Passing the night in a little hamlet on the mountain side, the army was
prepared, at the dawn of the following day, to resume its march. But the
events of this march being varied by nothing but the change of prospect,
and the wonder of those by whom the valley was seen for the first time,
we will not imitate the prolixity of our authority, the worthy Don
Cristobal, but despatch, in a word, the increasing delight and
astonishment with which Don Amador de Leste, after having satiated his
appetite with views of lake and garden, surveyed the countless villages
and towns of hewn stone that rose, almost at every moment, among them. A
neck of land now separates the lakes of Chalco and Xochimilco; and the
retreat of the waters has left their banks deformed with fens and
morasses, wherein the wild-duck screams among waving reeds and
bulrushes. Originally, these basins were united in one long and lovely
sheet of water, divided indeed, yet only by a causey built by the hands
of man, which is now lost in the before-mentioned neck, together with
its sluices and bridges, as well as a beautiful little city, that lay
midway between the two shores, called by the Spaniards Venezuela,
(because rising, like its aristocratic godmother, from among the
waters,) until they discovered that this was a peculiarity presented by
dozens of other cities in the valley. Here was enjoyed the spectacle of
innumerable canoes, paddled, with corn and merchandise, from distant
towns, or parting with a freight of flowers from the _chinampas_, or
floating gardens. But this was a spectacle disclosed by other cities of
greater magnitude and beauty; and when, from the streets of the royal
city Iztapalapan, the army issued at once upon the broad and straight
dike that stretched for more than two leagues in length, a noble
highway, through the salt floods of Tezcuco; when the neophyte beheld
islands rocking like anchored ships in the water, the face of the lake
thronged with little piraguas, and the air alive with snowy gulls; when
he perceived the banks of this great sheet, as far as they could be
seen, lined with villages and towns; and especially when he traced far
away in the distance, in the line of the causeway, such a multitude of
high towers and shadowy pyramids looming over the waters, as denoted the
presence of a vast city,--he was seized with a species of awe at the
thought of the marvellous ways of God, who had raised up that mighty
empire, all unknown to the men of his own hemisphere, and now revealed
it, for the accomplishment of a destiny which he trembled to imagine. He
rode at the head of the army, in a post of distinction, by the side of
Cortes, and fell moved to express some of the strange ideas which
haunted him; but looking on the general attentively, he perceived about
his whole countenance and figure an expression of singular gloom,
mingled with such unusual haughtiness, as quickly indisposed him to
conversation.
The feelings that struggled in the bosom of the Conqueror were, at this
instant, akin to those of the destroyer, as he sat upon 'the Assyrian
mount,' overlooking the walls of Paradise, almost lamenting, and yet
excusing to himself, the ruin he was about to bring upon that heavenly
scene. Perhaps 'horror and doubt' for a moment distracted his thoughts;
for no one knew better than he the uncertain chances and tremendous
perils of the enterprise, or mused with more fear upon the probable and
most sanguinary resistance of his victims, as foreboded by the tumults
that followed after the late massacre. But when he cast his eye backward
on the causey, and beheld the long train of foot and horse following at
his beck; the many cannons, which, as they were dragged along, opened
their brazen throats towards the city; the rows of spears and arquebuses
bristling, and the banners flapping, over the heads of his people, and
behind them the feathered tufts of his Tlascalans; and heard the music
of his trumpets swell from the dike to the lake, from the lake to the
shores, and die away, with pleasant echoes, among the hills; when he
surveyed and listened to these things, and contrasted with them the
imperfect weapons and naked bodies of his adversaries; the weakness of
their institutions; the feebleness of their princes; the general
disorganization of the people; and counted the guerdon of wealth and
immortal renown that should wait upon success; he stifled at once his
apprehensions and his remorse, ceased to remember that those, whose
destruction he meditated, were, to him, 'harmless innocence,' and
satisfied himself, almost with the arguments of the fiend, that--
Public reason just,
Honour and empire, with revenge enlarged,
By conquering this new world, compels me now
To do what else, though damn'd, I should abhor.
Triumph and regret were at once dividing his bosom; he knew he was a
destroyer, but felt he should be a conqueror.
There were many things in Don Hernan, which notwithstanding the
gratitude and the desires of the neophyte, prevented the latter from
bestowing upon him so much affection as he gave to one or two of his
followers. The spirit of the leader was wholly, and, for his station,
necessarily, crafty; and this very quality raised up a wall between him
and one who was of so honourable a nature that he knew no concealment.
