in the harvest-field. Ho-ah! ho-ah! Come on, then, ye +women, cowards, and slaves! for we are Mexicans, and our gods are +hungry!" + +With such ferocious exclamations, the bold barbarians provoked the +besiegers; and with such they were used, each morning, to incite them to +the work of slaughter. + +The Spaniards still stood fast, and the Tlascalans lay upon the earth, +receiving the arrows that were for awhile shot at them; until the +Mexicans, exhausting their voices with outcries, at last ceased to +continue them, and assumed an attitude as quiescent as that of their +foes. + +While they thus remained, each party staring the other in the face, and +the rapidly increasing light made it evident that a very considerable +multitude of infidels were gathered upon the dike, a trumpet was winded +behind the Tlascalans, in one single, prolonged, and powerful note, that +woke up the echoes of mountains, even at the distance of leagues. It was +answered, first from the west, from the dike of Tacuba, in a blast both +strong and cheery, and immediately after, though much more faintly, from +the northern causeway, where Sandoval was marshalling his forces. + +As soon as these signals, for such they were, had been exchanged between +the leaders, the trumpet of Cortes sounded again, with a succession of +short, sharp, and fierce notes, such as blast fury into men's hearts, +through their ears. Instantly, and as if by enchantment, the four +falconets in the brigantines were discharged, and swept hundreds of the +barbarians from the causeway. Then followed the rattle of musketry, +mingled with the clang of cross-bows; which din was continued, until the +gunners, loading again, discharged their pieces a second time upon the +enemy. And now the Tlascalan pioneers, springing up, rushed, with wild +yells to the ditch, which they began to fill with frantic speed. + +Notwithstanding the boldness of their defiance, the Mexicans made a much +less manly resistance than was expected. But they stood as long as any +human beings could do, exposed between two deadly batteries, both plied +with unexampled activity, and both strengthened by the addition of the +native archers in the piraguas. They handled their bows and slings as +they could, and they cheered one another with shouts; but it was evident +that they must soon give way, and take post behind some ditch +unapproachable by the brigantines. + +As soon as this became known, the Spanish foot-soldiers began to +encourage one another, in anticipation of the charge which they were +soon to be called on to make; and Bernal Diaz, losing his grave +equanimity, in the prospect of adding another leaf to his chaplet of +immortality, ran briskly to and fro, in virtue of his official rank, +which could scarce be defined in any one title of modern military +nomenclature, and cheered every soldier with whom he happened to be well +acquainted. In the course of his rounds, he fell upon Gaspar, from whom +he had been before separated, and whom he now seized by the hand, +crying, + +"Now, Gaspar, my dear brother of Medina del Campo, we shall have such a +rouse among the red infidels as will make posterity stare." + +He was then about to extend his exhortations to others, when Gaspar +arrested him, turning upon him, to his great surprise, a countenance +extremely pale and agitated. + +"Art thou sick, man?" cried the historian, "or art thou worn out with +watching? A few knocks, Gaspar, will soon warm thy blood." + +"Bernal," said his friend, with an unnatural laugh, "wert thou ever in +fear?" + +"In fear?" echoed Bernal Diaz. "Never, before an infidel;--never, at +least, but _once_, when they had me in their hands, and I thought they +were carrying me to the temple." + +"What were thy feelings then?" demanded Gaspar, with singular eagerness: +"Was there ice in thy bosom, and lead in thy brain? Were thy lips cold +and thy tongue hot? Did thy hand shake, thy teeth chatter, thy leg +fail?--Faugh! what should make _me_ fear to go into battle?" + +"Fear! _thou_ fear?" said Bernal, anxiously. "Thou art beside thyself, +never believe me else,--frenzied with over-watching." + +"I tell thee," said Gaspar, with a grin that was indeed expressive of +terror, "that, if thou hunt this whole army through, thou wilt not find +a white-livered loon of them all, who is, at this moment, more a coward +than myself. Why should I be so? Is there an axe at my ear, and a foot +on my breast? There are an hundred stout Spaniards, and thirty score +Tlascalans betwixt me and the foe; and yet I am in great terror of mind. +I have heard that such things are forewarnings!" + +"If thou art of this temper, indeed," said honest Bernal, with more +disgust than he cared to conceal, "get thee to the rear, in God's name, +and thou mayst light somewhere upon a flask of maguey-liquor. Shame upon +thee, man! canst thou be so faint-hearted?" + +"Ay!" replied Gaspar; "yet I go not to the rear, notwithstanding. I +thought thou shouldst have counselled me.--Fare thee well, then, +Bernal.--Thou dost not know, that one can be in terror of death, and yet +meet death without flinching. Fare thee well, brother; and what angry +things I have said to thee, forget, even for the sake of our early days. +Fare thee well, Bernal, fare thee well." + +The Barba-Roxa locked his friend in a warm embrace, kissed him on both +cheeks, and then starting away, rushed towards the front, with an +alacrity that seemed utterly to disprove his humbling confession. +Whether or not fear had, indeed, for the first time in his life, beset +him, it is certain that Gaspar Olea did, that day, achieve exploits +which eclipsed those of the most distinguished cavaliers, and +consecrated his memory for ever in the hearts of his comrades. + +The Tlascalans, working with furious zeal, had now so choked up the +ditch, that stones and earth already appeared above the water. The +Mexicans wavered, and seemed incapable of maintaining their post for a +moment longer. + +The fiery spirit of the Captain-General became incensed with impatience +and hope. He rose upon his stirrups, and exalting his voice, always of +vast and thrilling power, exclaimed, + +"This time, brothers! we will seize the bridges before the pagans have +leisure to destroy them. Footmen! see that ye follow after the horse, +with all your speed. Cavaliers! put your lances in rest, and be ready. +What, trumpeter! speak thy signal to the pioneers; and, brave hearts! +fear not the gap, for it is strong enough to support you.--Sound, +trumpeter, sound!" + +The trumpeter winded a peculiar blast, and the Tlascalans, dividing +asunder, flung themselves, from either side of the causeway, into the +lake,--a feat often before practised,--and thus left the whole space up +to the ditch vacant for the horsemen. At a second blast of the +instrument, the cavaliers spurred up to the chasm, and crossing it as +they could, and clambering over the rampart, dashed down at once upon +the disordered infidels. The footmen followed, running with all their +strength, and returning the cheers, with which those in the ships beheld +the exploit of the cavalry. + +Meanwhile, the Mexicans, seized with unusual consternation, fled with +great haste towards the city, pursued so closely by the cavaliers, that +they made no attempt at a stand, even at the second ditch; nor did they +pause a moment, according to their usual tactics, to destroy the bridge +that spanned it. It was indeed a narrow chasm, with an unfinished +breastwork, and could not have been maintained for an hour. Another, +equally narrow and indefensible, occurred at a distance of less than two +hundred paces; and at such intervals, it appeared that the dike was +perforated, as far as it extended, even within the limits of the island. + +The ardour of the cavaliers, aided by that incentive to valour, the back +of the foe, carried them over three several bridges, before they +bethought them of the propriety of drawing up their horses a little, and +waiting for the footmen. + +"_Halon!_ halt! and God give us better heads to our helmets, or better +helms to our heads!" cried Juan of Salamanca, a valiant young hidalgo, +who had won immortal renown upon the field of Otumba: "Does your +excellency intend that we twenty Paladins of Spain shall sack this city +with our lances and bucklers? In my mind, we should divide a moiety of +the honour with those who will share a full half of the profit." + +"Ay," said another, an ancient hidalgo, as all checked their steeds at +the sudden call of the young man: "We should be wise, lest we fall into +an ambush. Let us wait here for the footmen." + +"And have the bridges torn up before our eyes!" cried Cortes; with +ungovernable fire. "Heaven fights for us to-day; the infidels are seized +with a panic, and they are but few in number." + +"Say not so, senor," exclaimed Salamanca, pointing in front, where they +could see the fugitives checked by what seemed a flood of armed men, +pouring out from the city. "They are in no panic; but we took them too +early. Their drum has not yet been beaten upon the temple-top; but we +shall hear it now, soon enough.--What ho! ye lame ducks with swords and +lances! ye lagging footmen! come on like men, and be fleeter." + +"Let us pass on, at least, slowly," said Cortes. "The footmen are nigh, +and we may yet gain two or three bridges. Do you not see, we are almost +upon the island?--Hark! I hear the trumpet of Alvarado!--He will win the +race to the pyramid!--Press on, gallant cavaliers, press on!" + +They were indeed within but a short distance from the island, surrounded +by the ruins of the water suburb; and it seemed yet easy to secure, at +least, two more bridges, over which the fugitives had fled without +pausing, and which could be gained before the causeway should be +obstructed by the advance of the dense column from the city. Calling out +therefore to the infantry to hasten, and finding themselves already +joined by two or three of the fleetest of foot, of whom the Barba-Roxa +was one, they again dashed onwards, and secured the desired passes. + +They now found themselves so near to the island, as to be within reach +of annoyance from the adjoining housetops; and this circumstance, +together with the unexpected conduct of the Mexicans, produced such +alarm in the bosom of the cavalier who had seconded Salamanca's caution +before, that he exclaimed, + +"Senor mio, and good brothers, let us think a little what we do, before +proceeding further. Let us beware of an ambuscado. The knaves yielded us +the rampart, almost without a blow; and they leave the ditches bridged +behind them. This is not the way Mexicans fight, when they fight +honestly. Lo you, now, yonder is a herd of twenty thousand men, with +flags and banners, and they stop at sight of us, as if in dismay! What +does this mean, if not some decoy for a stratagem?" + +"It means," said Cortes, "that they are in a perplexity, because their +priests have not yet given them the signal to fall on: and of this +perplexity it should be our wisdom to take advantage. See, now, the dogs +are in confusion!--Nay, by my conscience! 'tis the confusion of attack, +and they come against us! Couch your lances, and at them! for it is +better they should feel the weight of our horses, than we the shock of +their stormy bodies. On, footmen, on! spur, cavaliers, spur! Santiago +and Spain! and down with the paynim scum!" + +At these words of exhortation, the horsemen closed their ranks, shouted +their war-cries, and dashed with fearless audacity upon the advancing +warriors. They swept the causeway, like a moving wall, and however +insignificant their numbers, it did not seem possible for the enemy to +withstand the violence of their onset; indeed, before a drop of blood +was shed, they manifested such symptoms of hesitation and wavering, as +greatly exalted the courage of the assailants. They plied their slings +and arrows, indeed, they darted their javelins, brandished their spears, +and added their discordant shrieks and wild whistling to the shouts of +the Spaniards; but still it was in a kind of confusion and disorder, +that showed them to be, from some cause or other, not yet prepared for +combat. Nay, some were seen, as the galloping squadron approached, to +cast themselves into the lake, as if in fear, and swim to the nearest +ruins for protection. + +This degree of disrelish for battle was a phenomenon, so unusual in the +character of barbarians brave not only to folly, but to madness, that a +wary commander would have laid it to heart, and pondered over it with +suspicion. But not so the Captain-General. He remembered, with +Salamanca, that the sound of the enormous drum on the temple of Mexitli, +with which, each morning, the Mexican emperor gave the signal for +battle, had not yet been heard; and as there seemed to be as close, and +almost as fanatical, a connexion between the thunder of this instrument +and the courage of the pagans, as he had found, in former days, in the +case of the sacred horn, he did not doubt that their present timidity +was caused entirely by the failure of the signal. Perhaps he thought it +increased also by their sense of weakness; for, now that he was nigh, it +became obvious that their numbers were much less considerable than they +had appeared at a distance. At all events, they were in fear, and they +wavered; which was enough to give his valour the upperhand of his +prudence.--It is with martial ardour as with a pestilence;--it ravens +most furiously among the ranks of fear. + +Fierce, therefore, was the zeal of his cavaliers, and their hearts +flamed at the thought of blood. They raised their voices in a cry of +victory, and bounded like thunderbolts among their opponents. The shock +was decisive; in a moment, the whole mass of pagans was put to rout. +They flung down their arms, and betook themselves to flight. Those who +could, fled down along the dike into the city; others flung themselves +into the water, and swam to the island, or to the neighbouring ruins. +The only ones who made resistance, were those whose hearts were +transfixed by Spanish lances, before they could turn to retreat. Such +men uttered the yell of battle, and, in their dying agonies, thrust with +their own hands, the spears further through their vitals, that they +might be nearer to the foe, and strike the macana once more for +Tenochtitlan. + +"On, ye men of the foot!" cried the Captain-General. "Let the Tlascalans +fire the houses behind me; for now we are again upon the island. Charge, +cavaliers, charge! The saints open a path for us. Charge, my brothers, +charge! and _viva_ for Spain and our honour!" + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +The horsemen pursued along the dike, spearing, or tumbling into the +water, the few who had the heart to resist; and so great was, or seemed, +the terror of the barbarians, that the victors penetrated even within +the limits of the island, until the turrets of houses, from which they +were separated only by the lateral canals, darkened them with their +shadows. Upon these were clustered many pagans, who shot at them both +arrows and darts, but with so little energy, that it seemed as if +despondence or fatuity had robbed them of their usual vigour. Hence, the +excited cavaliers gave them but little attention, not doubting that they +would be soon dislodged by the infantry. They were even regardless of +circumstances still more menacing; and if a lethargy beset the infidel +that day, it is equally certain that a species of distraction +overwhelmed the brains of the Spaniards. It seemed as if the great +object of their ambition depended more upon their following the +fugitives to the temple-square than upon any other feat; and to this +they encouraged one another with vivas and invocations to the saints. +They could already behold the huge bulk of the pyramid, rising up at the +distance of a mile, as if it shut up the street; and its terraced sides, +thronged with multitudes of men, seemed to prove to them, that the +frighted Mexicans were running to their gods for protection. It is true, +they perceived vast bodies of infidels blocking up the avenue afar, as +if to dispute their passage beyond the canalled portion of the island; +but they regarded them with scorn. + +They rushed onwards, occasionally arrested by some flying group, but +only for a moment. + +There was a place, not far within the limits of the island, where they +found the causeway, for the space of at least sixty paces, so delved and +pared away on either side, that it scarce afforded a passage for two +horsemen abreast. The device was of recent execution, for they beheld +the mattocks of labourers still sticking in the earth, as if that moment +abandoned. This circumstance, so strange, so novel, and so ominous, it +might be supposed, would have aroused them to suspicion. The passage, as +it was, so contracted, broken, and rugged, looked prodigiously like the +Al-Sirat, or bridge to paradise of the Mussulmans,--that arch, narrow as +the thread of a famished spider, over which it is so much easier to be +precipitated than to pass with safety. Yet grim and threatening as it +was, there was but one among the cavaliers who raised a voice of +warning. As the Captain-General, without a moment's hesitation, pushed +his horse forward, to lead the way, and without a single expression of +surprise, the ancient hidalgo, who had twice before sounded a note of +alarm, now exclaimed,-- + +"For the love of heaven, pause, senor! This is a trap that will destroy +us." + +"Art thou afraid, Alderete?" cried Cortes, looking back to him, grimly. +"This is no place for a King's Treasurer," (such was Alderete, the royal +Contador.)