The reader will remember, some chapters back, how we lay quartered in the township of Quiahuitzlan, and that several of the confederate tribes, friendly with Sempoalla, assembled around us there. Above thirty townships, on this occasion, at the command of Cortes, refused to pay any further tribute to Motecusuma, and threw off his yoke. It was during that time also that the Mexican tax-gatherers were imprisoned by the Sempoallans, at our instigation. After all this had taken place we broke up our quarters at Sempoalla and began our march towards Mexico, leaving Juan de Escalante behind, as governor of Vera Cruz, who received particular instructions to protect our allies.

Motecusuma had garrisons in every province of his empire, which were always stationed on the confines. Such garrisons, for instance, lay in Xoconoctico, for the protection of Guatimala and Chiapa, another in Coatzagualco, a third in Mechoacan, and a fourth on the confines of Panuco, between Tuzapan and a township lying on the north coast, which was called Almeria.[68] When the garrison of the latter place demanded the tribute of Indians with the provisions from the neighbouring townships, they refused to pay it, (as they were in alliance with Sempoalla, and had assisted Escalante in the building of the fortress,) and gave for reason that Malinche had so commanded it, and that the powerful Motecusuma had consented thereto.

The Mexican chiefs, however, were not to be put off with this answer, and declared they would destroy every township which refused to pay the tribute, and carry off the inhabitants as slaves, as they were bound to obey the commands which Motecusuma had recently issued.

On hearing these threats the Totonaque tribes applied to Escalante for assistance against the Mexicans, who were coming to plunder them. Escalante accordingly sent off messengers to the Mexican chiefs, commanding them to leave those tribes at peace, as that was the wish of their monarch, Motecusuma, with whom we stood on very friendly terms; and if they refused compliance with his commands he would march into the field against them in person, and treat them as enemies.

The Mexicans received these threats with utter contempt, and returned the haughty answer, "that they would meet him on the field of battle!" Escalante, who was a man of great courage, and very prompt in what he did, issued orders to our mountain allies to equip themselves for battle, and he selected those from among his own men who were in the best health, and most able to bear fatigue.

In this way he marched out against the Mexicans, with two cannon, a small supply of powder, three crossbow-men, two musketeers, besides forty Spanish soldiers and above 2000 Totonaques. The Mexicans were double the number of our Totonaque auxiliaries, who, besides this, had become intimidated by former battles; so that they left Escalante in the lurch after the very first attack. Escalante now forced his way to Almeria, which he set fire to. Here he halted for a short time, as he was dangerously wounded. In the several engagements which here took place Escalante lost one horse, and one of his men, named Arguello, a young man of amazing bodily strength, with a wild-looking countenance, a large head, and black curly beard, who was carried off alive by the Mexicans. Six others of his men were likewise dangerously wounded; the only alternative, therefore, which Escalante had left was to return to Vera Cruz, where he and six others of his men died three days after their arrival.

This is exactly what took place at Almeria; and not as Gomara relates, who says, that all this happened under Pedro de Ircio, who had marched out on this occasion with a few men to Panuco, in order to found a colony there; though we had scarcely sufficient troops in Vera Cruz to place the necessary sentinels; how much less, therefore, could the thought have entered our mind to send out a colony to Panuco? Besides which, Ircio was not an officer at that time; no, nor even a corporal; had altogether nothing to do with the whole affair, being at the time with us in Mexico. In the same way Gomara tells his tales about our imprisoning Motecusuma, without for a moment reflecting that several of the Conquistadores were still alive; who, when they had perused his work, would be able to say so and so such a thing happened, and not otherwise.

We must now turn to the Mexican generals, and relate how they announced their victory to Motecusuma, and sent him the head of Arguello, who most likely died on the road of his wounds. We afterwards learnt that Motecusuma was quite horror-struck at the sight of this enormous head with the thick curly beard. He could not bear to look at it, and would not allow the head to be brought near any of the temples in Mexico, but ordered it to be presented to the idols of some other town; yet he inquired how it came that his troops, which had been many thousands in number, had not been able to overthrow such a handful of teules? His captains replied, that notwithstanding all their courageous fighting they had not been able to make the Spaniards give way, because a great Spanish tecleciguata[69] had stood at their head, who had filled the Mexicans with fear, and animated the teules by her speeches.

