It has been already mentioned, that the person of Guatimozin was
familiar to few, or none, of the Spaniards. Intensely and consistently
hostile to the invaders, from the first moment of their appearance in
the Valley, he had ever kept aloof from them, and was one of the few
princes of Mexico, whom neither force nor stratagem could reduce to
thraldom. His youth, indeed,--his want of authority, (for though of the
loftiest birth and the highest military fame, he enjoyed, at first, no
independent command or government,) and, hence, his apparent
insignificance,--had made the possession of his person of no great
consequence; and it was not until he was seen leading the incensed
citizens up against the guns of the garrison, and directing the assault
which terminated in the life of Montezuma, that he began to be
considered an enemy worthy to be feared. Even then, however, he was but
one among the warlike followers of Cuitlahuatzin,--the successor of
Montezuma,--and on the famous battle-field of Otumba, he fought only as
a second in command. But from that time until the present moment, his
name was constantly before the Spaniards, first as the king of
Iztapalapan, then as a leader among those royal warriors, sent forth by
Cuitlahuatzin, now to annoy the Spaniards, even among their fortresses
on the borders of Tlascala, and now to chastise those rebellious tribes
which were daily acknowledging allegiance to the Spaniard, and preparing
to march with him against Tenochtitlan.
The death of Cuitlahuatzin had suddenly exposed him to view as the
probable successor to the imperial dignity; and the act of the royal
electors, (the kings of Mexico were chosen by the crowned vassals of the
empire,) in bestowing the mantle and sceptre, had left nothing to be
done to confirm his authority, save a solemn inauguration on the day of
an august religious and national festival.
He had thus assumed the attitude which Montezuma had once preserved in
the eyes of the Conquistador; and it was as much the policy of Cortes to
attempt the acts of delusion with him, as it had been with his
predecessor. The craftier and haughtier Guatimozin had, however,
rejected his overtures with disdain; and, justly appreciating the
character and designs of his enemy, he prepared for war as the only
alternative of slavery. He had already concentrated in his city, and in
the neighbouring towns, the whole martial force of the tribes yet
valiant and faithful; he had laboured, with an address that was not
always ineffectual, to regain the false and rebellious; and, rising
above the weakness of national resentments, he had even striven to unite
his hereditary foes in a league of resistance against the stranger, who,
whether frowning or smiling, whether courting with friendship, or
subduing with arms, was yet, and equally, the enemy of all.
Enough has been said to explain the purpose for which he so rashly threw
himself into the power of the Conqueror. The certain assurance of
disaffection in the invader's camp, not only among the allies, but among
the Spaniards themselves, was enough to fire his heart with the desire
of employing against Don Hernan a weapon which his foe had used so
fatally against him; and, besides, the opportunity of detaching the
Tlascalans from the Spanish interest, was too captivating to be
rejected. These were advantages to be investigated and promoted by
himself, rather than by agents; and, confiding in his enemies' ignorance
of his person, in his cunning, and in the interested fidelity of
traitors, who had already grasped at bribes, and were eager to be better
acquainted with his bounty, he did not scruple to direct his midnight
skiff among the reeds on the lakeside, and, in the guise of a mere
noble, trust himself alone in their power.
If the reader desire to know what could induce any of the followers of
Cortes to treat thus perfidiously with the infidel enemy whose wealth
was promised as the certain guerdon of war, he may be answered almost in
a word. The _dangers_ of the war were manifold and obvious to all, and
the horrors of the five days' battles in the streets of Mexico, and more
than all, the calamities of the midnight retreat, had given such a
foretaste of what might be expected from a prosecution of the campaign,
that full half the army looked forward to it with equal terror and
repugnance. A majority of those who survived the Noche Triste, were
followers of the unfortunate Narvaez, and some of them yet friendly to
the deceived Velasquez. They remained with Cortes upon compulsion, and
they hated him not only for their inability to return to their peaceable
farms among the islands, for past calamities, and coming misfortunes,
but for the superior favours showered so liberally, and indeed so
naturally, upon those who had been his original, and were yet his
faithful, adherents. In a word, they regarded the reduction of the
Mexican empire as hopeless, and their own fate, if they remained, as
already written in characters of blood. The bolder scowled and
complained, the feeble and the crafty dissembled, but evil thoughts and
fierce resolutions were common to all. They burned to be released from
what was to them intolerable bondage, and the means were not to be
questioned, even though they might involve connivance and collusion with
the foe. But such collusion was by no means known, nor even suspected,
by any save the few desperadoes who had risen to the bad eminence of
leaders. Even Villafana was ignorant of the true character of his guest,
and esteemed him to be only what he represented himself,--Olin, the
young noble, an orator, counsellor, and confidential agent of
Guatimozin. It was not possible for the Captain-General to regard him in
any other light.