--"Get thee back, then, to the first ditch, and fill it up to +thy liking. _This_ will be charge enough for a volunteer." + +"I will fight where thou wilt, when thou wilt, and as boldly as thou +wilt," said the indignant cavalier; "but here play the madman no +longer." + +"I will take thy counsel,--rest where I am,--and, in an hour's time, see +myself shut out from the city by a ditch, sixty yards wide! God's +benison upon thy long beard! and mayst thou be wiser. Forward, friends! +Do you not see? the knaves are running amain to check us, and recover +their unfinished gap! On! courage, and on! Santiago and at them!" + +It was indeed as Cortes said. The infidels, who blocked up the streets +afar, were now seen running towards them, with the most terrific yells, +as if to seize, before it was too late, a pass so easily maintained. The +cavaliers, animated by the words of their leader, were quite as resolute +to disappoint them, and therefore rode across as rapidly as they could. +The pass was not only narrow, but tortuous and irregular; which +increased the difficulties of surmounting it; so that the Mexicans, +running with the most frantic speed, were within a bowshot, before +Cortes had spurred his steed upon the broader portion of the dike. But, +as if there were something dreadful to the infidels, in the spectacle of +the great Teuctli of the East, thus again in their stronghold, they came +to a sudden halt, and testified their valour only by yelling, and waving +their spears and banners. + +"Courage, friends, and quick!" cried Cortes. "The dogs are beset with +fear, and will not face us. Ye shall hear other yells in a moment. +Haste, valiant cavaliers! haste, men of Spain! and make room for the +footmen, who are behind you." + +The screams of the barbarians were loud and incessant; but in the midst +of the din, as he turned to cheer his cavaliers over the broken passage, +Don Hernan's ears were struck by the sound of a Christian voice, calling +from the midst of the pagans, with thrilling vehemence, + +"Beware! beware! Back to the causey! Beware!" + +"Hark!" cried Alderete, who had already passed; "Our Saint calls to us! +Let us return!" + +"It is a trick of the fiend!" exclaimed Cortes, in evident perturbation +of mind. "Come on, good friends, and let us seize vantage-ground; or the +dogs will drive us, singly, into the ditches." + +"Back! back!" shouted the cavaliers behind--"We are ambushed! We are +surrounded!" + +Their further exclamations were lost in a tempest of discordant shrieks, +coming from the front and the rear, from the heavens above, and, as they +almost fancied, from the earth beneath. They looked northward, towards +the pyramid,--the whole broad street was filled with barbarians, rushing +towards them with screams of anticipated triumph; they looked back to +the lake,--the causeway was swarming with armed men, who seemed to have +sprung from the waters; to either side, and beheld the canals of the +intersecting streets lashed into foam by myriads of paddles; while, at +the same moment, the few pagans, who had annoyed them from the +housetops, appeared transformed, by the same spell of enchantment, into +hosts innumerable, with spirits all of fury and flame. + +"What says the king of Castile? What says the king of Castile _now_?" +roared the exulting infidels. + +"Santiago! and God be with us!" exclaimed Cortes, waving his hand, with +a signal for retreat, that came too late: "Cross but this devil-trap +again, and--" + +Before he could conclude the vain and useless order, the drum of the +emperor sounded upon the pyramid. It was an instrument of gigantic size +and horrible note, and was held in no little fear, especially after the +events of this day, by the Spaniards, who fabled that it was covered +with the skins of serpents. It was a fit companion for the horn of +Mexitli; which latter, however, being a sacred instrument, was sounded +only on the most urgent and solemn occasions. + +The first tap,--or rather peal, for the sound came from the temple more +like the roll of thunder than of a drum,--was succeeded by yells still +more stunning; and while the cavaliers, retreating, struggled, one by +one, to recross the narrow pass, they were set upon with such fury as +left them but little hope of escape. + +If the rashness of Cortes had brought his friends into this fatal +difficulty, he now seemed resolved to atone his fault, by securing their +retreat, even although at the expense of his life. It was in vain that +those few cavaliers who had succeeded in reaching him, before the +onslaught began, besought him to take his chance among them, and +recross, leaving them to cover his rear. + +"Get ye over yourselves," he cried, with grim smiles, smiting away the +headmost of the assailants from the street: "If I have brought ye among +coals of fire, heaven forbid I should not broil a little in mine own +person. Quick, fools! over and hasten! over and quick! and by and by I +will follow you." + +For a moment, it seemed as if the terror of his single arm would have +kept the barbarians at bay. But, waxing bolder, as they saw his +attendants dropping one by one away, they began to close upon him, and +his situation became exceedingly critical. He looked over his shoulder, +and perceived that his followers threaded their way along the broken +dike with less difficulty than he at first feared. The very narrowness +of the passage left but little foothold for the enemy; and their +attacks, being made principally from canoes, were not such as wholly to +dishearten a cavalier, whose steed was as strongly defended by mail as +his own body. Encouraged by this assurance, the Captain-General still +maintained his post, rushing ever and anon upon the closing herds, and +mowing right and left with his trusty blade, while his gallant charger +pawed down opposition with his hoofs. Thus he fought, with the mad +valour that made his enemies so often deem him almost a demigod, until +satisfied that his own attempt to cross the pass could no longer +embarrass the efforts of his followers. Then, charging once more upon +the pagans, and even with greater fury than before, he wheeled round +with unexpected rapidity, and uttering his famous cry, "Santiago and at +them!" dashed boldly at the passage. + +Seven pagans sprang upon the path. They were armed like princes, and the +red fillets of the House of Darts waved among their sable locks. + +"The Teuctli shall have the tribute of Mexico!" shouted one, flourishing +a battle-axe that seemed of weight sufficient, in his brawny arm, to +dash out the charger's brains at a blow. The words were not understood +by Cortes; but he recognized at once the visage of the Lord of Death. + +"I have thee, pagan!" he cried, striking at the bold barbarian. The blow +failed; for one of the others, springing at the charger's head with +unexampled audacity, seized him by the bridle, so that he reared +backwards, and thus foiled the aim of his rider. The next moment, the +Spanish steel fell upon the neck of the daring infidel, killing him on +the spot; yet not so instantaneously as to avert a disaster, which it +seemed the object of his fury to produce. His convulsive struggles, as +he clung, dying, to the rein, drove the steed off the narrow ledge; and +thus losing his foothold, the noble animal rolled over into the deep +canal, burying the Captain-General in the flood. + +"The general! save the general!" shrieked the only Christian, who, in +this horrible melee, (for the battle was now universal,) beheld the +condition of Cortes, and who, although on foot, and bristling with +arrows that had stuck fast in his cotton-armour, and resisted by other +weapons at every step, had yet the courage to run to the rescue. It was +Gaspar Olea. His visage was yet wan, and expressive of the unusual +horror preying upon his mind; yet he rushed forward, as if he had never +known a fear. He exalted his voice, while crying for assistance, until +it was heard far back upon the causeway; yet he reached the place of Don +Hernan's mischance alone. The scene was dreadful: the nobles had flung +themselves into the flood, and were dragging the stunned and strangling +hero from the steed, which lay upon its side on the rugged and shelving +edge of the dike, unable to rise, and perishing with the most fearful +struggles; while, all the time, the elated infidels expressed their +triumph with shouts of frantic joy. + +"Courage, captain! be of good heart, senor!" exclaimed the Barba-Roxa, +striking down one of the captors at a single blow: "Courage! for we have +good help nigh," he continued, attacking a second with the same success: +"Courage, senor, courage!" + +No Mexican helm of dried skins, and no breast-plate of copper, could +resist the machete of a man like Gaspar. Yet his first success was +caused rather by the Mexicans being so intently occupied with their +captive, that they thought of nothing else, than by any miraculous +exertion of skill and prowess. He slew two, before they dreamed of +attack, and he mortally wounded a third, ere the others could turn to +drive him back. A fourth rushed upon him, before he could again lift up +his weapon, and grasping him in his arms, with the embrace of a mountain +bear, leaped with him into the canal. + +There were now but two left in possession of Cortes; yet his resistance +even against these was ineffectual. His sword had dropped from his hand; +a violent blow had burst his helmet, and confounded his brain; and he +had been lifted from the water, already half suffocated. Yet he +struggled as he could, and catching one of his foes by the throat, he +succeeded in overturning him into the water, and there grappled with him +among the shallows. The remaining barbarian, yelling for assistance, +flung himself upon the pair; and though twenty Spaniards, headed by +Bernal Diaz and the hunchback, were now within half as many paces, +Cortes would have perished where he lay, had not assistance arose from +an unexpected quarter. + +Among the vast numbers who came crowding from the city over the broken +passage, were several who knew, by the cry of the seventh noble, that +Malintzin was in his hands; and they rushed forward, to insure his +capture. The foremost and fleetest of these was distinguished from the +rest by a frame of towering height; and, had there been a Spaniard by to +notice him, would have been still more remarkable from the fact, that he +uttered all his cries in good, expressive Castilian. He bore a Spanish +weapon, too, and his first act, as he flung himself into the ditch where +Cortes was drowning, was to strike it through the neck of the uppermost +noble. His next was to spurn the other from the breast of the general, +whom he raised to his feet, murmuring in his ear, + +"Be of good heart, senor! for you are saved." + +What more he would have said and done can only be imagined; for, at that +moment, the Barba-Roxa rushed out of the ditch, followed close at hand +by the hunchback, Bernal Diaz, and others, and seeing his commander, as +he thought, in the hands of a foeman, he lifted his good sword once +again, and smote him over the head, crying, + +"Down, infidel dog! and _viva_ for Spain and our general!" + +At this moment, there rushed up a crew of fresh combatants, Spaniards +from the rear and infidels from the front. But before they closed upon +him entirely, the Barba-Roxa caught sight of the man he had struck down, +and beheld, in his pale and quivering aspect, the features of Juan +Lerma. + +The unhappy wretch, thus beholding the beloved youth, with his own eyes, +a leaguer and helpmate of the infidel, and punished to death, as it +seemed, by his hand, set up a scream wildly vehement, and broke from the +group of Spaniards, who now surrounded Cortes, endeavouring to drag him +in safety over the pass. The exile had been seen by others as well as +Gaspar, and many a ferocious cry of exultation burst from their lips, as +they saw him fall. + +Meanwhile, Gaspar, distracted in mind, and dripping with blood, for he +had not escaped from the ditch and the fierce embrace of his fourth +antagonist, without many severe wounds, endeavoured to retrace his steps +to the spot where Juan had fallen. It was occupied by infidels, who +drove him into the ditch, where his legs were grasped by a drowning +Mexican, who raised himself a little from the water, and displayed, +between his neck and shoulder, a yawning chasm, rather than a wound, +from which the blood, at every panting expiration of breath, rolled out +hideously in froth and foam. It was the Lord of Death, thus struck by +Juan Lerma, as he lay upon the breast of Cortes, and now perishing, but +still like a warrior of the race of America. He clambered up the body of +Gaspar, for it could hardly be said, that he rose upon his feet; and +seeing that he grasped a Christian soldier, he strove to utter once more +a cry of battle. The blood foamed from his lips, as from his wound; and +his voice was lost in a suffocating murmur. Yet, with his last expiring +strength, he locked his arms round the neck of the Spaniard, now almost +as much spent as himself, and falling backwards, and writhing together +as they fell, they rolled off into the deep water, where the salt and +troubled flood wrapped them in a winding-sheet, already spread over the +bosoms of thousands. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +If it be indeed permitted to disembodied spirits to look back to the +world they have left, and to read the hearts they have, in life, +mistaken, then should that of Gaspar Olea have seen, that his unlucky +blow fell not upon the head of an apostate, and that it had not slain +his friend and companion of the wilderness. Even Gaspar's strength +failed to pierce entirely through a morion composed of tiger-skins and +thickly-padded escaupil; and though the violence of the blow forced Juan +to the earth, and left him for a time almost insensible, it had done him +no serious injury. It robbed him, to be sure, of the dearly coveted +opportunity of escape, which the lucky service he had done the +Captain-General would have rendered of still more inestimable value; but +it yet served the good purpose, since he did _not_ escape, of removing +from the minds of the Mexicans many fierce doubts and suspicions, with +which they beheld him rush into the melee. + +He was dragged back upon the causeway, and soon found himself in the +arms of the king. + +"My brother is brave and true," said the young monarch, tearing from his +own hair the symbols of military renown, and fastening them to Juan's. +"The people have seen his bravery, and now they know him well. Did he +not lay his hands upon Malintzin? and was not Malintzin his prisoner, +until the red lion with the white and bloody face, struck my brother +with his sword? Is this a good deed, men of Mexico?" + +"The king's brother is valiant!" exclaimed many nobles, who surrounded +the monarch with a guard of honour, eyeing the outcast with reverence. + +Their words stung Juan to the soul; for he abhorred his deception, +though still urged, by his desire of escaping, to carry it on. + +"Why do we stand here idle?" he cried, with affected zeal: "Is not +Malintzin yet upon the causeway? My heart is very strong; I will look +him in the face again." + +At this proof of courage and apparent devotion to their cause, the +infidels shouted with approbation. But the king took him by the arm, and +withdrawing him a little, said, + +"My brother will go now to the palace.