Motecusuma was convinced that this illustrious warrior was the Virgin Mary, who, we had told him, with her heavenly Son, whom she held in her arms, was our strong rock.

This wonderful apparition I did not behold with mine own eyes, as I was at the time in Mexico. However, several of the Conquistadores spoke of it as a fact; and may it please God that it was so. It is, however, certainly true that the blessing of the Virgin Mary was always upon us.

CHAPTER XCV.

After we had come to the determination of seizing the person of Motecusuma, and had been on our knees the whole night in prayer, to supplicate the Almighty's assistance in this bold attempt, and that it might redound to the glory of his holy religion, we made the necessary arrangements when morning came for that purpose.

Every one received orders to be ready to march out at a moment's notice, and the horses were to be kept saddled. It is not necessary for me to repeat here that our arms were always in readiness; for they were never out of our hands either day or night; while our alpargates, the only covering we had to our feet, were never taken off.

Our general now sallied forth, accompanied by our five chief officers, Alvarado, Sandoval, Lugo, Leon, and Avila; besides our interpreters, Marina, and Aguilar. Cortes and his officers were completely armed; yet this would not appear strange to Motecusuma, as he had never seen them otherwise whenever they paid him a visit. Cortes, as on the former occasion, sent some one before him to announce his approach, that Motecusuma might not perceive any change in our behaviour, and feel no uneasiness at our unexpected visit. His conscience, however, was not altogether easy, on account of the affair which had taken place at Almeria, and he had a misgiving that it would bring down evil upon him. Yet he sent word that our visit would be agreeable to him.

After Cortes had entered his apartment, and the usual compliments had been passed, he thus addressed Motecusuma: "I am greatly astonished that a prince of such power, who styles himself our friend, should have commanded his troops, which lie on the coast near Tuzapan, to take up arms against my Spanish troops, and presume to demand a certain number of men and women for the sacrifices from those townships which have put themselves under the protection of our emperor. But this is not all; they have plundered those places, and even killed one of my brothers, and a horse."

Cortes very prudently omitted to mention the death of Escalante and the six others; for Motecusuma at that time knew as little of that as his generals who had commanded on the occasion.

"How very differently we acted on our side!" continued Cortes. "I had put implicit reliance in your friendship, and desired my officers in every way to comply with your wishes. You, on the contrary, have commanded your officers the very opposite. You once likewise sent a large body of troops to Cholulla to destroy us all there. At that time, from the friendship I bore you, I would not notice to you that I was aware of that. At the present moment your generals have the audacity to plot in secret to put us all to death. However, notwithstanding all this treachery, I will refrain from making war upon you, which would only end in the total destruction of this city; but in order that peace may be maintained between us, you must make a small sacrifice, which is, to follow us quietly into our quarters, and take up your abode there. There you will receive the same attention, and be treated with the same respect as if you were in your own palace. But if you make any alarm now, or call out to your attendants, you are a dead man; and it is for this reason only that I have this time brought these officers with me."

Motecusuma was seized with such sudden terror at these words, that he remained speechless for some time. At length, however, he took courage, and declared he had never given any one orders to take up arms against us. He would that instant send for his generals, and learn from them the truth of the whole matter, and give exemplary punishment. For this purpose, he loosened the seal and mark of Huitzilopochtli, which he always wore around his wrist. This he only did when he issued orders of the first importance, and that those who had the seal might be immediately obeyed. He was quite astonished, he said, we should presume to take him prisoner, and lead him away out of his palace against his wishes. No one had a right to demand that of him, he added; and altogether he felt no inclination to comply with our request.

Cortes, in answer to this, gave him very good reasons for our having come to this determination; but Motecusuma continually brought in stronger reasons why he should not comply; and was resolved not to leave his palace.

As this dispute had now lasted above half an hour, our officers began to lose all patience, and said to Cortes with great warmth, "What is the use of throwing away so many words? He must either quietly follow us, or we will cut him down at once. Be so good as to tell him this; for on this depends the safety of our lives. We must show determination, or we are inevitably lost."

These words were uttered by Juan Velasquez in a loud and harsh tone of voice. When, therefore, Motecusuma heard this, and perceived the dark looks of the officers, he asked Marina what the man had said who spoke so loud.