Whatever may have been the young monarch's thoughts, his secret
misgivings and self-reproaches, as he strode, closely environed by
cavaliers, into the great hall, now dimly lighted by tapers of vegetable
wax and torches of fragrant wood, they were exposed by no agitation of
countenance or hesitation of step; and when Cortes ascended the platform
to his seat, and turned his penetrating eye upon him, he preserved an
air of the most fearless tranquillity. For the space of several moments,
the general regarded him in silence; then commanding all to leave the
apartment, excepting Sandoval, Alvarado, and another cavalier who
officiated as interpreter, he said to Alvarado, with a mild voice, very
strangely contrasted with the rudeness of his words,
"Look into the face of this heathen dog, and tell me if thou knowest
him."
Alvarado had been, as the historical reader is aware, left in Mexico,
the jailer of Montezuma and the warden of the city, during the absence
of Cortes, when he marched against Narvaez. It was supposed, therefore,
that Don Pedro was better acquainted with the persons of the principal
nobles than any other cavalier. He examined the captive curiously, and
at last said, shaking his head,
"Methinks his visage is not unknown; and yet I wot not to whom it
belongs. The knave is but a boy. If he be a noble, never trust me but he
is one of Guatimozin's making, and therefore not yet of consequence."
At the sound of his own name, the only word distinguishable by the
prisoner, Alvarado observed that his brow contracted a little. But this
awoke no suspicion.
"Demand of him," said Cortes to the interpreter, "his name, and the
purpose of his coming to Tezcuco?"
When this was explained to the Mexican, his brow contracted still
further, but rather with inquisitiveness than embarrassment:
"I am Olin-pilli," (that is, Olin the Lord, or Lord Olin,) he replied,
"the speaker of wise things to the king, and the mouth of nobles."
He then paused, as if to examine with what degree of belief he was
listened to; and being satisfied, from the countenance of Don Hernan,
that he was really unknown, he continued, with a more confident tone,
"And I come to the Lord of the East, the Son of the God of Air, to hear
the words of his children. Did not the Teuctli send for me?"
"Not I," replied the Captain-General, sternly. "Speaker of wise things,
I look into thy heart, and I see thy falsehood. Thou art a spy,--a
_quimichin_,--sent by Guatimozin the king, to speak dark things to the
men of Tlascala."
The captive, though somewhat disconcerted, maintained a fearless
countenance:
"The Teuctli is the son of the gods, and knows everything," he answered.
"And charged also," continued Cortes, "to whisper in the ears of fools,
who send good words to the king, that the king may enrich them with
gold. Is not this true, Sir Quimichin?"
"Is not Malintzin the Son of Quetzalcoatl, the White God with a beard,
who proclaimed from the Hill of Shouting[10] and from the Speaking
Mountain,[11] the coming of his offspring? and shall Olin know more
things than Malintzin? Guatimozin thinks, that the Spaniard should not
slay his people."
[Footnote 10: _Tzatzitepec_, a mountain near Tula.]
[Footnote 11: _Catcitepetl_, a volcano.]
"Wherefore, then, sent he not thee to _me_?" demanded the
Captain-General. "I will listen to his words. It was not wise to send
his ambassador to the soldier, when the general sat by, in his
tent.--Hearken to me, friend Olin," he continued, with gravity: "Hadst
thou brought his discourse to me, thou hadst then been listened to with
honour, and dismissed in peace. Art thou a soldier?"
"Olin is a counsellor," replied the Mexican, proudly; "but he has bled
in battle."
"And is not Guatimozin a warrior?"
"He is the king of the House of Darts, and he has struck his foe."
"When the lurking Ottomi is found skulking in his camp; when the angry
Tlascalan creeps up to his fort; what does Guatimozin then with the
prisoner? what says he to the Ottomi? what wills he with the Tlascalan?"
"He binds them to the stone, and they die like the dogs of the altar!"
replied the barbarian, with a fierce utterance.
"Thou hast spoken thine own doom," replied Cortes, sternly; "only that,
instead of perishing according to thy damnable customs, a sacrifice to
spirits accurst, thou shalt have such death as we give to the dogs of
Castile. Thou hast crept into my camp, like the spying Ottomi; thou
comest with sword and shield, like the bravo of Tlascala; and thou hast
addressed thyself to traitors and conspirators, to make them mine
enemies. Why then should I not hang thee upon a tree? or why," he
continued, with an elevated voice, descending from the platform, and,
with a single motion, unsheathing his rapier and aiming it against the
captive's breast--"why should I not kill thee, thou cur! upon the spot?"
"I am a Mexican!" replied the young king, rather opposing his body to
the expected thrust than seeking to avoid it; "I look upon my death, and
I spit upon thee, Spaniard!"