--What is this that Azcamatzin +says of my brother? He says that my brother pierced the Lord of Death +with a sword, and pulled Malintzin out of his hands! This foolish thing +of Azcamatzin has made many angry, and they say, 'Let us know; for +perhaps the Great Eagle is for Malintzin.' Therefore my brother shall +not go from the king, till Azcamatzin thinks better things; for many +hurts have made him mad." + +"Think not of this," said Juan, eagerly, for every moment the shouts of +the Christians were at a greater distance, and he feared that every step +of their retreat was one more link taken from his chain of hope. + +"My brother," said Guatimozin, interrupting him, "may yet fight the +battles of the king, and be the king's friend. It is said to me, by a +messenger, that the ships have broken the wall of my garden, and that +Spaniards are slaying the women." + +"Ha!" cried Juan, his own agitation at this information, contrasting +strongly with the frigid placidity of the king. + +"Why should the king think of his women--of his wife and his little +boy,--when he is taking the Spaniards, like birds in a net? Let my +brother think for the king, for the king thinks for his people. My +brother's arm is yet strong--he will fight for Zelahualla, and for her +sister, the queen." + +A thousand contrary emotions tore the breast of Juan, yet his thoughts +were fixed upon the garden. He remembered what counsel he had given to +the maidens, to sally forth, at any moment, when a trumpet should be +heard among the trees; and he conceived the danger in which they would +be involved, among a troop of enraged and merciless soldiers. He needed +no second exhortation to run to their assistance; and following +Techeechee, who remained at his side, he made his way through the +multitudes that thronged all the great streets, with a rapidity that, at +any other period, would have even surprised himself. He passed the great +square of the pyramid, the Wall of Serpents, and the House of Skulls, +from which, had he been so minded, he might have looked, at the same +moment, upon the three battles raging upon the three several causeways, +(for it was here the dikes terminated;) he passed the house of +Axajacatl, in which the Spaniards, a year since, had endured those +assaults which terminated only in their expulsion from Tenochtitlan; and +he trod again upon the vast market square of Tlatelolco, the northern +side of which was bounded by the walls of Guatimozin's palace and +garden. Upon this square he beheld many infidels, shouting at once with +wrath and triumph, a party of whom bore in their arms a Christian +prisoner, bound hand and foot, over whom the others seemed to exult, +piercing the very heavens with their clamorous cries. + +Heart-sick, for well he knew the fate in store for the captive, and +struck with foreboding fear, he rushed over the fosse that laved the +garden wall, and was now choked up by the falling of a portion of its +extent, washed and undermined by the heavy rains, and passed into the +pleasant wilderness within. It was a theatre of wild disorder and +affright: men were seen rushing to and fro in great numbers, and their +cries were re-echoed by the yells of a thousand beasts of prey, famished +with hunger, or alarmed by the tumult. + +He perceived that the water-wall was rent at one of the chief +sally-ports, as if battered by cannon; and he had no doubt, if it were +not yet over, that some terrific combat had but lately taken place in +the garden. + +He came too late to share in it, but as he ran down to the water-side, +he beheld four brigantines making their way with oars, for the +atmosphere was breathless, towards the dike of Tepejacac, which was +itself a scene of furious conflict. The vessels were surrounded by +countless canoes and piraguas, some of which seemed to be manned by +Tlascalans; for while the brigantines were seen contending with this +aquatic army, it was equally manifest that a battle was raging also +among the canoes themselves. + +He gave but little heed to this spectacle, nor did he scarcely note that +among the many human corses which strewed the lower part of the garden, +there were several with the visages of Spaniards. + +His attention was arrested by a yelping cry; and looking round, he +beheld the dog Befo lying upon the ground, with an iron sword-blade, +broken off near the hilt, sticking quite through his body. But this +painful sight was forgotten, when, having approached, he beheld three or +four barbarians raising from the earth what seemed the dead body of +Magdalena. There were indeed blood-drops upon her hollow and ghastly +cheeks; and when he rushed up among the Indians, they exclaimed, + +"The Teuctlis killed her, the men of Malintzin with beards,--they killed +the bright-eyed lady, and they killed the daughter of Montezuma!" And +then they added their wild lamentations to the mourning cries of Juan. + +Distracted himself, as indeed were all the infidels, he could learn +nothing but that the Teuctlis, or Spaniards, had suddenly burst into the +garden, and besides slaughtering all that opposed them, in their attempt +to reach the palace, had killed, or carried off, as seemed much more +probable, the princess Zelahualla. + +The misery that took possession of his heart at these evil tidings, he +smothered within its secret recesses, or strove to forget it in the +contemplation of his sister--for so his heart acknowledged her. He bore +her to the palace, and gave her in charge to the maidens, who, whatever +was their fright, were not unmindful of the duties of humanity. He then, +in much of that sullen despair that had oppressed him in the prison of +Tezcuco, returned to the garden and to Befo, whom he had left in +suffering, and drawing the sword-blade from his body, he examined it +with stern curiosity, as if hoping to penetrate the mystery of the whole +unhappy transaction, from such records as it might furnish. His scrutiny +was vain: it was a blade without any name, by which he might be enabled +to guess at its owner. He snapped it under his foot, and muttered a +malediction upon the unknown foe: + +"Cursed be he that did this deed," he cried; "for he slew the only +protector of a feeble and wretched woman." + +He then carried Befo, almost with as much tenderness as he had bestowed +upon Magdalena, into the palace, and stanching his wounds as he could, +deposited him upon his own couch. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +The effects of this battle upon the Spaniards were disastrous in the +extreme. The assault, as has been mentioned, and as was anticipated, was +made upon all the causeways at once; and, on all, successfully repelled, +though an ambuscade was only attempted upon the dike of Iztapalapan. It +seemed as if the Mexicans, thinned as their numbers had been, by so many +conflicts, and now the remainder absolutely perishing under want and +pestilence, had collected all their energies for one final blow. It was +first successful in the quarter attacked by the Captain-General, in +consequence of his surprising infatuation; and victory soon after +followed in the others. The Spaniards fled, so completely broken and so +utterly defeated, that the priests, in the wild hope of completing their +destruction at once, even drew the sacred horn from the tabernacle of +Mexitli, and added its dreadful uproar to the thunder of the great +tymbal. This was always regarded by the Mexicans as the voice of the god +himself, and was never sounded without filling them with a delirium of +fury, utterly inconceivable. It was not more maddening to the infidels +than frightful to the Spaniards; who remembered the horrors of the Noche +Triste, augmented, if not altogether caused by its unearthly roar. The +Spaniards were driven back to their strong and defensible stations at +the gates; the dikes were lost; and had not famine now fought for them, +they must have given up the siege in despair. Nearly an hundred +Spaniards, and many thousand Indian allies, were killed; the fleets of +canoes and piraguas were destroyed, and several brigantines wholly +ruined. + +But the miseries of the besiegers were not confined to the events of the +day. Night opened to them a scene of grief and horror. The whole mass of +the pyramid, always a striking object, was suddenly illuminated by a +myriad of flambeaux, so that it blazed like a mountain of solid fire. +The night was clear, and the peculiarly rarified and transparent +atmosphere of Mexico rendering objects distinct at a much greater +distance than in other lands, the Spaniards, looking from the towers at +the gates, could plainly perceive some of their late fellow-soldiers, +stripped naked and their hands bound behind them, driven up the stairs +from platform to platform, by the blows and other indignities of their +cruel captors. On the summit of the pyramid, they were unbound, their +heads adorned with plumes, and great waving penachos placed in their +hands, with which they were forced to dance round the ever-burning +censers of the gods, in the midst of shouting pagans, until dragged away +by the priests and immolated, at a signal blasted from the sacred horn, +upon the stone of sacrifice. The station of Alvarado on the dike of +Tacuba, was nearer than either of the others; and his men, while they +wept and prayed over a spectacle so appalling, even fancied they could +distinguish the figures and faces of particular individuals, and hear +their cries to heaven. Many were the wretches who had yielded themselves +alive into the hands of the foe; and for ten nights in succession, the +blazing temple echoed to their groans, and their garrisoned friends were +compelled to be the witnesses of their torments. + +But this triumph was the last of the pagans. All supplies of corn from +the lake-sides were cut off, and they were known to be famishing; and +besides, as if heaven were willing to assist even the arms of rapacity, +to subdue a race, all whose institutions were more or less infected by +the spirit of blood that brutalized their religion, the rainy season was +brought to a close preternaturally early, and they were left without +water. The Spaniards recovered their spirits, and collecting again vast +bands of confederates, recommenced the siege, advancing with prudence, +and destroying every thing as they advanced, and not only regaining all +they had lost, but even effecting, despite all resistance, a secure +lodgment upon the island, from their several points of attack. The +Mexicans still fought; but it was with bodies emaciated and enfeebled, +and with hearts subdued by despair. The three divisions of besiegers met +upon the great square, blew up the Huitzompan, and all the temples +within the circuit of the Wall of Serpents, which they fortified and +preserved; and then, still demolishing houses as they advanced, they +pushed on until they reached the great market-place of Tlatelolco; and +thus hemmed in upon the narrow peninsula the unfortunate king of Mexico, +and the few shattered remnants of his army. + +Before this crisis had yet arrived, there occurred another incident, in +which, as in all others since his return from the South Sea, the virtues +of Juan Lerma were made the instruments of still further misfortune. He +beheld Magdalena but once, after the adventure of the garden; and she +was then raving with delirium, in which she did not know even him. The +fate of Zelahualla was still wrapt in obscurity; for such had been the +suddenness of the attack in the garden, that none knew of her fate, and +Magdalena was incapable of uttering any rational word, to remove the +mountain of anxiety from his breast. His scheme to effect the +deliverance of the princess had doubtless thrown her into the power of +the Spaniards; and the thought of such a captive in such hands, preyed +upon him with a bitterness that exceeded death. He fought no more, and +indeed he was urged no longer by the king, who was himself reduced to +such desperation, that he thought no further of stratagems, but merely +of blind and sullen resistance. + +On the third day after the battle, he was summoned by Techeechee to +attend the king in public; and without questioning for what purpose, he +gloomily obeyed, taking with him the Spanish sword with which he had +been provided, on the day of his attempted escape. + +It was midday: no sound of contention came to his ears, for the +besiegers were yet lying in their quarters on the dikes, healing their +wounds and lamenting their friends; but the quiet of the garden was +broken by the howling of the beasts, and the shrill streams of birds of +prey,--of such at least as had not already been slaughtered, to appease +the hunger of the wretches, who yet fought for their expiring empire. +One circumstance, had Juan noticed it, might have convinced him of the +dreadful extent and intensity of the suffering, of which he had been +before apprized. The trees of the garden had begun to be robbed of their +leaves, but not by summer heat or autumnal drought;--the tender shrubs +were stripped of their bark;--the smaller plants had been rooted up, and +even the grass, in some places, torn from the earth, and even the earth +itself upturned, in the search after edible roots.--All that could be +gnawed by the teeth of man had vanished, or did soon after vanish, from +the garden. When the Spaniards walked afterwards through their conquest, +not a green leaf, as they have recorded, was found in all the city. + +He passed through the broken wall, now only defended by rude palisades, +strengthened by an abatis of withered shrubs and brambles, and passing +the moat, over the ruins of the prostrate wall, found himself on the +market-square of Tlatelolco, of which the Spaniards gave such surprising +accounts, when they beheld it filled with the merchants and riches of +the empire, before the death of Montezuma. It was of very great extent, +and contained, at the eastern boundary, a pyramid, on which was the +temple of one of the lesser divinities. On the west was a platform, or +rather stage, faced and flagged with stone, and devoted to theatrical +exhibitions, which, however primitive and barbarous, were yet a chief +feature among the amusements of a Mexican festival. + +Almost in the centre of the square, and yet so nigh to the garden wall +that it could be overlooked by the nearest turrets of the palace, was +another platform, perhaps four feet in height, and circular, upon which +lay the famous stone _Temalacatl_, devoted to the purpose of the +gladiatorial sacrifice. It now lies in the Plaza Mayor of the modern +city, near the walls, and within the enclosure of the great Cathedral, +and is one of the few monuments which the conquerors have left of the +savage institutions of the Aztec empire. It is a circular block of +porphyry, nine or ten feet in diameter, and is sculptured over with the +effigies of warriors. The privilege of dying upon this stone was awarded +only to captives of the most extraordinary prowess; and as such were +never taken alive, unless when conquered by accident, the exhibition of +such a sacrifice was as rare as it was agreeable to the fierce tastes of +the Mexicans. It was essentially gladiatorial, and it offered a prospect +even of life and liberty to the valiant prisoner. A sword and buckler +were put into his hands, and he was tied by one leg to the stone; yet, +if he succeeded in slaying or defeating six chosen Mexican warriors, he +was released and sent back in safety to his own country. The last victim +of the Temalacatl was the famous Tlascalan chief, Tlahuicotl, the +Orlando of Anahuac, captured by Montezuma not many years before the +advent of the Spaniards, who, fighting only to die, (for he refused to +accept life, even as the meed of his own heroism,) and fighting till he +_did_ die, slew no less than eight different opponents, and disabled +twenty others, before his great spirit sank under his exertions. If the +gladiator fell, before he had accomplished his task, he was dragged to +the neighbouring temple, and there sacrificed, while yet living. The +last victim, destined to close the list of those to whom Mexico did +honour, was a Spaniard. + +A vast multitude of pagans surrounded the platform, except on that side +which looked to the temple. Here stood the priests, few in number, yet +prepared, at the moment of the victim's fall, to clutch upon him, and +bear him to the altar, a space being left for them, as much out of +reverence for their sacred character, as to preserve their pathway +entirely unobstructed. The side that looked to the palace was also but +little encumbered; for here the king of Mexico sat upon a scaffold, +attended