Marina, who was uncommonly shrewd, and well knew how to help us out with a good answer, said, "Great monarch, if I may be allowed to give you advice, make no further difficulties, but immediately follow them to their quarters. I am confident they will pay you every respect, and treat you as becomes a powerful monarch. But if you continue to refuse, they will cut you down on the spot."

Motecusuma then turned to Cortes, and said: "Malinche, since then you repose no trust in me, take my son and my two legitimate daughters as hostages; only do not disgrace me, by demanding my person. What will the grandees of my empire say, if they see me taken prisoner?"

Cortes, however, said that his own person would be the only guarantee of our safety, and that there was no other means of quieting our fears. At last Motecusuma, after a good deal of altercation, made up his mind to go quietly with us.

As soon as he had declared this his intention, our officers showed him every possible civility, and hoped that he would excuse the grief they had occasioned him, and desired him to acquaint his generals and his body-guard that he had chosen, of his own free will, to take up his abode in our quarters; and also upon the advice of Huitzilopochtli and his papas, who considered it necessary for his health, and for the safety of his life.

His rich and splendid sedan was then brought in, which he commonly used when he left his palace with his whole suite, and he followed us to our quarters, where we took every precaution to secure his person. Every one of us strove hardest to make him happy, and procured him every entertainment we could think of, to make his confinement as pleasant as we could.

Shortly afterwards all the Mexican grandees, with his nephew, called upon him, to inquire the reason of his imprisonment, and ask him if they should commence hostilities against us? But Motecusuma told them he wished to do himself the pleasure of passing a few days with us, and that this change of abode was of his own free choice. He would make his wishes known to them as soon as he found reason to complain. They might allay their fears, and keep the metropolis quiet, and not trouble themselves any further about him. The determination he had thus taken was fully consented to by Huitzilopochtli, as many priests, who had purposely consulted him, had admitted.

These are the true circumstances relative to the imprisonment of Motecusuma. He was always surrounded by the whole of his household, and had all his wives with him, and continued to bathe himself daily, as he had been accustomed to, in his own palace. He was likewise always attended by twenty of his generals and counsellors, nor did he show the least signs of grief on account of his confinement. Disputes from the most distant parts were laid before him, as usual, for his decision; the tribute was collected, and he continued to attend to the most important affairs of state as before. His subjects paid the same veneration to his person, and the most distinguished princes who waited on him, or came upon business, always took off their fine garments, to put on a meaner dress of nequen cloth, and came so, barefoot, into his presence. Neither did they enter at the principal gate, but sought for some side door, and approached with eyes downcast, and made three prostrations, and pronounced the words Lord, my lord, great lord! They then acquainted him with their business, by means of pictures drawn on nequen cloth; and made use of thin sticks, with which they pointed to the different objects, to explain what they wanted, or the nature of the lawsuit they came about.

Motecusuma had constantly two old distinguished caziques at his side, who, as judges, gave their opinion in every case, after due deliberation; and the monarch then, in few words, gave his decision. The parties then, without uttering a syllable, or turning their backs to him, left the apartment with three deep bows; and on arriving outside, they again put on their fine garments, and took a stroll in the metropolis.

After some time had elapsed, the generals who had fought against Escalante were brought in prisoners to the monarch. What he told them on this occasion I do not know; but he sent them to Cortes to pronounce judgment on them himself. These unfortunate men confessed they had merely acted up to the commands of their monarch, which was, to levy the tribute by force of arms; and if the teules should protect the rebels, to attack them also, and put them to the sword.

Cortes acquainted Motecusuma with what these men had said, but declared that the monarch had sufficiently exculpated himself from any guilt in the affair. According to the laws of our emperor, that man suffered death who had killed another, whether he deserved killing or not; however, his love for Motecusuma was so great, that he would rather take the responsibility of this matter upon himself than allow it to rest with him; but as he still seemed anxious about it, our general made no further ceremony with these Mexicans, but sentenced them to death, and they were burnt alive in front of Motecusuma's palace.[69*]

And that no impediment might be thrown in the way while these sentences were being put into execution, Cortes ordered chains to be put on Motecusuma. At first he certainly did not approve of this at all, but, in the end, quietly submitted, and grew even the more tractable afterwards. When the executions had taken place, Cortes approached him, with five of our officers, and himself took off his chains again, with the assurance that he loved him more than a brother. He likewise told him, however great a monarch he might be at present, that additional countries should be annexed to his empire, and he was at liberty to visit any of his other palaces whenever he felt inclined.