The whole schemes and aims of the general were based upon such a
foundation of fraud and injustice, that, he well knew, he could not,
without expecting constant and vexatious opposition, give his full
confidence to any truly noble spirit; and the same wisdom that estranged
him from the lofty, taught him to keep aloof from the base. While artful
enough to make use of the good qualities of the one, and the bad
principles of the other class, he was satisfied with their respect; he
cared not for their friendship. It was enough to him, that he had
zealous and obedient followers: his situation allowed him no friends;
and he had none. Of all the valiant cavaliers who shared with him the
perils and the rewards of the invasion, there was not one who, after
peace had severed the bonds of companionship, did not, at the first
frown of fortune, or the first invitation of self-interest, array
himself in arms against his leader.
While the general gave himself up to his proud and gloomy imaginings,
the novice of Rhodes again cast his eyes over the lake. It seemed to
him, that, notwithstanding the triumphant blasts of the trumpet, the
neighing of horses, and the multitudinous tread of the foot-soldiers, as
well as the presence of so many canoes on the water, there was an air of
sadness and solitude pervading the whole spectacle. The new soldiers
were perhaps impressed with an awe like his own, at the strange
prospect; the veterans were, doubtless, revolving in their minds some of
the darker contingencies, over which their commander was brooding. Their
steps rung heavily on the stone mole; and as the breeze curled up the
surface of the lake into light billows, and tossed them against the
causeway, Don Amador fancied, they approached and dashed at his feet
with a certain sullen and hostile voice of warning. He thought it
remarkable, also, that, among the throngs of canoes, there rose no
shouts of welcome: the little vessels, forming a fleet on either side of
the dike, were paddled along, at the distance of two or three hundred
yards, so as to keep pace with the army; and the motion of the rowers,
and the gleaming of their white garments, might have given animation, as
well as picturesqueness, to the scene, but for the death-like silence
that was preserved among them. The novelty of everything about the
cavalier gave vigour to his imagination--he thought these paddling
hordes resembled the flight of ravens that track the steps of a wounded
beast in the desert,--or a shoal of those ravenous monsters that scent a
pestilence on the deep, and swim by the side of the floating hospital,
waiting for their prey.
"What they mean, I know not," mused the cavalier. "After what De Morla
has told me, I shall be loath to slay any of them; but if they desire to
make a dinner of me, I swear to St. John! I will carve their brown
bodies into all sorts of dishes, before I submit my limbs to the
imprisonment of their most damnable maws! And yet, poor infidels!
methinks they have some cause, after that affair of the festival, to
look upon us with fear, if not with wrath; for if a garrison of an
hundred men could be prompted to do them such a foul and murderous
wrong, there is much reason to apprehend this well-appointed thousand
might be, with as little provocation and warning, incited to work them a
still more deadly injury. I would, however, that they might shout a
little, were it only to make me feel more like a man awake; for, at
present, it seems to me, that I am dreaming all these things which I am
looking at!"
The wish of the cavalier was not obeyed; and many a suspicious glance
was cast, both by soldier and officer, to the dumb myriads paddling on
their flanks; for it could not be denied, though no one dared to give
utterance to such a suggestion, that were these countless barbarians
provided with arms, as was perhaps the case, and could they but conceive
the simple expedient of landing both in front and rear, and thus cut off
their invaders from the city and the shore, and attack them at the same
time, with good heart, in this insulated and very disadvantageous
position, there was no knowing how obscure a conjecture the historian
might hazard for the story of their fate. But this suspicion was also
proved to be groundless; no sort of annoyance was practised, none indeed
was meditated. The thousands that burthened the canoes, had issued from
their canals to indulge a stupid curiosity, or, perhaps, under an
impulse which they did not understand, to display to their enemies the
long banquet of slaughter which fate was preparing for them.
The army reached, at last, a point where another causeway of equal
breadth, and seemingly of equal length, coming from the south-west, from
the city Cojohuacan, ruled by a king, (the brother and feudatory of
Montezuma,) terminated in the dike of Iztapalapan. At the point of
junction was a sort of military work, consisting of a bastion, a strong
wall, and two towers, guarding the approach to the imperial city. It was
known by the name of Xoloc, (or, as it should be written in our tongue,
Holoc,) and was in after times made famous by becoming the head-quarters
of Cortes, during the time of the siege. It stood at the distance of
only half a league from the city; and from hence could be plainly seen,
not only the huge pyramids, with their remarkable towers rising aloft,
but the low stone fabrics whereon, among the flowers (for every roof was
a terrace, and every terrace a garden,) stood the gloomy citizens,
watching the approach of the Christian army.