by his chief nobles. + +The grim looks of expectation, with which the assembled multitude +surveyed the platform, were heightened in ferocity by the privations +that had pinched and hollowed their visages. They looked like winter +wolves, gaunt with famine; and one would have thought their appetites +were whetting for a repast on the flesh of the victim. There was indeed +something horrid in their appearance, as well as in the cause which had +assembled them together. It was plain that they waited impatiently for +the coming of the prisoner. As they rolled their eyes over the square, +they caught sight of Juan, conspicuous by his lofty stature, though he +now drooped his head with gloom, and hailed his appearance with such +shouts as proved what a change had been made in their feelings, by his +presence, in the battle of the ambuscade. The imputations of Azcamatzin +were ended, for Azcamatzin perished an hour after uttering them, under a +shot from the crossbow of the hunchback: they remembered nothing now, +but that the Christian had touched the body of Malintzin, and was struck +down while he had him in his hands, and that he was the brother of the +king. + +It was these acclamations which roused him out of his sullen mood, so +that he could exert his mind and imagine the object for which he had +been summoned. But no sooner did he perceive the priests near the +Temalacatl, than he was seized with horror, and disregarding the command +of Guatimozin, who beckoned to him to ascend the platform to his side, +he turned to fly. + +"Is not my brother a Mexican, and among the sons of the king?" said the +infidel; and then added with a look of bitter meaning, "My brother shall +see the revenge of the daughter of Montezuma!" + +Struck by these words, yet incapable of fathoming their signification, +Juan looked up to the young monarch, and would even have ascended the +scaffold, had not the sudden appearance of the captive engaged his whole +attention. A wild and frantic cry burst from the mob, and looking round, +he beheld a body of ten or twelve priests, with their black robes, and +long plaited, rope-like hair, leading the prisoner towards the platform. +His arms were bound behind him, and his only garment was a coarse cloth +wrapped round the loins. + +Juan's heart sickened; he would have sunk to the earth, or buried his +head in his tilmaltli, to avoid looking upon the spectacle of a +Christian and countryman, thus brought forth to be slaughtered. But the +fiery spirit displayed by the victim, as soon as he was lifted upon the +mound and set upon his feet, drew another shout from the admiring +infidels, which caused him to steal one look at the scene; and that look +left him without the power of withdrawing his eyes. The captive, as soon +as he was on the mound, leaped, of his own accord, upon the stone, as if +to testify not only his knowledge of the purpose for which he was +brought there, but his willingness to engage in the combat. He then +turned his face towards the king, and, at that moment, + +Juan Lerma lifting his eyes, beheld the only man he had ever learned to +hate--It was Don Francisco de Guzman. + +Noble, compassionate, and truly unvindictive, as was Lerma's spirit, he +did not make this discovery without a thrill of fierce exultation. There +is a touch of the wild beast in the hearts of us all; and so long as man +is capable of anger, he will, at some moment, and for some brief space +of time, yield to thoughts and wishes, that he himself must, a moment +after, esteem diabolic. Religion and moral culture make us the masters +of our malign propensities; but man is naturally a vengeful animal. + +It was but the weakness of a moment with Juan Lerma; perhaps, too, it +was caused by the thrill of joy at the proof thus rendered, that Guzman, +at least, exercised no control over the fate of the princess of Mexico; +and if he did not instantly commiserate the condition of an enemy justly +abhorred, but now so fallen, so wretched, and about to expiate his evil +deeds by a punishment so fearfully retributive, he was able to banish +all unworthy elation from his mind, and look on with feelings more +becoming a man and Christian. + +He could not indeed but admire the fearless intrepidity, or rather +audacity, with which Guzman (more oppressed by a sense of humiliation, +at being made a spectacle among a crew so despised and abhorred, than by +any other feeling,) looked around him upon the pagans, and extended his +foot to the ligature, with which it was to be secured to the stone. +Whatever were his faults, it could not be denied, that Don Francisco was +a man of unflinching courage, which was indeed a constitutional trait. +His presence on the stone of battle indicated that he had been captured +after a heroic resistance. His resolution was, in this case, kept up by +a knowledge of the nature of the ordeal through which he was to pass, +and by full confidence in his ability to win all the privileges it +conferred upon him. He had some little acquaintance with the Mexican +tongue, and was by no means ignorant of the more remarkable institutions +of the country. A victory over six awkward and half-starved barbarians, +was an exploit not to be despaired of by a well-trained cavalier, even +when denied any advantage of weapons, and defensive armour. Yet it was a +curious circumstance, that he, who had not often kept faith himself, +when his interest called upon him to break it, should rest with such +perfect reliance upon the willingness of the Mexicans to liberate him, +in the event of his prevailing over their champions. But he knew, that +never but _once_ had a tribe of all the broad regions of Anahuac broken +its pledged faith to a successful gladiator; and that tribe was, for +that reason, ever after held infamous. It was the tribe of Huexotzinco; +and Cortes himself placed the circumstance on record. + +As soon as his foot was properly secured, his arms were unbound, and a +noble, who stood upon the scaffold in the character of a herald, +addressed him in the following official terms: + +"This is the law of Mexico, and let the people hear: 'The prisoner who +is brave, the gods honour. If he kill six strong men upon the stone +Temalacatl, he shall be set free.' This is the law." + +"This is the law, then," repeated Guzman, in imperfect Mexican, turning +his eyes upon Guatimozin, as if he disdained to hold converse with any +meaner infidel: "Is it a law that will be remembered, when the prisoner +is a Spaniard?" + +"He who is a prisoner, has no name and no country," replied the prince. +"He is neither Tlascalan nor Castilian, but a man who kills or dies." + +"And if I prevail over six of thy soldiers," again cried Guzman, as the +attendants strapped upon one arm a light buckler of basket-work, and +gave him also a short macana, "dost thou warrant me by thy gods, that I +shall be sent back to Don Hernan?" + +"Let the prisoner fight," said the king sternly: "Are the warriors of +Mexico blades of grass, that they should be blown down by a man's +breath, before the sword has struck them?" + +"Thou shalt see," replied Guzman, with a grim smile. "What are six +warriors to a man fighting for liberty? Give me a Spanish sword,--a +weapon of iron,--and let my adversaries be doubled in number." + +The boldness of this demand greatly excited the admiration of the +warlike spectators, who rewarded it with cheers. But they checked their +tumult to hear the words of the king. + +"The white man talks with the lips of a boaster," he said. "Had he not a +Spanish sword in the king's garden, among the women? How is this? He is +a prisoner!" + +"Ask thy warriors,--it was not broken off in my hand! How else should +they have taken me?" replied Guzman, to the words of scorn; and then +added, in Spanish, as if to himself, "So much for striking the accursed +hound! I would he and his master were broiling in purgatory; for they +have ever brought me bad luck." + +Juan Lerma heard not these words, but he remembered the broken blade in +Befo's body, and again his heart hardened against his foemen. But +matters were now approaching to a crisis. The monarch, disdaining to +hold further discourse with the prisoner, waved his hand, and a warrior, +darting from the ground at the foot of the scaffold, leaped with a +single bound upon the platform, and uttered the yell of battle, which +was instantly re-echoed by the shouts of the multitude. He was a tall +and powerful savage, though meager of frame, of great activity, as was +proved by his ready leap, and of a spirit fully corresponding. His +equipments were but little superior to those of the captive; his +battle-axe was somewhat longer, his buckler a little broader, and he had +some slight defence for his head, in a cap of alligator-skin, that +crowned his matted hair. + +No sound of trump and tymbal gave the signal for beginning the fight, as +in a Christian tourney. The yell of the infidel, as he sprang upon the +mound, and brandished his battle-axe, was all that was allowed or +required, to put the prisoner on his guard; and Don Francisco seemed to +understand enough of the nature of the ceremony, to look for no further +warning. + +The great superiority of the infidel consisted in his being entirely at +liberty, able to begin the attack by leaping upon the stone at any point +he chose, and to continue it thereon, by changing his position as often +as he thought fit; while the prisoner, secured by a thong not above +eighteen inches in length, to the centre of it, enjoyed no such +facilities of motion. He might turn, indeed, and as rapidly as he +pleased, but always with the danger, if he forgot himself for a moment, +of tripping himself, and falling; in which case, his death was certain, +for no forbearance was practised in the event of such an accident. + +The infidel began the combat with the same agility he had displayed in +leaping up to the platform. He uttered his yell, brandished his axe, and +making a half circuit round the stone, suddenly darted upon it, and +aimed a blow at Guzman. He was met by the Spaniard with an address and +effect, that showed he had not overrated his skill. Rather meeting than +avoiding the blow, he struck up, with his bucklered hand, not the +macana, but the arm of the assailant, seemingly calculating that the +shock of the rebuff would tumble him from the stone. It did more: it +caused the Mexican to fling up his arms, in the instinctive effort to +preserve his equilibrium. The next instant, Guzman drove his glassy axe +deep into his uncovered side, and spurning him violently with the foot +which was at liberty, the Mexican fell backwards upon the platform, +writhing in the agonies of death. The whole combat was scarce the work +of a minute. Those who drew in their breath as the Mexican sprang to the +assault, had not taken a second inspiration, before their countryman was +discomfited and dying. + +The infidels set up a scream, as much of approbation as surprise. The +spirit of the Roman amphitheatre was felt around the Temalacatl of +Mexico; and plaudits were bestowed upon a victor, when pity was denied +to the slain. + +The vanquished and writhing combatant was dragged from the mound, and +his place immediately occupied by a second, who leaped up with the same +alacrity, and attacked with similar violence. + +"Fool that thou art!" muttered Guzman, with scorn and lofty +self-reliance, "were there twenty such grasshoppers at thy back, yet +should it be but boy's play to despatch thee." + +He caught the blow of the savage on his buckler, but greatly to his +injury; for the sharp blades of the iztli severed it nearly in twain, +and besides diminishing its already insufficient defence, inflicted a +severe wound upon his arm. But it was the only blow struck by the +barbarian. Infuriated by the wound, Guzman smote him over the head with +his weapon, and with such rapidly continued blows as entirely confounded +the Mexican, so that he made scarce any use of his shield. The first +stroke tore the cayman-scales from his hair, and the next clove through +his skull. + +Guzman's victory was as complete as before, but he found that several of +the separate blades, or teeth of obsidian, that edged his weapon, were +broken off by the blows. He beheld this with alarm, for having held up +the axe, to show its dilapidated condition, and demand another, he found +himself answered only by the appearance of a third antagonist. + +"Dogs and jugglers that ye are!" he cried, indignantly: "ye would cheat +me then to death, by leaving me weaponless! St. Dominic, knaves! but I +will sort your wit with a better wisdom.--Now, what a spectacle might I +not make for my brother Christians on the dikes! Thou art playing quits +with me, Cortes!--Hah, dog! art thou so ready?" + +It was Guzman's determination, after killing the third assailant, which +event he still looked forward to with unabated confidence, to possess +himself of his weapon, which, though secured in the usual manner by a +thong, he doubted not he could easily rend from his arm. + +But his antagonist was by no means so easily mastered as the others. +Taking caution from the fate of his predecessors, he changed the mode of +attack; and though he rushed upon the block with as much resolution as +either, he betrayed no such ambition to come to close quarters. On the +contrary, taking advantage of the breadth of the Temalacatl, he confined +himself to the very edge, now facing the Spaniard, as if about to make +his spring, now darting behind him, as if to assault him in the rear, +and, all the time, vexing Guzman's ears with the most terrific screams. +Then, perceiving the Spaniard's wariness, he began to run around the +stone with all his speed, flourishing his axe, as if to take advantage +of the least opening offered by the weariness or dizziness of his foe. +Guzman at once perceived the danger to which he was reduced by a system +of attack so difficult to be guarded against. It was almost impossible, +tied as he was, to preserve his face always against the pagan; twice or +thrice he stumbled over the rope, and already his brain began to reel +with the rapidity of his gyrations. At each stumble, the Mexican struck +at him with his axe, and one blow had taken effect, though not +dangerously, upon his shoulder. This incensed the Spaniard almost to +madness, and he voluntarily exposed himself to another wound, in order +to bring his opponent within his reach. Thus, as the infidel was still +continuing to run round the stone, he flung himself round the other way +very suddenly, yet not so quickly as wholly to escape the rapid attacks +of his assailant. The macana inflicted another and deeper wound in his +back, while his own broken weapon struck the savage on the hip. At the +same moment he seized him by the throat, and employing a strength +greatly superior to the Indian's, threw him under his feet, and crushed +him with hand and knee, while despatching him with blows over the face +and head. He then grasped at the macana; but before he could wrest it +from the grasp of his dying foe, the Indian was plucked from under him +by the attendant priests. