Immediately after the trial Cacami and Itlza accompanied Teochma to
Zelmonco villa, where the twain remained for a time in the enjoyment of
each other's society, made unspeakably felicitous by a love which had
been purified and intensified, in the crucible of affliction. The
reward of their fidelity was a rich one--the consciousness of having
been true to each other through an ordeal little less terrible than
death itself.
The stay of the happy couple at the villa was suddenly brought to a
close by an edict from the king, conferring upon Cacami a title of
nobility, accompanied by a domain commensurate with the dignity it
entailed. He was ordered to appear before the proper authority, that he
might be inducted into the high and honorable station he was to fill,
and be put in possession of his estates, which included a beautiful
villa, provided with everything necessary to make it a home worthy of
one who was to be an associate of the king.
The prescribed forms were complied with, which raised the young farmer
warrior to a position of distinction, and he and his faithful wife were
duly installed in their new home.
Itlza, if not a queen, was the happy, loving consort of a noble, who in
after years became one of the great men of his nation.
Euetzin was in due time wedded to Mitla, at the king's palace.
Hualcoyotl, remembering the act which saved him from capture by the
Tepanec soldiers and brought him to a final refuge, expressed a wish to
the tzin that the marriage ceremony between Mitla and himself should be
celebrated in his presence. The latter, as a result of the request,
made a trip to the mountaineer's home--not, however, as on previous
occasions, in a pedestrial fashion, but as a dignitary, within a royal
palanquin borne by _tamanes_--for the purpose of consulting the wishes
of the hunters' chief and his family, with reference to the matter. The
prestige such a wedding would confer upon the favored ones was
sufficient inducement to cause a concurrence in the arrangement by the
hunter and his family, and the tzin returned to his royal patron the
bearer of the gratifying intelligence that he was to be chief sponsor
of the occasion.
While elaborate preparations for the event were going on, Tezcot and
his family were brought to the palace of the king to become his guests
until after the nuptial ceremony.
The eventful day came around, and Mitla, beautiful as she was happy,
became the wife of Euetzin, the man who was enshrined in her heart and
mind a veritable hero.
No real princess was ever wedded amid scenes of greater splendor. The
munificence of the king was lavished upon her, and the occasion, with
prodigal liberality, which ended only when he bestowed upon the tzin
and herself a magnificent palace home near his own.
The villa of Zelmonco reverted to Euetzin by entailment, and much of
the time of Mitla and himself was spent there in the society of his
mother, who continued to be its mistress and head.
Ixtlilchoatl and Itzalmo lived to see their country raised far above
its pristine glory, and died in the fullness of years, honored for
their respective excellence and upright lives.
Oza, though a freeman, was installed in the king's household as an
over-servant, with liberal provisions for his comfort.
Kan, the weaver, whose cottage had given shelter to the prince at the
time of his escape from the palace, and whose words, addressed to the
Tepanec soldier, no doubt, in after years, proved a blessing to more
than one Tezcucan subject, was not forgotten, but remembered in a
substantial manner by the king.
Thus did Hualcoyotl remember all his friends.
One of the first acts performed by the prince on his accession to power
was to extend amnesty to all those who had cast in their lot with
Maxtla and his predecessor. It is written that he should have said: "A
monarch may punish, but revenge is unworthy of him." Being averse to
punishing, in this case, his alienated subjects were all restored to
citizenship.
Soon after the restoration of the Tezcucan government a triple alliance
was formed between the states of Mexico, Tezcuco, and Tlacopan for
offensive and defensive purposes. In this alliance, which was never
abrogated by the parties themselves, was undoubtedly to be found the
incipiency of the great Aztec Empire, which ended with the downfall of
the last Montezuma, and the supremacy of the Spaniards.
Hualcoyotl remained unmarried for many years, in consequence of his
disappointment in not securing Itlza for his queen. He finally,
however, determined to marry.
In referring to this chapter in his life we are impelled, out of regard
for the many excellent qualities which history attributes to him, to
disregard that portion of it which is prejudicial--the manner in which
he secured his queen; a parallel case with that of David and Uriah, an
account of which can be found in Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico."