At this point of Xoloc, at a signal of the general, every drum was
struck with a lusty hand, every trumpet filled with a furious blast, and
the Christians and Tlascalans, shouting together, while two or three
falconets were at the same time discharged, there rose such a sudden and
mighty din as startled the infidels in their canoes, and conveyed to the
remotest quarters of Tenochtitlan, the intelligence of the advance of
its masters.
Scarcely had the echoes of this uproar died away on the lake, when
there came, faintly indeed, but full of joyous animation, the response
of the Christian garrison; and as the army resumed its march, they
repeated their shouts loudly and blithely, for they now perceived, by
the waving of banners and the glittering of spears, that their friends,
rescued, as they all understood, by their presence, from the fear of a
miserable death, were coming forth to meet them. Two or three mounted
cavaliers were seen to separate themselves from this little and distant
band, and gallop forwards, while the causeway rung to the sound of their
hoofs. Don Amador, being in advance, was able, as they rushed forwards
with loud and merry halloos, to observe their persons, as well as the
reception they obtained from Don Hernan. His eye was attracted to him
who seemed to be their leader, and who, he already knew, was Don Pedro
de Alvarado, a cavalier that had no rival (the gallant Sandoval
excepted,) in fame and in the favour of his general. He was in the prime
of life, of a most noble stature, and of a countenance so engaging and
animated, that this, in addition to the constant splendour of his
apparel, whether the gilded mail of a warrior, or the costly vestments
of a courtier,--had won him from the Mexicans themselves the flattering
title of _Tonatiuh_, or the Sun; a compliment which his friends did not
scruple to perpetuate, nor he to encourage. He rode immediately up to
Cortes, and stretching out his hand, said gayly, and indeed,
affectionately,--
"Long life to thee, Cortes! I welcome thee as my saint. God be praised
for thy coming--Amen! Thou hast snatched me from a most ignoble and
hound-like death; for Sir Copilli, the emperor, has been starving me!"
Don Hernan took the hand of the cavalier, and eyeing him steadfastly and
sternly, while his old companions gathered around, said with a most
pointed asperity,--
"My friend Alvarado! thou hast done me, as well as these noble
cavaliers, thy friends, and also thy lord the king, a most grievous
wrong; for, by the indulgence of thy hot wrath and indiscretion, thou
hast, as I may say, dashed the possession of this empire out of our
hands: and much blood shall be shed, and many Christian lives sacrificed
in a war that might have been spared us, before we can remedy the
consequences of thy rashness!"
A deep gloom that darkened to a scowl, instantly gathered over the
handsome visage of Don Pedro; and snatching his hand roughly away, he
drew himself up, and prepared to reply to his general with wrath, and
perhaps with defiance. But it was no part of the policy of Cortes to
carry his anger further than might operate warningly on the officer and
on those around; for which reason, offering his hand again, as if not
noticing the discontent of his lieutenant, he said, with an artful
appearance of sincerity,
"I have often thought how thou mightest have been spared the necessity
of slaying these perfidious and plotting hounds; and it seems to me,
even now, if thou couldst, by shutting thyself in thy quarters and
avoiding a contest, have submitted to the foolish imputations some might
have cast on thee, of acting from fear rather than from prudence, this
killing of the nobles might have been avoided. I say, some, indeed,
might have accused thee of being in fear, hadst thou not killed the
knaves that were scheming thine own destruction; but this is an
aspersion which _thou_ couldst have borne with as little injury as any
other brave cavalier in this army, being second to none in a high and
well-deserved reputation; and so well am I persuaded that none could
have better than thyself withstood the uncommon dangers of thy command
in this treasonable city, that I should have excused any precaution of
peace, that might have seemed cowardly to others. Nevertheless, I must
own, thou wert forced to do as thou hast done; for no brave man can
submit to be thought capable of fear; and, I know, 'twas this thought
alone, that drove thee out to kill the nobles."