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +The feelings of Juan Lerma were throughout, strange, bewildering and +overwhelming; and he gazed upon the three combats, each fought and +finished in an inconceivably short space of time, in a species of trance +or stupefaction. Great, and doubtless just, as was his detestation of +Guzman, there was something both noble and afflicting in the courage +with which the unfortunate man bore himself in the midst of savage foes, +who, if they awarded him a shout of approbation for every valiant blow, +yet screamed with a more cordial delight, at every wound inflicted by an +antagonist. Even while Juan doubted not that Guzman's skill and +fortitude would insure him a full triumph, and final liberation, he +could not but be struck with horror, at beholding a Christian man bound +to a stone, and baited like a muzzled bear. How much more overpowering, +then, were his feelings, when he perceived, from the complexion given to +events by the last contest, that it must end, and perhaps soon, in the +destruction of the prisoner. + +His emotions became indeed irresistible, when he looked up at the third +shout of the multitude,--for he had closed his eyes with dread, while +Guzman despatched his third foe,--and saw him, bleeding at three +different wounds, and staggering with dizziness, extend his macana, now +almost reduced by the fracture of the blades, to a mere bludgeon, +towards the king, and exclaim, bitterly and despairingly, + +"King of Mexico, if thou knowest either honour or God, give me a fresh +sword!" + +His words ran through Juan's spirit like sharp knives, and he was seized +with a faintiness, so that he could scarce maintain himself on his feet. +But while his brain whirled and his eyes swam, he beheld a fourth +warrior spring upon the mound, and, yelling as he rose, dart, without a +moment's pause, against the captive. + +It was now apparent to all, and to none more than the miserable victim +himself, that his situation was become wholly desperate. His skill could +avail him nothing, while he was so insufficiently armed; his strength +was wasting away with his blood; his courage could not long maintain +itself against all hope; and even the pride that uplifted him so far +above his barbarous antagonists, only exasperated him into frenzy, when +he perceived, that, despised as they were, he was in their power, and +must soon expire under their blows. His rage was like that of the +gallant puma, knotted in the _lazo_ of a hunter, and torn to pieces by +dogs, which, were he at liberty, would be but as grass and dust under +the might of his talons. + +Hopeless of any relief from the king, and maddened by the exulting +shouts with which the infidels hailed every symptom of his defeat, he +turned furiously upon his new opponent; but not until the Mexican, more +skilful or more lucky than his predecessors, had struck him a violent +blow upon the side, which he followed up, at intervals, with others, +while running round the stone, in imitation of his less fortunate +countryman. His success was rewarded by the spectators with screams of +delight, which he re-echoed with his own wild outcries. + +Yet Guzman was not altogether subdued. Wretched as was his weapon, he +handled it with some effect, and struck his assailant two or three such +blows as would have ended the combat, had they been inflicted by a +better. With one, he staggered the pagan; with a second, he struck him +down to his knee; and with a third, he snapped off the last blade of +obsidian, upon the scales of the Indian helmet, and now brandished a +harmless wooden wand. + +At that moment, a Spanish sword, thrown by an unseen hand; fell at his +feet,--but fell in vain. Badly aimed, it struck short upon the stone, +and rolled back to the mound; and the infidel, recovering his feet, +though still staggering, uttered his war-cry, and raised his macana, to +strike down the defenceless Christian. + +Human nature could withstand the scene of butchery no longer. Juan Lerma +forgot that the captive was his foe and destroyer, and the unprincipled +oppressor of all he held dear. He saw a man of his own country and faith +cruelly assassinated before his eyes, among thousands of pitiless and +rejoicing barbarians. He thought not of the impossibility of affording +him any real relief, nor of the fate to himself that must follow an +attempt so full of folly. His brain burned, his eyes flamed as if in +sockets of fire; and obeying an impulse that converted him for a moment +into a madman, he rushed through the few nobles who separated him from +the mound, and in an instant was at the side of the victim. + +To snatch up the weapon he had so vainly cast, to spurn the exhausted +warrior from his prey, and to cut the thong that bound Guzman to the +stone, were all the work of a second. Almost before the idea had entered +the mind of the Mexicans, that the combat was interrupted, so +lightning-like were his motions, he had leaped with Guzman from the +platform, and, grasping his hand, made his way over the narrow and +unoccupied portion of the square, which led to the garden. Even then, +the Mexicans stood for awhile dumb with surprise and consternation; for +the act was so unexpected, so entirely inexplicable upon any of their +principles of action, that they scarce knew if it might not be their +Mexitli himself, who thus snatched a victim from the stone of battle. + +It has been already mentioned, that the garden wall had, in this +quarter, fallen down, and that its place was supplied only by a fence of +shrubs and brambles. Its ruins choked the ditch, and gave a passage, +which had been formerly effected by a wooden bridge, now buried under +the heavy fragments. A single plank spanned over the only gap that was +too wide to be passed, except by a bold leap. It was a knowledge of +these circumstances, that, in the very tempest of his impulses, +determined the course of Juan Lerma, and decided every step he now took +to secure life to his wretched companion. He had breathed but a word +into Guzman's ear, but it was enough to communicate strength to his +heart, and agility to his limbs; and wonderfully adapting his +resolutions and movements to those of his guide, he ran with him over +the square and across the canal, with such speed, that he rather aided +than retarded the steps of his preserver.--They had crossed the plank +before the yells of pursuit burst from the astounded assembly, and Juan, +striking it now into the ditch with his foot, dragged Guzman through the +brambles, exclaiming, + +"Quick! quick! If we can but reach the palace, we are saved." + +"Is it _thou_, indeed, Juan Lerma?" cried Guzman, with a voice +singularly wild and piteous, but struggling onward.--"Now then thou +canst kill me thyself, since thou wouldst not be avenged by infidels." + +"Quick! quick! they are following us! they are crossing the ditch!--But +fifty paces more!" + +"Ten will serve me--and ten words will make up my reckoning--that is, +_here_: the rest hereafter. Stop, fool,--I am dying." + +"Courage! courage!" exclaimed Juan, endeavouring, but in vain, to drag +further the wretch, for whom his rash humanity seemed to have purchased +only the right of expiring in a Christian's arms. "Courage, and move +on,--we are close followed." + +"Hark,--listen, and speak not," said Guzman, sinking to the earth, for +his wounds were mortal, and the exertions of flight caused them to throw +out blood with tenfold violence--He was indeed upon the verge of +dissolution: "Listen, listen!" he cried, gasping for breath, yet +struggling to speak with such extraordinary eagerness, that it seemed as +if he held life and salvation to depend upon his giving utterance to +what was in his mind. "Listen, Juan Lerma, for I am a snake and a devil. +I hated thee for--But, brief, brief, brief! First, Cortes--Hah! they +come!--Drag me into a bush, that I may speak and die. No--here--There is +no time--Listen. Saints, give me powers of speech! or devils--either! A +little reparation--Why not? I belied thee to Cortes--Hark! hark!" he +almost screamed, in the fear that he might not be understood, for he was +conscious of the incoherency of his expressions; "hark! hark!--Bleeding +to death--Concerning--Cortes--his wife--Dona Catalina--jealousy, +_jealousy_!--Poisoned his ear. Understand me! understand me!" + +Wild as were his words and confused as was the mind of Juan, yet with +these broken expressions, the dying cavalier threw a sudden and terrific +light upon the understanding of the outcast. + +"Good heaven!" he cried, "my benefactress! my noble lady! Oh villain, +how couldst thou?--" + +"More--more!" murmured Guzman, with impatient, yet vain ardour. "I know +all--Thy father--thy sister--Camarga--killed--Aha! Magdalena--the +princess--" + +"Ay! the princess?" echoed Juan, imploringly: "the princess? the +princess?" + +But all he could hear in reply to his frantic demand, was "Garci, +Garci--" and this name was immediately lost in the roaring shouts of the +infidels, who now surrounded the pair. + +Had Guzman been able to continue the flight at half the speed with which +he had begun it, it is certain they would have reached the palace, +considerably in advance of the pursuers; though it is not certain, that +would have proved a city of refuge. But his strength failed almost +immediately after entering the garden, of which as soon as he became +sensible, he began to make his disclosures; and perhaps the haste into +which he was driven by the almost instant appearance of the Mexicans, +thronging over the broken wall, served as much as the distractions and +agonies of death, to make them confused and insufficient. The first +word--the name of the lady Catalina,--revealing at once the dreadful +delusion, which had converted his best friend into his deadliest enemy, +so excited and unsettled Juan's mind, that, in his eagerness to learn +still more of the fatal secret, he almost forgot the presence of so many +Mexicans, rushing upon him with yells of fury. It was in vain, when they +had reached him, that he brandished his sword, and assumed an attitude +of defence, calling loudly upon the king. He was thrown down and +overpowered,--nay, he was severely wounded, and handled altogether so +roughly, that it seemed as if the enraged Mexicans were resolved to drag +him to the sacrifice, from which he had rescued Guzman, if not to murder +him on the spot; some calling out to kill him, and others roaring, 'The +Temalacatl! the Temalacatl!' Their cries were not even stilled when the +nobles who waited about the person of the king, drove them away with +rods, and Guatimozin himself stalked up to the prisoner. The frown which +Juan's rash, and, as he esteemed it, impious act, had brought upon his +visage, darkened into one still sterner, when having laid his hand upon +the Christian's shoulder, to signify that his person was sacred, the +expression of protection was answered only by cries of the most mutinous +character. + +"We will have the blood of the Spaniard," they screamed. "What said +Azcamatzin? It is true--this is a bear we have, that embraces us, and +tears open our hearts. He struck the Lord of Death--he takes the victim +from Mexitli: he shall be a victim himself--he shall die on the stone!" + +It was in vain that Guatimozin employed threats, menaces, and entreaties +to allay their passions. Sufferings of a nature and extent so horrible +that we have scarce dared to hint at them, had already made them sullen +and refractory; and misery and wrath are no observers of allegiance or +decorum. The unhappy monarch, now such less in power than in name, +feigned to yield to their clamour, for he perceived he could no longer +openly save. He commanded Juan to be bound with cords, and carried into +a remote corner of the palace, promising, that, when he had recovered a +little of his strength and spirits, he should be given up to them, to +die on the Temalacatl. + +It was perhaps fortunate for Juan, that he was dragged away too suddenly +to behold the fate of his rival, who was now in the hands of the +priests, apparently reviving--a circumstance hailed with such shouts of +joy, that Juan was himself almost forgotten. The infidels carried Don +Francisco again from the garden, and hurried him towards the little +temple. But before they had passed the square, he expired in their +arms--happy only in this, that he fell not by the knives of the priests. + +Before the day was over, the citizens were called upon again to resist +the Spaniards who had now resumed the offensive, and who continued their +approaches with such fierce, determined, and incessant efforts, that +they employed the whole time, as well as the whole thoughts, of the +besieged. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +The fate of Mexico approached to its consummation. The great streets +leading from the causeways, were in the power of the Spaniards. It might +be said, indeed, that they had gained possession of the whole island, +except the extreme point of the neck of Tlatelolco; for though they did +not extend their ravages any great distance from the streets, into the +three quarters to the east and south, it was because these were occupied +only by women and children--the wounded, the sick, and the dying,--and +could be, at any moment, taken possession of. The warriors who yet +remained, were concentrated upon the little peninsula, around their +monarch, who, obstinate to the last, still resisted, even when +resistance was hopeless, refusing the offers of peace and friendship, +which Cortes, rendered magnanimous by success, and softened by +compassion, now daily sent him. His obstinacy was indeed surprising; for +the point was surrounded by brigantines and piraguas, prepared to +intercept his flight; and escape, unless by death, seemed evidently +impossible. The work of carnage therefore went on, though with mitigated +severity; for there were but few left to suffer. The market-place of +Tlatelolco was secured and occupied, and upon the day of St. Hippolytus, +(the 13th of August,) the Spaniards concluded the labours of the long +and bloody siege, by storming, with all their forces, the palace of +Guatimozin--the last stronghold of the Mexicans. The garden walls were +beaten down by the artillery, and soon after midday, the Spaniards +rushed, with tremendous vivas, upon the palace, to which fire had been +previously communicated by flaming arrows, shot into the windows by the +confederates. + +The preparations for the assault, and long before it began, were +surveyed by the Captain-General from the terrace of the palace of +Axajacatl, the famous scene of his sufferings, when besieged therein by +the Mexicans, a year before. It was in the quarter of Tlatelolco, midway +between the great pyramid and the market-place, and commanded, from its +turrets, not only a view of the palace of Guatimozin, but of the whole +surrounding city and lake. + +Deeply as his mind was engaged with the approaching climax of his mighty +enterprise,--for now he could almost count the minutes that intervened +betwixt his hopes and his success,--he was not without thoughts and +feelings of another character. The singular disappearance of Magdalena, +of which nothing more was known, or even conjectured, than was disclosed +in the midnight conversation of the hunchback and Bernal Diaz; the fate +of Camarga, over which events not yet narrated, had cast a peculiarly +exciting mystery; and the situation of Juan Lerma, upon whose character +and unhappy history certain events had shed a new light, as well as what +had now become a painful interest; all, by turns, occupied his mind, and +sometimes even withdrew it from the contemplation of the scene before +him. The few cavaliers in attendance, who enjoyed their immunity from +combat only because they were disabled by severe wounds, referred his +unusual gloom to the same cause; for he had not yet recovered from the +many injuries, the penalty of his rashness on the causeway. + +"Thou knowest, Quinones," said one, in a whisper to the captain of his +body guard, (for the conspiracy of Villafana had been made, as is usual +in such catastrophes of ambition, an excuse for investing his dignity +with another engine of power;)--"Thou knowest, the renegade struck him +upon the head; and it is a marvel of providence he was not slain; for +Lerma strikes with an arm like the wing of a windmill. These blows on +the skull, though one may seem to recover from them, have a perilous +after-effect on the brain." + +"Fy!" muttered Quinones, with a shake of the head; "there is a new word +about Lerma, especially since Garci Holguin brought in the princess. +Didst thou not hear that Alvarado, who heads the assault, called this +morning upon all soldiers who had seen Juan Lerma in the melee, and +asked them a thousand questions? I tell thee, there is a new thing in +the wind. I did myself last night over-hear Cortes charge Sandoval to +watch well for every piragua and canoe, that might leave Tlatelolco, and +see that no one taken be harmed.--But this we will see. Talking of +canoes, methought I beheld one some half hour since paddling from +Tezcuco?" + +"Ay," said another; "it landed in the north-eastern quarter.--No more +complaints of Guzman now? He will never harry infidels more. Garci's +sailors say, he was taken alive!" + +"Hist!" whispered Quinones, with a warning gesture. "This thing troubles +Cortes. It was his anger, and Guzman's desire to recover favour, which +drove him upon the mad feat, that brought him to the block of sacrifice. +It weighs upon the general's mind.--And besides, as it is now apparent +that Camarga is alive, there is deeper cause for remorse: It was perhaps +his wrongful belief in the charge of murder, rather than any other +cause, that made him proceed with such rigour against Guzman." + +"But is this rumour true?" demanded the other. + +"Ay, certain; and I wage ye my life, the very canoe we were looking +after, brings the dead-alive to Mexico. Methought I could trace the cut +of his sacerdotal maskings, even afar off. They say, after all, the man +is a true brother of St. Dominic, under some dispensation.