At these words Motecusuma became affected, and big tears rolled down his cheeks; and though he felt that all was mere empty sound he had heard, he nevertheless thanked Cortes for his kindness, adding, that at present he felt no inclination to go anywhere.

His nephews, relations, and grandees daily stormed him with petitions to allow them to make war upon us, and release him from confinement. And, indeed, it required all his persuasion to prevent them from rising up in arms immediately. If he were once, said they, outside of our quarters, they would take forcible possession of his person. The whole of the inhabitants in his metropolis would rise up in arms, and if then he would not join them, they would care little about him, and elect a new king. Motecusuma, however, succeeded in silencing them by the assurance that Huitzilopochtli had himself advised him to bear with his confinement.

To account for Motecusuma thus quietly submitting to his confinement, I must here remark that Cortes ordered Aguilar to acquaint him secretly that if even our general himself gave his consent to his liberation, it would be of no avail, as all our officers and soldiers would oppose it. Cortes feigned to be unconscious of all this, and embraced the monarch under the assurances of sincere friendship. He likewise gave him his page Orteguilla, who had already gained some knowledge of the Mexican language, the monarch having expressed a wish to have a Spanish attendant. This young man was of the greatest utility both to Motecusuma and ourselves, the monarch learning many things from him relating to Spain, and we again a good deal of the discourses which passed between the former and his generals: he was in every way attentive to the monarch, who became exceedingly fond of him. On the whole, Motecusuma appeared perfectly content with the civilities we showed him, and he continually felt greater delight in our company; for whenever any one of us passed by him, he immediately entered into discourse with us: we were quite at our ease with him, even when Cortes was present, and took off our helmets in his presence, which, as well as our weapons, we never laid aside; and the monarch always treated us with great respect.

The severe example which Cortes had made of the Mexican generals had had its full effect. The news thereof ran like wildfire through the whole of New Spain; the tribes along the coast, by whom our troops of Vera Cruz had been defeated, were seized with terror, and again offered their services to the garrison there.

I must now beg the kind reader to pause a moment upon the heroic deeds we performed, and consider their magnitude! First of all, we destroy all our vessels, and thereby cut off all hopes of escaping from this country. We then venture to march into this strong city, though we were warned against it on all sides, and assured we should merely be allowed a peaceable entrance to be the more easily destroyed. We then have the audacity to imprison the monarch of this vast empire, the powerful Motecusuma, in his own metropolis, in his very palace, amidst his numerous troops. At last, we even fearlessly burn some of his generals to death in front of his own palace, and throw the monarch himself in chains while this was being executed! Even now, in my old age, the heroic deeds we then accomplished come vividly to my memory. I imagine I see all passing before me now, but must also acknowledge that, although we had our hands full, we were aided by Divine Providence. When again on earth will be found such a handful of soldiers, in all scarcely 550, who would dare to penetrate, at a distance of above 6000 miles from their native country, into the heart of such a strong city, larger than Venice, take its very monarch prisoner, and execute his generals in his very presence? These things, indeed, ought to be deeply pondered on, and not mentioned so briefly as I here have done! But it is time I should continue my history.

CHAPTER XCVI.

After the execution of the Mexican generals, and Motecusuma had become pacified again, Cortes despatched one of our officers, named Alonso de Grado, a very active, handsome, and sensible man, to Vera Cruz, with the appointment of lieutenant, who, besides being an excellent musician, was a capital penman.

This Grado was one of those who had always opposed our march to Mexico, and particularly on the occasion when the intrigues were set on foot by the discontented during our stay in Tlascalla: he then insisted on our return to Vera Cruz, and, upon the whole, spoke in severe terms against our general. He was very expert in various matters, and was successful in his undertakings, and hence again obtained the command of Vera Cruz, though he was not a very good soldier. Cortes, well acquainted with the man's character, that he was not one of the most courageous, said to him, in giving him the appointment, rather jokingly, "Your desire of going to Vera Cruz, Alonso de Grado, is about to be fulfilled. There you must continue the building of the fortress with assiduity; but have nothing to do with any warlike movements: it might end equally disastrous for you as it did for Juan de Escalante!"

While Cortes was thus addressing him, he winked his eye to those who were present, as much as to say if he were required on the field of battle, we should have to drag him there by the hair of his head.