No cloud in those tropical skies could have vanished more suddenly in
the sunbeam, than did the frown of Alvarado at these complimentary words
of his general. He caught the hand that was still proffered, shook it
heartily, kissed it, and said,--his whole countenance beaming with
delight and pride,--
"I thank your excellency for this just consideration of my actions, and
this expression of a true excuse for what seems, and what perhaps may
have been, a great indiscretion. Your excellency, and these noble
senores, my friends, would have esteemed me a coward, had I sat securely
and quietly in the palace, watching, without attempting to forestall,
the conspiracy of the lords of Mexico; and I have great hopes, when I
have permission to explain all these things to your excellency, though I
do not much plume myself on wisdom, but rather on fighting, (which is
the only thing I have ever studied with diligence,) that you will say I
acted as wisely as, in such case, was possible."
"I have no doubt of it," said Cortes, smiling, as he rode
onwards.--"But, nevertheless, there is more wisdom in thy knocks than in
thy noddle," he muttered to himself.--The shame of the reproof, though
dispelled by the flattery of the rebuker, did not wholly disappear from
the bosom of Alvarado. A word of sarcasm will live longer than the
memory of a benefit. Alvarado was, in after days, a traitor to his
general.
But without now giving himself leisure for consideration, the cavalier
addressed himself to his old companions; and even, (for his joy at being
so rescued out of peril, warmed his heart to all,) made up with much
satisfaction to the knight Calavar. But since the confession at Cholula,
the distemper of Don Gabriel had visibly increased; and his fits of
abstraction were becoming, every hour, so frequent and so profound, as
to cause the greatest alarm and anxiety to his kinsman. He neither heard
nor saw the salutations of Don Pedro; nor indeed did he seem at all
sensible to any part of the strange scene that surrounded him. Foiled in
this attempt, the courteous and vivacious soldier turned himself to Don
Amador, as presenting the appearance of a noble and gallant hidalgo, and
would speedily have been on a footing of the most perfect friendship
with him, had it not been that the neophyte still freshly remembered the
story of the massacre, and met his advances with a frigid haughtiness.
"By'r lady!" said the offended cavalier, "it seems to me that the devil,
or the cold mountain, has got into the bosoms of all; for here am I,
with my heart at this moment as warm as a pepper-pod, or a black cloak
in the sunshine, and ready to love everybody, old and young, vile and
virtuous, base and gentle; and yet everybody, notwithstanding, meets me
with a most frosty unconcern. I swear to thee, valiant cavalier,
whosoever thou art, my breast is open to thee, and I crave thy
affection; for, besides perceiving that thou art assuredly an hidalgo, I
see thou hast a Moorish page at thy side, with a lute at his back; and
if his pipe be half so good as his face, I cannot live without being thy
friend; for I love music!"
Jacinto shrunk away from his admirer, alarmed as much at the suddenness
of his praise, as at the many evolutions of the lance, which, by way of
gesticulation, he flourished about him in a very vigorous manner. But
Don Amador, greatly amused at the freedom, and, in spite of himself,
gained by the frankness, of Don Pedro, replied with good-humour.
"Senor," said he, "I am Amador de Leste, of the castle Del Alcornoque,
near to Cuenza; and having heard certain charges against you, in the
matter of the Mexican nobles, I replied to you, perhaps, with prejudice.
Nevertheless, what the general has said, does, in some sort, seem to
lessen the force of the charge; and if you will, at your leisure,
condescend to satisfy my doubts, as I begin to be assured you can, I
will not hesitate to receive your friendship, and to tender you my own
in return. Only, previous to which, I must beg of you to turn your
lance-point another way, so that the boy Jacinto, who is somewhat afraid
of its antics, may be enabled to walk again at my side."
"Senor Don Amador de Leste," said the soldier, taking this speech in
good part, "I avow myself satisfied with your explanation, and so
determined to pursue your friendship, (inasmuch as I have not heard any
good singing since the little Orteguilla, the page of the Indian
emperor, or, what is the same thing, of Cortes, lost his voice in a
quinsy,) that I will give you the whole history of the nobles, their
atrocious conspiracy and their just punishment, as soon as we have
leisure in our quarters. And now, if you will have the goodness to ride
with me a little in advance, I will have much satisfaction, as I
perceive you are a stranger, to introduce you to this great and
wonderful city, Tenochtitlan, of which I have been, as I may say, in
some sort, the king, for two long and tumultuous months; and I swear to
you, no king ever clutched upon a crown with more good will and joy than
do I, this moment, abdicate my authority."
Thus invited by his courteous and jocund friend, the neophyte rode
onwards so as to reach the heels of Cortes, just as the garrison,
inspired by the sight of their leader, broke their ranks, and rushed
forwards to salute him.