--Ay, faith! +you may see now--Alive and shorn into the bargain! They are bringing him +up the stairway.--By Santiago, it makes the general's eye flash fire!" + +The eye of Cortes, up to this moment peculiarly gloomy and troubled, did +indeed flash with lustre, as soon as it fell upon the figure of Camarga; +for it was he, who now made his appearance on the terrace, led forward +by Indians. He was greatly altered, and seemed indeed like the ghost of +his former self, so wan and emaciated was his countenance, and so broken +and feeble his step; he looked as if in almost the last stage of +atrophy. He was otherwise changed; the hair was shorn from his crown, on +which was a ghastly scar, left by the macana of the Lord of Death; his +feet were bare; and from the cord that girded on his friar's frock, was +suspended a knotted scourge, crusted over with blood. His whole +appearance was that of some suicidal ascetic, who mourns with the +severest maceration of the body, a sin not to be expiated by mere +penitence of spirit. + +"Heaven be thanked for thy resurrection!" cried Cortes, grasping him by +the hand, and leading him to the seat he had himself occupied. "There is +a wolf in my bosom, and now I know that thou canst remove it!" + +"Have I come too late?" cried Camarga, eagerly, though with a voice no +longer sonorous. "_Agnus Dei, dona nobis pacem!_ The victim of our +madness, driven among the infidels,--the poor wretch whom misery cast +into the same hands--What of them, senor? what of them?" + +"Nothing," replied Cortes, "unless thou canst speak it: Nothing, at +least, except that both are still in captivity. Yet know, if it will +relieve thee, that what I could do by embassies and goodly offers, that +I have done to recover them; and I have given such orders, that, if they +be not murdered by the Indians, we may see them living this day." + +"God be thanked!" cried Camarga, dropping on his knees, and praying with +such fervour, though in inaudible accents, as to excite no little +curiosity among the attendant cavaliers, whom Cortes had already waved +away. He turned upon them again, and sternly bade them descend from the +terrace, which they did, followed by the Indians. + +As soon as they were alone, Cortes, scarce pausing until Camarga had +ceased his devotions, exclaimed, + +"Speak, and delay not, either to mourn or to pray: Thou canst do these +things hereafter. Enough evil has already come of thy silence. Speak me +in a word--What art thou? and what is thy interest in these wretches? +What is thine? and what--yes, what is _mine_?" + +The last word was uttered with vehement emphasis, that seemed to recall +Camarga to his self-possession. He rolled his eyes upon Cortes with a +ghastly smile, and replied, + +"Thou shalt know; for thou hast a sin to answer as well as I; and answer +it thou must, both to God and thy conscience. Moderate thy impatience: +what I have to say, cannot be spoken in a word, but yet it shall be +spoken briefly. In thy boyish days, thou hast heard of the Counts of +Castillejo--" + +The Captain-General bent upon the speaker a look that seemed designed to +slay, it was so frowningly fixed and penetrating. He then smote his +hands together upon his breast, as if to beat down some dreadful +thought, and immediately exclaimed, + +"What thou hast to say, speak in God's name, and without further +preface. Were I but a dog of the house of Cortes, instead of its son and +sole representative, the name of a Castillejo of Merida would be hateful +to my ear. Ay, by heaven! be thou layman or monk, my friend or the +friend of my enemy, yet know that my rage burns with undiminished fire, +though the proud scutcheons of the Castillejos have been turned into +funeral hatchments, and the mosses of twenty years have gathered on +their graves.--But it is enough. The first word of thy story harmonizes +with mine own conceit. A strange accident opened my eyes upon a +remembrance of dishonour; which let us rake up no further.--I have heard +enough. Keep thine own secret, too," he continued, with a gleaming eye; +"for I would not take the life of one, upon whom heaven has itself set +the seal of vengeance." + +"Yet must thou listen, and I speak," said Camarga, disregarding the +menacing words and glance; "for there is a story to be told, of which +thou and thy kindred have not dreamed--nay, nor have others, except +one--except one! My secret will not throw thee into the frenzy thou +fearest; he of whom you think, is beyond the reach of human vengeance. +Listen to me, Hernan Cortes, and forbear your rage, until I have +done.--Of the Count Sebastian's three brothers; the next in age, Julian, +was a slave in Barbary, yet supposed to be dead; the youngest Gregorio, +was a monk of St. Dominic; and the third, Juan, was a wild and unhappy +profligate." + +"Ay, by heaven," said Cortes, with angry emotion; "may he remember his +deeds in torment--Amen! Had not Gregorio been an inquisitor as well as a +monk, I should have seen him burn at a stake, as was his due." + +"Reserve your curses for the true criminal," said Camarga, drawing the +cowl over his visage, as if no longer able to endure the fierce looks of +Don Hernan: "Among others who had inflamed his wild and fiery +affections, was one whom heaven had seemingly placed beyond his +reach,--one whose name I need not pronounce to Hernan Cortes." + +"I will tell thee who she was," said the general, laying his hand upon +Camarga's shoulder, and speaking with a passionate energy;--"the +daughter of a family, ancient and noble as his own, though without its +wealth,--a novice about to take the vows, (for to this had the poverty +of her house and her own religious fervour destined her;) and thus +uplifted both by rank and profession above the aims of a seducer. But +what thought the young cub of Castillejo of these impediments, when he +feared not God, and saw no one left to punish his villany, save an +impoverished old man and a rambling schoolboy? Dwell not on this--Speak +not her name neither: let it be forgotten. May her soul rest in peace! +for her own act of distraction avenged the dishonour of her fall." + +He paused in strong emotion, and Camarga, drawing the mantle closer +round his head, continued: + +"Know, (and I speak thee a truth never before divulged to mortal man,) +that the sin of this act,--the abduction of a devotee, whose novitiate +was already accomplished,--belongs not to Juan, the debauchee, but to +Gregorio, the Dominican." + +"These are the words of a madman," said Cortes, sternly; but he was +interrupted by Camarga hastily exclaiming, + +"Misunderstand me not. The lover and the convent-robber was indeed Juan; +but it was Gregorio who provoked him to the outrage, and gave him the +means of success. The sacrilege had not been otherwise attempted, and +the fickle-minded Juan would have soon forgotten the object of a passion +both criminal and dangerous." + +"If you speak the truth," said Cortes, "you have exposed an atrocity, of +which, as you said, truly no man ever dreamed. On what improbable ground +do you make Gregorio a villain so monstrous?" + +"On that of _knowledge_," replied Camarga, with a voice firmer than he +had yet displayed. "Dost thou think ambition lies not as often under a +cowl as a corslet? or that guilt can only be meditated by a soldier? +When the young monk Gregorio beheld the two sons of his brother, the +Count Sebastian, taken up dead from the river, into which an evil +accident had plunged them, and knew that the Count was dying--surely +dying--of a broken heart, the fiend of darkness put a thought into his +brain, which had never before dishonoured it. Yet it slumbered again, +until his evil fate showed him his brother Juan, meditating a crime, +which, if attempted, must bring him under the ban of the church, and +into the dungeons of the Inquisition. Then he said, in his heart, 'If +Sebastian die of grief, childless, and if Juan destroy himself by an act +of impiety, where shall men look for the Count of Castillejo, except in +the cell of Gregorio?' It was this thought of darkness that brought the +thunderbolt upon his house, and upon thine." + +"Ay! thou sayst it now," said Cortes with a smothered voice. "But this +monk, this devil, this Gregorio! Let me know more of the wretch, whose +flagitious ambition, not satisfied with destroying his father's house +and his brother's soul, must end by bringing to a dishonourable grave a +daughter--I speak it _now_--a daughter of Martin Cortes of Medellin!" + +"It is spoken in a word; but let the iniquitous details be forgotten. +The power of Gregorio, unknown even to Juan, (for the connivance was +concealed and unsuspected,) opened the doors of the convent, and the +lovers fled, were united in marriage, and then parted for ever." + +"United? married? Now by heavens, thou mockest me! Even this had been +some mitigation of our shame. But it is not true. Why dost thou say it?" + +"Thou wert deceived--all were deceived," said Camarga; "nay, even the +scheming Gregorio was deceived; for before he had dreamed that such a +fatal blow could be given to his ambition, the knot was tied, and the +children of Juan became the heirs of Sebastian. Behold how treachery +overshoots its mark! Gregorio opened a path, that the lovers might meet, +not that they might escape. This was reserved until the time when the +vows should be taken; after which the crime of abduction and flight +could not be pardoned. They fled a day too early, and it was within the +power of Sebastian to obtain both a pardon and dispensation; for Juan +was now his heir, in the place of his children." + +"Good heavens!" cried Cortes, "was this indeed possible? But no; thou +deceivest me. Had the offence been so venial, Juan Castillejo had not +perished among the vaults of the Inquisition." + +"Canst thou compass thine own vindictive purposes, and attribute no +similar power to others?" cried Camarga, with a laugh, that sounded +hollow and unnatural under the mantle. "Did a venial offence, or a +malignant and perfidious stratagem, drive Juan Lerma among the pagans of +Mexico?--Listen:--Juan Castillejo was dragged from his hiding-place, and +that perhaps the earlier, that Gregorio knew of their marriage. The +crime of carrying off a novice was not indeed inexpiable, but it +demanded a deep cell in the office of the Brotherhood; and such Juan +obtained. Now, Cortes, ask not for reasons to explain the acts of +Gregorio. The dying Sebastian exerted his powers to save his brother, +and would have succeeded, had not Gregorio, visiting the dungeons, in +virtue of his office, subtly attacked the prisoner's mind with the fear +of torture and final condemnation; until, in a fit of distraction, he +laid violent hands upon himself, and so ended a tragedy, for which +Gregorio designed another catastrophe. Ay, believe me! Think not that +even Gregorio planned out a climax so cruel. He desired only to work +upon Juan's terrors, in order to banish him from the land for ever; for +it was his purpose to provide him with the means of escape, when this +was accomplished. He foresaw not the consequences of the desperation he +had produced. Upon the morrow, Sebastian came with an indulgence--almost +a pardon. The shock of the spectacle of Juan's dead body, broke away the +last feeble cords that bound him to life; and Gregorio, absolved from +his vows by the papal dispensation, easily obtained, was now the Count +of Castillejo." + +"And never sat in the castle-hall a fiend more truculent and diabolic!" +cried Cortes, with terrific emphasis. "Hark thee, man, demon, or +whatsoever thou art--I did think thee, at first, the very wretched Juan +of whom thou hast spoken, escaped by some miracle, and finding the +fiercest retribution for his villany, in the misery of his children. I +remembered thy words at Tezcuco, and was thus deluded. But I know thee +at last, and words cannot express how much I abhor thee." + +"We are alike worthy of detestation," said Camarga, rising and flinging +back his cowl, "for we are alike villains,--with but this difference +between us, that I have preceded thee in the path of remorse, and must +perhaps tread it more bitterly, because in all things, self-deluded and +baffled. I am what thou thinkest,--the wretched Gregorio--and yet less +wretched than when I first discovered the twin children of my brother in +thy house at Tezcuco.--Hearken yet a moment, and I have done. All +supposed that the unhappy Olivia had cast herself into the river, and so +perished. It was not so. Pity, remorse, or some other feeling--perhaps, +policy--induced me to preserve her from her distraction. She lived in +concealment, until she had given birth to twin children--these very +wretches whom we have persecuted. Let me speak their fate in a word. The +boy I sent by a creature whose name he bears, to Colon's settlement in +Espanola; the girl I devoted from her infancy to the altar; and in both +cases, dreamed that I had provided for their welfare, as well as against +the possibility of discovery. When I had thus arranged everything for my +own security, heaven sent me the first sting of retribution in the +person of my brother Julian, returned in safety from the dungeons of +Fez, and, in right of seniority, the heir of the honours I had so vainly +usurped. It was a fitting reward, but it was not all. Dishonour, other +crimes, and awakened suspicions, followed my downfall; and I became an +exile and outcast. What life I have lived, it needs not I should speak. +A strange accident acquainted me with the stranger truth, that Magdalena +had followed her unknown brother to the islands. I had amassed wealth; +and an impulse, combining both pity and foreboding terror, drove me to +pursue them. It was easy to trace out their respective fates. The wreck +of the ship which carried Magdalena, with the supposed loss of all on +board, satisfied me that she was with her mother, in heaven. An +unexpected event had invested Juan with new interest. This was the death +of Julian, without heirs. It was in my power to repair, at least, the +wrongs I had done him, by restoring him to his inheritance; the +knowledge and proofs of his legitimacy were in my hands, and I resolved +to employ them. This I could not do in mine own person, but I +discovered--and know, senor, it filled me with joy,--that _thou_ hadst +befriended him. I came then to Mexico, to seek the young man, and to +enable thee to do justice to the memory, and to the child of thy +sister." + +Gregorio, for so we must now call him, paused a moment, while Cortes +strode to and fro, in great agitation. He then resumed: + +"The first thing I heard was the supposed death of Juan,--his +expedition, and the cause of it--thine own bitter and unrelenting +hatred." + +"It is true," said Cortes, with a vain effort at composed utterance. "I +confessed my folly to thee before. I have persecuted the son of my +sister almost to death, and for an imaginary crime. There were villains +about me--I will tell thee, by and by, my delusion." + +"Senor," continued Gregorio, "I found in thy camp a villain, whose +subtle and malicious nature was in harmony with my own. This was +Villafana, whose representations of thy cruelty in the matter of Juan, +stirred up my evil passions; and until the day when Juan returned, I was +very eager to avenge his wrongs. Upon that day, I discovered that +Magdalena was living. Now," he exclaimed, with vehemence, "thou mayst +understand the cause of my seeming madness: now thou mayst know that the +vengeance of heaven was punishing my old sin with lashes of horror. Thou +knowest the evil slanders cast by the ribald soldiers upon thee, in +relation to Magdalena. That dreadful suspicion was soon at an end; but +there remained the other, the persuasion, supported by strong +circumstances and by the malign averments of Villafana,--the dreadful, +damning belief, that a horrible and unnatural sin, the direct +consequence of my own, had plunged the brother and sister into a +never-ending wretchedness. Ask not my feelings, when I made this +supposed discovery. They caused me to seek the life of the unhappy +brother, to attempt it with my own hands, and finally through thine; and +all in a distraction, that mingled a thirst of vengeance with the +precautions of pity. Thou knowest the rest: he was snatched out of our +hands; and from Magdalena I discovered the blessed--the blissful truth, +that heaven had not punished them for _my_ sin! A course of +extraordinary calamities, while it covered them with misery, yet kept +them asunder.