When Grado's appointment and instructions were about to be drawn up, he likewise begged Cortes to confer on him the appointment of alguacil-major, which Escalante had enjoyed with that of lieutenant. Our commander, however, told him it had already been conferred upon Sandoval, but, in a short time, he would give him some further appointment. He particularly desired him to watch over the interests of the inhabitants of Vera Cruz as a father, and not allow any harsh measures to be practised against the Indian population. Lastly, he desired him to order the smith at Vera Cruz to make two heavy iron chains, and to forward them, with the anchors we had taken out of our vessels, immediately to Mexico.

Alonso de Grado's conduct, however, very little corresponded with the instructions he had received. His behaviour towards the Spanish garrison at Vera Cruz was haughty to a degree. He required the men to wait upon him, as if he had been a grandee, and demanded golden trinkets and beautiful females from the thirty surrounding tribes which were friendly with us. He no way troubled himself about completing the fortress, and spent all his time in feasting and gambling. He went even further than this, and gave way to his former ill-will towards Cortes, by seeking to gain his friends and others over to the interest of Diego Velasquez, and proposed that if the latter himself, or any one sent by him, should appear off the coast, to make common cause with him, and deliver up possession of the country to him.

Cortes was duly apprized of all this, and sadly repented in the choice of this man, whose character and artful disposition, however, he had known beforehand.

As Cortes was still afraid that Diego Velasquez might somehow or other obtain information of the purport of our mission to the emperor, and not merely frustrate our designs, but also send out an armament against us, he considered it necessary to send a trustworthy man to Vera Cruz. His choice fell upon Sandoval, who became alguacil-major of the town after the death of Escalante. Sandoval was accompanied by Ircio, the same who, Gomara affirms, founded a settlement in Panuco. This Ircio had been groom to the earl of Ureña, and likewise to Don Pedro Giron, and knew well how to entertain Sandoval with the various adventures of his life: hereby he succeeded in gaining the intimate friendship of this excellent man, who was innocence itself, and, by degrees, he obtained a captaincy. He, however, repaid him with ingratitude, and calumniated him so grossly that he might have been punished according to law, but Sandoval contented himself by giving him a severe reprimand.

I will, however, leave this subject, and relate that Sandoval, immediately upon his arrival at Vera Cruz, fulfilled Cortes' orders, took Grado prisoner, and sent him under a strong escort of Indian auxiliaries to Mexico. Sandoval very soon gained the good wishes of the whole garrison, for he began his work by providing food for the sick, and treating the inhabitants with every possible kindness, and was most particular in promoting the interests of the surrounding townships which were friendly with us. In the same way he set diligently about the completion of the fortress, and every way proved himself an active and vigilant commander, who afterwards, as will be seen, rendered vast services to Cortes and all of us.

I must now return to Grado, who soon arrived at Mexico in custody of our Indian auxiliaries. His request to obtain a hearing from Cortes was not only refused, but he was thrown into a wooden cage which had just been constructed. I can still well remember that the wood of this cage smelt strongly of garlic and onions. However, our prisoner was obliged to pass two whole days in it; yet, like a clever fellow, who is never at a loss, he found means to soften Cortes' resentment by making him solemn promises of future obedience, and not only obtained his liberty again, but, from that moment, as I witnessed myself, became very intimate with our general, who, however, never again intrusted him with any military command, but employed him in matters which suited his talents. Subsequently he appointed him auditor of the army accounts, which Avila had previously filled, and whom Cortes had despatched, as his attorney, to St. Domingo, as will subsequently be seen.

Before I close this chapter, I have to observe that Cortes desired Sandoval, on his arrival at Vera Cruz, to send him the two smiths of that town, with all their apparatus, a quantity of iron, besides the two heavy iron chains which were already finished; and likewise a supply of sails, some rigging, pitch, and a compass; all of which Cortes required for the brigantines which he intended building to navigate the lake of Mexico.

CHAPTER XCVII.

Our general was a man who thought of everything, and strove as much as possible to enliven the monarch in his confinement, that he might not feel the weight of his misfortune too deeply. Cortes, therefore, every morning after we had said prayers, visited the monarch with four of our principal officers, to inquire after his health and after his wants, and otherwise to amuse him in every way; in which they succeeded so well that Motecusuma one day himself declared his confinement was not irksome to him, as our gods had given us the power to take him prisoner, and Huitzilopochtli had allowed it.