As the years advanced, Oxie, the younger daughter of Tezcot and
Xochitl, developed into a very attractive woman. Much of her time was
spent at the home of Euetzin, and the king was often brought into
intercourse with her.
The little episode of the bouquet of flowers at the hunter's home, when
the prince was in hiding there, was not forgotten; and, from it, there
grew a friendship, which finally ended in a declaration of preference,
if not of love, from Hualcoyotl, and Oxie became one of his favorite
wives.
The king had a great fondness for country life, which was to be seen in
the many magnificent villas he possessed. These grand resorts were
furnished with everything the heart could wish, to beautify and make
them pleasant. His chief and favorite retreat was the villa of
Tezcotzinco, so named, we opine, in honor of the hunters' chief, who,
after the marriage of both his daughters, decided to become a subject
of Hualcoyotl's, and was rewarded for it by having the title of tzin
conferred upon him, and his being established at the king's most
attractive resort, where he lived to enjoy a good old age.
The ruins of Tezcotzinco have long been designated as the "Baths of
Montezuma," which, there is reason for saying, is an erroneous
application, perpetuated through the ignorance of the natives.
A description of the villa Tezcotzinco, as it existed in its ancient
beauty and grandeur, according to traditional history, will be
interesting in this connection, to give the reader some idea of the
splendor and elegance of the great Indian Prince, Hualcoyotl's, manner
of living.
The villa was situated on a cone-shaped hill, about two leagues from
the city of Tezcuco. We here quote from the historian: "It was laid out
in terraces, or hanging gardens, having a flight of steps five hundred
and twenty in number, many of them hewn in the natural porphyry. In the
garden on the summit was a reservoir of water, fed by an aqueduct that
was carried over hill and valley for several miles on huge buttresses
of masonry. On a lower level there were three other reservoirs. From
these copious basins the water was distributed in numerous channels
through the gardens, or was made to tumble over the rocks in cascades.
In the depths below, marble porticoes and pavilions were erected, and
baths excavated in the solid rock, which have become noted as the
'Baths of Montezuma.' The visitor made the descent by steps cut in the
rock and polished so bright as to reflect like mirrors. Toward the base
of the hill, in the midst of cedar groves, rose the royal villa, with
its light arcades and airy halls."
Such was Tezcotzinco, the chief country seat of Prince Nezahualcoyotl,
to which he often retired to throw off the cares of state, and
recuperate his jaded spirits in the society of his favorite wives, of
whom Oxie was one, and especially favored. Here he often entertained
his royal brothers of Mexico and Tlacopan, and other close friends, in
the pleasures of the chase through the grand forests that surrounded
the villa, or in the milder pleasures of its paradisaical bowers and
alluring shades.
The prince did everything he could to promote and broaden the
intelligence of his people. Among other things, of an educational
character, which he established, was a tribunal before which, on stated
days, compositions of prose and poetry were recited by competitors for
valuable prizes. The compositions in prose were restricted to the
subjects of science and history; while the poems treated of moral and
traditional topics.
The great benefit derived from this and similar institutions was seen
in the Tezcucan authors and orators, who stood far in advance of those
of any other nation of Anahuac.
Prince Hualcoyotl himself was one of the most illustrious of their
writers, especially in compositions of a poetical nature. Such lines as
the following are attributed to him by historians:
"If there are bounds to pleasure, the saddest life must also have
an end.
Then weave the chaplet of flowers, and sing thy songs in
praise of the all powerful God, for the glory of this world
soon fadeth away.
Rejoice in the green freshness of the spring, for the day will
soon come when thou shalt sigh for these joys in vain."
And again:
"The goods of this life, its glories and riches, are but lent to
us;
The substance is but an illusory shadow, and the things of today
shall change on the coming of the morrow.
Then gather the fairest flowers from the gardens, to bind round thy
brow, and seize the joys of the present ere they perish."
In the poetic thoughts which these lines represent we have the
reflection of a mind endowed with beauty and simplicity--attributes of
greatness; and, though surrounded by the darkness of ignorance and
superstition, the man who possessed it lived to honor the high position
he was born to fill, that of A Prince of Anahuac.