--But why should I trifle thus? The girl also was taken +from me, and by the pagans, who left me on the lake-side weltering in +blood. When I recovered speech and sense, I besought Guzman to send for +you; nay, in my distracted impatience, being myself incapable of any +effort beyond mere speech, I confided to him the secret of their +birth--" + +"Villain that he was, a double-dyed villain!" exclaimed Cortes, "this +then accounts for his attempt upon your life, of which I had something +more than mere suspicion to bring against him. I see it all now: +exposure of a long series of malignant deceptions, must have followed +the revealment, if it found the young Lerma--the young Castillejo, shall +I say?--yet living. Is it not true? did he do you violence?" + +"Not with his own hands," replied Gregorio; "nor can I say he really +designed my death, not being able to communicate with the Indians, who +dragged me by night from Tezcuco, carried me to the mountains, and +finally took me back again, when Guzman was no longer the governor. But +I doubt not, his intentions were evil." + +"He has suffered for his crimes," said Cortes.--He strode to and fro for +an instant, with hands clasped together, and a working visage. Then +returning, and casting around a glance of suspicion, he said, + +"Hark thee, Gregorio--If we save these unhappy creatures from death, +thou shalt be forgiven,--ay, man, and honoured, too. I understand the +motives that made thee mine ally in wickedness: now understand +mine,--the persuasions of belief that converted me into a +persecutor--the base and devilish persecutor, for such I was--of my +sister's son--of my own flesh and blood. By heaven! I loved him dearly; +nature spoke in my heart,--the instinct of consanguinity was alive +within me; and even the lies of Guzman could not wholly destroy it. +Velasquez the governor," he went on, "has fought me with all weapons, +and with all in vain. Yet did he at last fall upon one, that was made to +wound me to the quick, though it could not make me falter in this +emprise of conquest. My lady, Gregorio, my lady!" he continued, +struggling in vain against the feelings of humiliation, with which he +confessed a weakness so unworthy;--"my lady Catalina is fair and merry, +and, God wot, somewhat over fond of the gingling galliards that ruffle +it at Santiago; and I,--by my conscience, I will be as honest as +thou,--I have had the devil of suspicion sometimes enter my mind; but, I +swear to thee, to mine own dishonour only. Upon this ground, Velasquez +has thrust at me with hints, innuendos, sarcasms, jests, rumours, +accusations, time without end. There has never a ship arrived, that it +has not brought some petard to be shot off on my bosom; and sometimes, I +think, I have been half mad with my dreams. Know, then, that one of +these damnable devices was made to play in the person of my adopted +son,--for such he was,--and my lady's favourite, Juan Lerma. My lady won +him out of prison, and she harboured him during the sickness that +followed. Out of this was constructed a story that tormented me. Yet it +was naught, until Guzman penetrated the weakness, and wrought it, by I +know not what means, into a fierce and fiendish jealousy. The young man +was melancholy, too--he had killed his friend Hilario: but (heaven save +me such madness again!) I deemed it the workings of his conscience, his +sense of ingratitude, operating upon a temper, which, I knew, was +naturally noble and virtuous. Thou canst not think how many little +events were turned, by Guzman's malignant address, into proof and +confirmation of my detestable suspicion. There came for him certain +horses and arms, sent, as I quickly believed, by my wife, now bold in +infidelity--" + +"Alas!" said Gregorio; "I learned from Villafana, that these were the +gifts of Magdalena, who, poor wretch, would have sent him her life, +could that have been made an acceptable present." + +"Thou makest my heart still lighter," said Cortes, "for this was the +only matter I could not myself explain away, so soon as certain passages +with Guzman had opened my eyes to his baseness. His oppressions forced +me to withdraw him from Tezcuco; and, quarrelling with him upon that +subject, as well as in regard to thine own fate, he let fall, in the +heat of contention, certain unguarded expressions, which convinced me +that he had made me his tool,--by heaven, Gregorio, his instrument! +Suspicion once awake, my judgment once informed how much he had to gain, +both of favour and revenge, by destroying my poor cornet, it needed but +mine own reflections, to show me how ruthlessly I had been cajoled. And +to crown all, a new light was shot into my soul, by the recovery, from +an Indian princess, now a captive in my hands, of this trinket; which +thou mayest know, if thou hast indeed ever looked upon the face of my +sister." + +He drew from his bosom the cross and rosary which Juan had flung round +the neck of the Indian princess. + +"I placed it," said Gregorio, "with mine own own hands upon the bosom of +the infant Magdalena--But, good heaven, how came it on the neck of a +savage, unless they have murdered her?' + +"Fear not," said Cortes: "It was given to the princess by Juan Lerma--by +Juan of Castillejo; and was doubtless presented to him by Magdalena, in +the island. From this princess, I learned the first news of Magdalena, +who was kindly treated by the young king, in his palace, for Juan's +sake. Thou must know how this cross wrought upon my heart and brain; for +I did myself give it to my sister, when they took me, but a boy, to see +her in the convent. And as for this princess, Gregorio," continued +Cortes, with an air of pride, "know that she is a daughter of Montezuma, +the descendant of a thousand kings; and the Count of Castillejo will +carry with him to his castle, a bride more noble than ever entered it +before." + +"These things are vanities," said Gregorio, gloomily. "Let my brother's +children be first plucked from the nest of infidels, if it be not too +late." + +"Heaven will not _now_ forsake them, after protecting them through so +many and greater perils," said Cortes, kissing the little cross and +restoring it to his bosom. "The best men in the army, cavaliers and all, +have sworn they will fetch them from the palace, in which they are now +surrounded. And hark thee, Gregorio: The only daughter of the Count of +Castillejo is too noble a prize for a nunnery.--We will have another +dispensation." + +The further disclosures of these two men, both villains, and both +penitents, after their ways, were arrested by the commencement of the +attack upon the palace; and Cortes calling some of his attendants to +support his companion's steps, they descended from the terrace. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +Juan Lerma, or Castillejo--for such we must now call him--yet lay in +confinement. His cell was in a quarter of the palace remote from the +royal apartments; and without being altogether exposed to the +cannon-shots, with which the attack was begun, was yet so nigh the +garden-wall as to make its luckless inhabitant an auditor of all the +fearful yells and outcries, with which the besieged and assailants +contended for possession of the breaches. He was still bound, and some +dozen or more dark-browed pagans kept watch at his doors, one of which +led into a broad passage, and the other he knew not whither. They were +designed rather to protect him from the fury of the warriors, now +concentrated in the garden and palace, than to guard against escape, +which the wounds he had received in the defence of Guzman, had but ill +fitted him to attempt. All that Guatimozin could do to prolong an +existence, now almost insufferably wretched, he did; and at the very +moment of the assault, while taking measures to effect his own retreat +from an empire now utterly demolished, and a post no longer tenable, he +gave hasty instructions to the Ottomi, Techeechee, to secure the escape +of his friend. It will be presently seen in what manner fortune defeated +this plan, as well as all others now devised by the fallen monarch. + +It was with a listlessness amounting almost to apathy, that Juan +listened to the first discharges of the cannon and the roar of hostile +voices. Such sounds had been awakened for several days in succession, +and each day they were nearer and louder. If they promised him +deliverance, they promised little else; for, having reflected upon the +eventful enterprise of the causeway, and digested at leisure and in +gloom, many of those details which had almost escaped his notice, in the +heat and hurry of contention, he saw but little reason to anticipate +from his countrymen, any other reception than such as might be +vouchsafed to a condemned criminal and avowed renegade. He remembered, +that he had been struck down by a Spaniard, while in the very act of +giving life to the Captain-General; and he had a vague suspicion, that +the blow was struck by the Barba-Roxa. If Gaspar (of whose death he was +entirely ignorant), had met him with such vindictive ferocity, what else +could be expected from men who had never looked upon him with +friendship? Yet fear for himself made the lightest weight in his load of +suffering: his thoughts dwelt upon the captive princess, and not less +often, though with perhaps less gnawing anxiety, upon his equally +captive sister. + +Such were the reflections that darkened his mind during the first hours +of conflict, and made him almost indifferent to his fate. Yet, +notwithstanding his gloom, there arose a circumstance at last, which +gave such an appalling character to his confinement, as prevented his +remaining any longer indifferent to his situation. He became suddenly +aware that volleys of smoke were beginning to roll into the apartment, +and perceived, at the same time, that his guards, driven away by fear, +or by an uncontrollable desire to mingle in the conflict, as was more +probable, had fled from the doors, after satisfying themselves that he +was secured in such a manner as to prevent his flying in their absence. +He was indeed bound, or rather swathed, hand and foot, with robes of +cotton, so as to be incapable of rising from the couch on which he lay: +and it was his consciousness of the miserable helplessness of his +condition, left to perish, as it seemed, in a burning palace, without +the power of raising a finger in self-preservation, that stung him out +of his lethargy. + +The smoke was now rolling into the room, in denser masses than before, +accompanied by the stifling odour of burning feathers, which entered so +largely into the decorations of the palace; and he began to apprehend +lest he should be suffocated outright, even before the flames had +extended to his prison. He called aloud for relief; but his voice was +unheeded in the din that shook the palace walls; he struggled to release +his limbs, or to rise to his feet, but in vain; and even the poor +expedient of rolling over the floor, availed him but little, so much +were his muscles cramped by the barbarous bonds. To crown the horror of +the scene, a gush of heated air shook the curtains of the door opposite +to that which communicated with the passage, and was almost instantly +followed by another, whirling smoke and flames. + +But even in this extremity, hope was brought to his ears, in the sound +of a voice not heard for many days, but not yet forgotten. From among +the very flames that came flashing into the chamber, consuming the +door-curtains, and darting upon the little canopy that surmounted his +couch, he could distinguish the eager and clamorous howlings of Befo; as +if this faithful friend were seeking him in his imprisonment. He +answered with a shout, which was responded to not only by the joyful +bark of the dog, but by the wild cry of a woman; and in the next +instant, Magdalena, preceded by Befo, rushed through the flames into his +dungeon. + +"I have come to save you, my brother!" she cried, with accents wildly +vehement and incoherent. "We will fly where never man shall see us more. +Kiss me, Juan; and then look upon me no more, for I have made a vow to +my soul.--Oh, my brother! my brother!" And she flung herself upon his +body, and strove, but in vain, to raise him from the floor. + +Had the agitation of his mind permitted, Juan must have noticed, and +been shocked by, the alteration in her appearance. Her whole figure was +miserably wasted, and she grasped him with a strength feebler than a +child's. Her countenance was hollow, ghastly pale, and mottled only by +such touches of colour as indicate a spirit consuming equally with the +body. Add to this, that her garments were scorched, and even in parts +burned, by the flames through which she had made her way; and we may +understand how much she differed from the beautiful and majestic +creature, that had been deemed at Tezcuco, almost a being of another +world. + +"Cut my bonds, Magdalena," said Juan, eagerly, "or I must die in thine +arms." + +"Let it be so, Juan--We will die together," cried Magdalena, with a +voice of transport, as if the prospect of such a climax to an unhappy +fate filled her mind with actual delight. "Oh yes, Juan, so we will die, +so we will die!" And she flung her arms about his neck, with tremulous +fervour, smothering his voice of remonstrance and entreaty, until +recalled to her wits by a loud howl from Befo. This faithful animal, +limping yet with pain, but acting as if he understood the inability of +Magdalena to give his master relief, now lifted up his voice, whining +for further assistance; and in a few seconds the cry of another human +being was heard, approaching with answering shouts, through the passage. +But before they were yet heard, Magdalena sprang to her feet, and wrung +her hands wildly, staring upon Juan as if upon a basilisk. + +"Sister! sister! will you see me perish?" cried Juan. "Slip me but these +knotted robes from my hands and feet, and I will save thy life. Befo! +what Befo! canst thou not rive them to tatters with thy fangs?" + +"I will free you, Juan,--yes, I will free you," said Magdalena, flinging +herself upon her knees, and essaying with better zeal than wisdom to +loose the knotted folds; "Yes, Juan, I will free you, and then bid you +farewell--Yes, farewell, farewell--a lasting farewell." + +But while she was muttering thus, and striving confusedly with the +knots, a better assistance arrived in the person of the old Ottomi, who +rushed in, yelling, "Fly! fly! The king waits for his brother," and cut +the garments asunder with his macana. + +Juan rose to his feet; but so long had he endured this benumbing +bondage, that he was scarce able either to stand or move. There was no +time, however, for hesitation. The flames were already devouring his +couch, and darting over the cedar rafters of the ceiling. Befo whined +and ran to the door, as if inviting his master to follow; and Techeechee +did not cease to exhort him to hasten. Besides all this, there were now +heard the cries of men and clashing of arms, as if the battle were +raging even in the palace, and approaching the place of imprisonment. + +"Magdalena, dear Magdalena--" + +She flung herself into his arms, and embracing him, as if never to part +from him more, she yet uttered, with wild sobbings, + +"Farewell, Juan, farewell; farewell, my brother--we will never see each +other more!" + +"What meanest thou, my sister? Hold me by the arm--Tarry not, or we +shall perish." + +"I cannot go, Juan--I will remain, Juan--I must die, Juan, I must die. +Weep for me, pray for me, remember me--Now go, now go! Go, Juan, go!" + +It is impossible to express the mingled tenderness and vehemence with +which she uttered these words. Poignant grief darkened in her eyes, in +which glimmered the light of the most passionate love; and all the while +she shed floods of tears. Unable to comprehend an agitation so +extraordinary, and valedictions which he thought little short of +insanity, he grasped her by the hand, and endeavoured to draw her after +him. She resisted even with screams, until, utterly confounded, and +somewhat incensed by opposition so unreasonable and inopportune, he +turned again to remonstrate, and perhaps rebuke. But the reproach was +banished from his lips, before they had given it utterance. She again +flung her arms around his neck, and muttered with tones that went to his +heart, + +"I cannot go with you, Juan--Oh my brother! pardon me, my brother, and +do not curse me. Bid me farewell, Juan, bid me farewell for ever--I love +you Juan, I love you too much!