Sometimes also Motecusuma played at a certain game with Cortes, which the Mexicans call the game of totoloc: it is played with small round glossy balls, which here were made of gold, and are pitched at a certain mark, also of the same metal: five throws finished the game, and the stakes were for valuable gold trinkets and jewels. I still remember once when Motecusuma and Cortes were playing at this game, Alvarado scoring for Cortes, and a distinguished cazique (his nephew) for the monarch, that Alvarado continually scored one too many for Cortes. This was observed by Motecusuma, who said, with a pleasing smile, that he was not exactly pleased when Tonatio (so they termed Alvarado) marked the game for Cortes, for he was guilty of Ixoxol in scoring, which means that he scored falsely, by continually marking one more than he ought.

Cortes, and we others who happened to be on duty at the time in the apartment, could not resist laughing at the observation of the monarch. And why, it will be asked, did we find that expression so amusing? Because Alvarado, notwithstanding the handsome and refined man he was, could not resist the temptation of scoring falsely, and had been discovered. However, all the gain was divided among those present; for what Cortes won he presented to the monarch's nephew and his servants; Motecusuma dividing his gains among those who happened to be on duty at the time.[70] And not a day passed that he did not present Velasquez de Leon, who was very kind to him, and was captain of the guard, and those who were on duty, with valuable gold trinkets and manufactured stuffs.

One night a sailor, named Truxillo, stood sentinel in the monarch's apartment. This fellow was very stout and strongly-built; he happened to forget himself, for a moment, in a way which, out of respect for the reader, I will not describe more minutely here. Motecusuma, who was a monarch of refined manners, happened to hear it at the moment, and considered himself grossly insulted. He inquired of his page Orteguilla who the low-bred fellow was? Orteguilla replied that the man was a sailor, and that such persons were little acquainted with good manners. It was upon this occasion also that Orteguilla explained to him the rank of every individual soldier, who were cavaliers and who were not, and many other things the monarch wished to know. Motecusuma, however, had not forgotten the insult which the sailor had offered to his person, for daylight had scarcely broken forth when he sent for him, and reproached him for his disrespectful behaviour, and advised him to mend his manners for the future; but sweetened down this lecture by presenting him with some gold trinkets, worth about five pesos. This kind treatment, however, had little effect on the rough sailor, who repeated his filthy conduct the following night, in the hopes of getting a second present when morning came. Motecusuma, however, disdained speaking to him any more, but complained to the captain of the guard, and desired that the fellow might be severely reprimanded and never allowed again to stand sentinel there.

Something similar happened to a soldier named Lopez, who was an excellent crossbow-man, and had a fine figure, though otherwise a man of little understanding. As he was one night on duty in the monarch's apartment, and the corporal came to make the rounds, he remarked to the latter, "A curse upon this dog, I am sure this standing sentinel at night will be my death!"

Motecusuma heard these words, and considered his feelings deeply wounded. When, therefore, Cortes came in the morning to pay the monarch his usual visit, he complained bitterly to him about the insult that had been offered him. Cortes was exceedingly vexed, and was so enraged with Lopez that he ordered him to be whipped. From that day every one who stood sentinel in the monarch's apartment maintained a respectful silence; though, as far as regarded myself and others of my companions who often stood sentinel in the same apartment, we needed no instructions as to how we were to behave in the presence of such a great monarch, who soon got to know all our names and peculiarities, was exceedingly kind towards us, and often distributed gold trinkets among us, besides manufactured cottons and pretty females. At that time I was yet a young fellow, and whenever I stood sentinel in the monarch's apartment, I always behaved with the greatest respect, and uncovered my head on passing by him. This drew his attention towards me, and, on inquiring who I was, Orteguilla informed him that I had accompanied the two former voyages of discovery to these parts. When, therefore, Orteguilla, at my desire, hinted to him that I should be much pleased with a pretty Mexican female, he sent for me, and said, "I understand, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, that you have abundance of gold and cotton stuffs, wherefore I will now give you a pretty young female. Treat her well, for she is the daughter of distinguished parents, who will, besides, give you more gold and cotton stuffs with her."

I very respectfully thanked the monarch for his kindness, and hoped God would bless him for it. When the page interpreted my answer, he said, "Bernal Diaz appears to me to have the true feelings of a well-bred man," and ordered three small plates of gold and two additional packages of cotton stuffs to be given me.