--Now I can live no more, Juan, I can live +no more--Farewell! farewell! farewell!" And flinging from his arms, as +if from a serpent that had suddenly stung her to the heart, she uttered +another shriek, and fled through the burning door by which she had +entered. + +Juan remained fixed to the spot, as if struck by a thunderbolt; and +before he could banish the words of the thrice-unhappy victim of passion +from his ears, there rushed into the chamber, with furious shouts, a +rabble of Spanish soldiers, blood-stained, and begrimed with smoke and +cinders, the leader of whom struck the Ottomi dead with a single thrust +of his spear, while the others rushed upon Juan, some crying out to +kill, and others to spare him. + +"Hands off!" cried Najara, throwing himself betwixt them and Juan. +"Remember orders,--the general's orders!--The king, senor Juan? Where is +the king?" + +"Unhand me, villains!" cried Juan, endeavouring to shake off the +soldiers who held him fast, while Befo attempted vainly to give him +assistance:--"Kill me, if you will, but save my sister, my poor +sister--Quick! for the love of heaven, quick!" he cried, observing some +dart towards the door through which she had vanished: "Cortes will +reward you--save her! save her!" + +"Follow them, Bernal, man," cried Najara to the historian, who had just +plucked his spear from the body of Techeechee--"What dost thou with +slaying gray-headed Indians? Follow La Monjonaza,--five-hundred +crowns,--ay, by my troth, and call them five thousand--to him that +recovers her alive! Ah, senor Juan! your dog has more brains than +yourself. But for his howling, you must e'en have roasted, man. Come +along, come along--Be of good heart; there is no fear now of either axe +or rope." + +With such words as these, he drew Juan from the chamber, and supporting +his tottering steps between himself and another, and bidding the rest of +the party to surround them, so as to guard against any outbursting of +rage from their excited companions, he bore him from the scene of +bloodshed and conflagration. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +The assault upon the garden and palace of Guatimozin, though the last +blow given to his power, it has not been thought needful to describe in +any of its details. It is well known, that the occasion was used by the +few nobles of the empire who yet survived, to withdraw their monarch +with his family from the island, in the vain hope of reaching the main +land, through a line of brigantines and armed piraguas. It is also well +known, that, notwithstanding the stratagem with which these faithful +barbarians essayed to protect the last of their native lords, by +exposing their own defenceless gondolas to destruction, he was captured, +in consequence of his magnanimous self-devotion, and transferred with +his trembling family, from his royal piragua to the galley of Garci +Holguin. + +Drums, trumpets, falconets, fire-arms, and human voices at once +proclaimed the importance of the capture, and the triumph of the +victors; and with all the speed of sails and oars, the fortunate +cavalier bore his prize towards the nearest landing in possession of the +Spaniards, deriding and even defying the claim set up by Sandoval, as +the superior officer, to the honour of presenting the prisoner to the +Captain-General. Long before he had reached the palace of Axajacatl, it +was known throughout the whole city that Guatimozin was in the hands of +the besiegers. The warriors who still fought in the garden, beheld the +surrender on the lake, instantly threw down their arms, and submitted +with sullen indifference to the fate they had long anticipated. With the +interview betwixt the king and the conqueror all readers are familiar. +The Captain-General, sumptuously dressed, and in the midst of such state +as could be prepared for an occasion so imposing, received the prisoner, +(in whose wasted figure and dejected countenance it was not possible to +recognize the half-forgotten Olin,) in the hall of the palace of +Axajacatl, where his ancestors had been kings and princes, but into +which he now entered a captive and vassal. The Captain-General received +him not only with respect, but with an appearance of sympathy and +kindness. In truth, he could not but admire the fortitude of his +youthful foe; and he reflected, not without exultation, that if his +desperate resistance had increased the pains and perils of conquest, and +frequently dashed all hopes of success, it had made his own triumph a +thousand times more glorious. He descended from his chair of state, and +raising the dejected captive from the floor, upon which he had flung +himself in token of submission, he embraced him with many expressions of +respect and encouragement. + +"Fear not--neither for thy life nor crown," he said. "Thou perceivest, +the king of Spain, my master, is invincible. Reign still in Mexico; but +reign as his vassal." + +He would have replaced on the captive's head the copilli of gold, which +had been brought from the gondola and put into his hand; but Guatimozin +rejected it with a melancholy gesture, saying, + +"It is the Teuctli's--I am no more the king. Malintzin! be merciful to +the people of Mexico: they are now slaves. Have pity also on the women +and children, that come from the palace; for they are of the household +of Montezuma. As for myself, Malintzin, hearken to what I say. The kings +of Mexico have all died; when they gave their breath to heaven, the +crown was on their front, and the sceptres on their bosom. Why then +should I live, who am no longer a king? Malintzin, I have fought for +Mexico, I have shed blood for my country, and now I shed tears; I can do +no more for my people--It is fitting, therefore, that I should die--But +I should die like a king."--He extended his hand, and touched the +jewelled dagger that glittered in the baldric of his foe. The action was +without any sign of hostility, and his countenance, now uplifted upon +Cortes, was bathed with tears. "Let Malintzin do the work--Plunge this +dagger into my bosom, and let me depart." + +There was something affecting even to the iron-hearted conqueror in the +situation and demeanour of the poor infidel, thus beseeching, and +evidently with as much sincerity as simplicity, a death of honour after +a life of patriotism; and Cortes would have renewed his caresses and +assurances of friendship, had not his ears been that moment struck by +voices without, pronouncing the name of Juan Lerma, with brutal +execrations. He signed to those cavaliers who had conducted the monarch +to his presence, to lead him away; and a moment after, Juan Lerma was +conducted up to his footstool. Dejected, spiritless, overcome perhaps by +the ferocious calls for vengeance which had heralded his steps to the +palace, as well as by the exhaustion of long bodily suffering, he did +not raise his eyes from the floor, until he heard the voice of Cortes +pronounce the faltering words,-- + +"Juan of Castillejo, I have done you a great wrong.--Yes," he continued, +with a louder voice, when Juan looked up, surprised not more by his +altered tones than by a name so unexpected and unknown, "Yes, and let +all bear witness to my confession;--I have done thee, not one wrong +only, but many; for which I heartily repent me, and, before all this +assemblage, do beseech thy forgiveness." + +"My forgiveness, senor!" stammered Juan, while all the rest looked on in +amazement. + +"Thy forgiveness," repeated the conqueror, with double emphasis. "Thou +hast been belied to me, bitterly maligned; but heaven has punished the +slanderer, who slew mine own peace of mind, that he might compass thy +death." + +"Alas, senor," said Juan; "in his death-gasp, Guzman confessed to me--" + +"Speak not of Guzman--forget him.--Have ye heard, my masters! and well +taken note of what is spoken? Now begone, all, and leave me alone with +my recovered prodigal.--Juan--Juan Lerma,--Juan of Castillejo," he +cried, as soon as the wondering audience had vanished; "if Guzman have +confessed to you, you must know why I have been maddened into wrath and +injustice.--But thy sister, Juan, where is thy sister? my poor +Magdalena? Ah, Juan! it was but a fiendish aberration, that set me +against the child of my sister!" + +With these words, he threw himself upon Juan's neck, and embraced him +with a fervour that indicated the return of all his old affections, +uttering a thousand exclamations, in which he mingled recurrences to the +past with many a reference to the present and future. "This will be a +glad day to Catalina, for she ever loved thee--Dolt that I was, to think +that her love could be aught but a mother's! My father, Juan, my father, +too! his gray hairs will yet be laid in a grave of joy; for he shall +behold the son of his daughter seated in the inheritance of a noble +father. And thy sister--she shall shine with the proudest and +noblest.--I knew thee upon the causeway, too, though I was left in a +coma, and half expiring. We have full proof of thy claims.--And thy +princess, too--dost thou remember the silver cross?" taking it from his +bosom--"Were there a duke's son demanded her, she should be thine.--What +ho! some one bring me--But, nay--Thy sister, Juan! does she not live?" + +Juan was stunned, stupified, bewildered, by a transformation in his own +character and in the feelings of the general, so sudden and so +marvellous. Yet he strove to reply to the last question, and was in the +act of uttering a broken and hasty explanation, when a loud cry came +from the passage, and rushing out, they beheld a party of soldiers +bearing, in a litter of robes torn from the burning palace, the body, or +the living frame, they knew not which, of the unhappy nun, over whom the +penitent Gregorio was bitterly lamenting. + +It was indeed Magdalena, her garments scorched, her face like the face +of the dying. Yet she did not seem to have suffered from the flames. The +soldiers had found her in a part of the palace not touched by the fire, +and scarce invaded by the smoke; and perhaps a subtle physician would +have traced her dreadful condition rather to some overpowering +convulsion of spirit than to any physical, injury. She was indeed dying, +the victim of contending passions, with which the education of a +cloister had so ill fitted her to contend. + +We will not speak of the meeting of Juan and his dark-eyed proselyte. It +took place beside the couch of the dying girl, who, for love of him, had +given up the vows of religion and the fame of woman, and perished with +frenzy, when she discovered that that love was more than the love of a +sister. + +At nightfall, and while she still lay insensible, save that a faint moan +occasionally trembled from her lips, there arose a tempest of lightning, +thunder, and rain, far exceeding in violence any that had before burst +over the heads of the Spaniards, and which Bernal Diaz has recorded in +his history, as having been the most dreadful that ever confounded his +mind and senses. It seemed as if the warlike divinities of Mexico were +now taking leave of their broken altars and subjugated people, with a +display of strength and fury, never more to be exercised. It ceased not +until midnight, and then only when it had discharged a bolt that shook +the island to its foundation, and tumbled many a ruined cabin and +dilapidated palace, upon the heads of their unhappy inmates. + +It was in the midst of this conflict of the elements, that the broken +spirit passed from its weary prison; and what had been beauty and +affection, genius and passion, became a clod, to claim kindred with its +fellow of the valley. It was better indeed that she should thus perish; +for her nature was above that of earth, and even the passion that +destroyed her, pure, enthusiastic, and devoted as it was, was unworthy +the spirit it had subdued. It was such as is the molewarp to the +rose-bush, or the myrtle-tree, which he can destroy by burrowing at +their roots, even when the winter's blast can scarce rive away a branch. + +The remains of this ill-fated being were interred upon a sequestered +hill, west of Mexico, where Gregorio Castillejo built a hermitage, and +mourned over her for the few years he survived her. He left the odour of +sanctity behind him, and the hermitage is now forgotten in the chapel +built upon its site, and dedicated to Our Lady de los Remedios. To this +place Cortes withdrew, with his whole army, in order that the ruined +city might be purified of corses and rubbish, that rendered it horrible +even to a soldier, no longer inflamed by the fire of battle. He soon, +however, removed to Xochimilco, the Field of Flowers, where the time of +the purification was devoted to solemn rejoicings and profane +festivities. + +To all those who may yet be disposed to consider our account of the +strength and splendour of the empire of Montezuma as fabulous, we +recommend no better study than the honest, worthy, and single-minded +historian, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who lived to complete his _Historia +Verdadera_, fifty years afterwards, in the loyal city of Guatimala, in +which he held the honourable post of Regidor, the venerable, and, at +that period, almost the sole survivor of the followers of Cortes. He has +recorded one striking proof of the vast multitudes of pagans that had +been concentrated within the island of Mexico. After averring, with a +solemn oath, that, after the fall of the city, the streets, houses, +squares, courts, and canals, were so covered with dead bodies, that it +was impossible to move without treading upon them, he relates, that, +Cortes having ordered all who survived, principally women and children, +and the wounded, to evacuate the city, preparatory to its purification, +'for _three days and three nights_, all the causeways were full of the +wretched fugitives, who were so weak and sickly, so squalid and +pestilential, that it was misery to behold them.' Three broad highways, +covered, for the space of three days and nights, by a moving mass of +widows and orphans, the trophies of a gallant achievement! the first +fruits of the ambition of a single individual! + +As Bernal Diaz retained, to the last, a jealous regard for the honour of +his leader, this friendly weakness, taken into consideration along with +the infirmities of memory incident to his advanced age, may perhaps +account for his failure to complete the story of Juan Lerma. He may have +recollected, as is often the case with an old man, the earliest facts of +the story, while the later ones slipped entirely from his mind. + +Of Cortes himself, it is scarce necessary to apprize the reader, that he +lived to subdue other empires, and experience the ingratitude of a +monarch, whose favour he had so amply merited. He fought for renown, for +his king, and for heaven. Heaven alone can judge the merit of his acts, +for men are yet unwilling to sit in judgment upon the brave; his king +requited him with insults and positive oppression; and fame has placed +him among those who have trodden out the wine-press of human desolation, +and live in marble. + +As for the young Count of Castillejo, his claims to the inheritance of +his father were too well substantiated to be resisted; and the crimes of +Gregorio had left none to oppose. As a subordinate in the work of +conquest, there was nothing in him to be feared; and when he bore from a +land he could only remember with sorrow, a bride whose father had borne +the witching name of king, he was received with as much favour, and +distinguished by as many honours, as any other _Conquistador_, who +transplanted among the dames of Castile, a wife wooed within the palaces +of Montezuma. + +The fate of Guatimozin is well known. The crown he was still enforced to +wear did not protect him from the torture of fire; nor could his noble +character and unhappy fall secure him from a death of degradation. Four +years after the fall of his empire, and at a distance of several hundred +leagues from his native valley, he expiated upon a gibbet, a crime that +existed only in the gloomy and remorseful imagination of the Conqueror. +And thus, with two royal kinsmen, kings and feudatories of Anahuac, he +was left to swing in the winds, and feed the vultures, of a distant and +desert land. He merited a higher distinction, a loftier respect, and a +profounder compassion, than men will willingly accord to a barbarian and +INFIDEL. + + +THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Infidel, Vol. II., by Robert Montgomery Bird + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE INFIDEL, VOL. 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