With respect to Motecusuma's mode of life, it was his custom to say his prayers the first thing in the morning, and sacrifice to his gods: he then partook of a little breakfast, which consisted not in meat, but solely in agi.[71] This being finished, he gave an hour's audience to the caziques, who came from distant parts in great numbers to lay before him certain disputes, and obtain his judgment. The remaining part of the day was then spent in amusement, particularly with his concubines, of whom he had a great number; some of these, at times, he gave in marriage to his generals, principal favorites, and likewise to us soldiers; as I, for instance, obtained Doña Francisca, whom you might well see was a woman of distinction. Now and then the monarch would laugh, and then again he was pensive, and seemed to reflect on his confinement.

I must once more return to the soldier whom Cortes had so severely punished for calling Motecusuma a dog. Many to whom I have related this were surprised at the severity of his punishment, as the man had not said it to the monarch's face; besides that, our numbers were so small, and that the Mexicans would be sure to hear of it. My reply to this is, that all of us, even Cortes himself, paid Motecusuma the most profound respect, and no one passed by him without uncovering his head: add to all this, he was so very kind, and so courteous in his behaviour towards us, that we should have considered ourselves bound to pay his person and good breeding every possible respect, though he had not been the monarch of New Spain.

Lastly, it must be remembered that our lives were in his hands; for, at his very wink, his subjects would have flown to his rescue. When we saw how he was continually surrounded by so many distinguished personages, and the numbers of princes who came to wait upon him from distant parts of his empire, in the same way as if he had still been at liberty in his own palace, can we at all feel surprised, then, that Cortes should so severely have punished on the spot an insult offered to this monarch? Assuredly he did nothing more than the circumstances of the moment required!

CHAPTER XCVIII.

After the necessary materials had arrived for constructing the two brigantines, Cortes informed Motecusuma that he intended to build two small pleasure yachts to navigate the lake of Mexico, and requested him to allow his carpenters to cut wood for the purpose, and assist our ship carpenters, Martin Lopez and Alonso Nuñez, in the building of the vessels.

There was plenty of wood at a distance of about sixteen miles from the town, which could easily be transported hither. The building of these vessels went on very fast, as our men were assisted by numbers of Indians. These brigantines, therefore, were very soon completed and rigged; besides which, each was provided with an awning to keep out the heat of the sun. Both vessels turned out very good, and sailed uncommonly fast.

This Lopez was not only an excellent soldier, but also a very clever man in his profession, and subsequently built the thirteen brigantines which were of the most valuable assistance to us in the conquest of Mexico, as will be seen in the proper place.

About this time, Motecusuma expressed a wish to visit his temple, in order to make his devotions there, and sacrifice to his idols. His motive for wishing this he declared was not merely to fulfil his religious duties, but also to convince his generals, his courtiers, and particularly some of his relatives, who daily begged he would allow them to rescue him from his confinement, and commence hostilities with us, that it was his own choice to dwell with us, to which Huitzilopochtli had given his consent.

In answer to this request, Cortes said, he was afraid it would cost him his life, as his generals and papas might suddenly form the idea of taking forcible possession of his person on the occasion, and fall upon us, and his life would become endangered in the struggle. He was, however, no way inclined to oppose his wishes, and he might repair there early in the morning, but was not to sacrifice any human beings, as that was a great sin against the only true God, whom we had made known to him. Neither could he help remarking that it would be much more profitable to him to make his devotions before our altars and the image of the holy Virgin.

Motecusuma then assured Cortes he would not permit any human sacrifices to take place. The monarch then, with Cortes' permission, made a procession to the temple, dressed in his splendid garments, and surrounded by his most distinguished courtiers, with the usual display of pomp, preceded by the staff of honour, to announce the monarch's approach. Four of our principal officers, Leon, Alvarado, Avila, and Lugo, with 150 soldiers, accompanied him as a guard, and father Olmedo to restrain the monarch from instituting any human sacrifices.

When Motecusuma had arrived at the cursed temple of Huitzilopochtli, he was assisted out of the sedan by his nephews and other caziques. As the procession moved along, all the Mexican grandees kept their eyes fixed to the ground, not daring to look up in the monarch's face. At the foot of the temple he was met by a number of papas who assisted him in mounting the steps. The night previous, they had sacrificed four Indians; for, notwithstanding all Cortes and father Olmedo might say, they were not to be deterred, and continued those abominations. At that time, indeed, all we could do was to feign ignorance of their having taken place; for Mexico and other great towns had already been aroused into rebellion by Motecusuma's nephews, as will be presently seen.

The monarch having finished his devotions, which were of short duration, again returned with us to our quarters. He appeared now in better spirits, and presented each of us who had accompanied the procession with trinkets of gold.

CHAPTER XCIX.

When both our brigantines were launched, and completely rigged and manned with sailors, Motecusuma expressed a wish to take a trip by water to a river where he was accustomed to go for the purpose of hunting, situated at the foot of a mountain along the banks of the lake. No one, not even his principal officers, durst visit this spot for the sake of killing game, under pain of death. Cortes answered, that, as far as regarded himself, he in no way objected, but again impressed upon his mind what he had told him on his visit to the temple: and he would advise him to make use of one of the brigantines on the occasion, which were much more safe than the canoes or pirogues.

Motecusuma was vastly pleased with this offer, and went on board the better of the two, with a great number of his principal officers: the other brigantine conveyed a son of the monarch, attended by numbers of caziques; and the royal huntsmen followed in the canoes of the country. Cortes took along with him Leon, Alvarado, Oli, and Avila, besides 200 of our troops, bidding them to pay particular attention to everything that passed, and narrowly watch the person of Motecusuma. Besides this, four cannon were brought on board, with the necessary powder, and our artillerymen; so that every precaution was taken. A stiffish breeze fortunately rose just as the brigantines were leaving, so that we were able to make the best use of the sails, and the monarch was greatly delighted at thus, as it were, flying across the lake: nor could the canoes, filled with the huntsmen and other Mexican chiefs, notwithstanding the number of their rowers, any way keep up with us, which amused the monarch uncommonly, and he said it showed great skill thus to be able to unite the power of the sails and the oars.

The desired river, therefore, which was not very far distant, was soon reached. Here Motecusuma created terrible destruction among the deer, hares, and rabbits, and returned highly delighted to his metropolis. When we had arrived near to Mexico, he begged our officers to fire the cannon, which gave him a new pleasure; and as we found that he was open and frank, we experienced a real pleasure in paying him the same respect as was shown him by his own grandees. But if I were to attempt a description of his grandeur, and the perfect submission and deep veneration which every prince of New Spain and other provinces evinced towards his person, I should, perhaps, find no end. He had merely to say the word, and everything was brought he desired, as the following instance will prove. One day, as many of us officers and soldiers were with Motecusuma, a hawk pounced upon a quail, which, with others, and numbers of pigeons, was kept by his Indian major domo, whose business it was to see that our quarters were always clean and tidy. This hawk succeeded in seizing its prey, and flew off with it. As we were all looking on, one of our men, Francisco de Azenedo, cried out, "O! what a fine bird! how beautifully it flies away with its prey!" We were all of the same opinion, and remarked, that this country altogether abounded with birds that might be capitally trained for hawking.

Motecusuma, observing how lively we were discoursing together, was curious to know what it was, and inquired the reason of his page Orteguilla, who told him we were admiring the hawk which had pounced upon the quail, and added, that if we had such a bird in our power, we could teach it to fly from the hand, and attack a bird of any size and kill it.

Then, returned Motecusuma, I will have this same hawk caught, and we shall see whether they can teach it all they say. Upon which, we all took our caps off and thanked him for his kindness. Motecusuma then sent for his birdcatchers, and commanded them to bring him the hawk above mentioned. These immediately set to work, and before the hour of Ave Maria they actually caught the bird, and presented it to Azenedo, who immediately recognized, by the plumage, that it was the identical one we had seen. We saw many similar instances, and even stronger proofs of the punctuality with which this monarch's orders were fulfilled. Even now, in his confinement, his subjects not only continued to bring him tribute from the most distant parts of New Spain, but they likewise obeyed his commands implicitly, and stood in such great awe of him, that even the birds which flew in the skies above were brought down for him if he expressed a wish that way.

It is now, however, time to relate how suddenly the wheel of fortune turned against us, by a conspiracy, which was set on foot by the inhabitants, to put us all to death.

CHAPTER C.