"Hah!" cried Cortes, whose desire was to intimidate, not to slay, and
who could not but admire the fearless air of defiance, so boldly assumed
by the captive, "thou hast either a true heart, or a penetrating
eye.--Fear not; thy life is in my hands, but I design thee no wrong:
death were but a just punishment for thy villany, yet I mean not to
enforce it. What wilt thou do, if I discharge thee unharmed?"
"I will know," said the barbarian, with a look of surprise, as soon as
this was interpreted, "that Malintzin is not always hungry for blood; or
rather, I will ask of my thoughts, what mischief to Mexico is meditated
in the act of mercy."
"A shrewd knave, i'faith, a shrewd knave!" cried Cortes, admiringly: "by
my conscience, this fellow hath somewhat the wit of a Christian
politician.--Infidel," he continued, "hearken to what I say. I desire to
speak the words of peace with my young brother Guatimozin. Wherefore
will he not listen to me?"
"Because his ears are open to the groans of his children," replied the
Mexican, promptly. "When Malintzin smiles, the brand hisses on the flesh
of the prisoner; when he talks of peace, the great warhorse paws the
breast of the dead. Let this thing be not, let his insurgent subjects be
sent to their villages, and Guatimozin will listen to the Teuctli."
"He has slain my ambassadors," said Cortes.
"Shall the slave say to his master, 'I am the bondman of another,' and
laugh in the king's face? Let Malintzin send a Christian to Guatimozin.
I will row him in my skiff, and he shall return unharmed."
"What thinkest thou of _this_? I will send him such an envoy, and thou
shalt remain a hostage in his place. What will be said to him by the
king of Mexico?"
"This," replied the captive, without a moment's hesitation: "The
Christian is in Mexico, and Olin-pilli in the prisons of Malintzin: let
the Christian therefore die."
"Ay, by my conscience, he speaks well," said Cortes. "But were
friendship offered, and twenty thousand hostages left behind, I should
like to know what Spaniard of us all would perform the pilgrimage? There
is but _one_.--But that is naught. By heaven and St. John, we will think
of other things! we will think of other things!--Is it not death by the
decree?"
"Senor!" cried Alvarado in surprise. Cortes started.--In the moment of
entranced thought, he had stridden away from the group to some distance,
and, he now perceived, they were gazing at him with wonder.
"We will entrust this thing to him, then, as I said," he cried,
hurriedly, "and he shall return with the misbeliever's answer. We have
no other choice. What think ye of it, my masters?"
"Of _what_?" said Alvarado, bluntly: "You have said nothing. By'r lady,
and with reverence to your excellency, you are dreaming!"
"Pho!" cried the Captain-General, "did I not speak it? Our thoughts
sometimes sound in our ears, like words. This is the philosophy of the
marvel: Hast thou never, when thine eyes were shut, yet beheld in them
the objects of which thou wert thinking? If thou couldst think music,
never believe me but thou wouldst also hear it.--This, then, is the
thought which I forgot to utter: I will give this dog his freedom, and,
for lack of a better, make him my envoy to Guatimozin. If he return, it
will be well; if not, we are left where we were; and we can hang him
hereafter."
"Let us first know," said Sandoval, coolly, "by what sort of charm he
prevailed on this mad young man, Juan Lerma, to peril limb and life for
him, and, what is more, honour too."
"Ay, by my conscience!" said Cortes, hurriedly; "this thing I had
forgotten.--He shall die the death! Connive with a spy? conceal him from
the pursuers? draw sword upon a cavalier? strike at an officer's life?
Were he mine own brother, he should abide his doom. Who will say I wrong
him _now_?--Hah! what says the dog? How came this thing to pass?"
While Cortes was yet pursuing the subject nearest to his heart, half
soliloquizing, the question was asked and answered; and the reply, to
Guatimozin's great relief, was received with unexpected belief.
"He was caught by the bloodhound; (An excellent dog, that Befo!)" said
Alvarado; "and making his moan to Lerma, (whom heaven take to its rest!
for I know not how he can be so brave, and yet an ass,) the young fool
fell to his old tricks. When did an Indian ever ask him for pity in
vain?--This is his story; it is too natural to be false; yet, Indians
are great liars.--But you said something of making this cur your envoy?"
"Ay," replied Cortes: "What sayst thou, Olin, speaker of wise things!
wilt thou bear my thoughts to thy master Guatimozin?"
"The lord of Tenochtitlan shall hear them," said Guatimozin, his eyes
gleaming with expectation.
"And thou wilt return to me with his answer? Swear this upon the cross
of my sword; ay, and swear it by thy diabolical gods also."
"Guatimozin shall send back to Malintzin a noble Mexican; or, otherwise,
Olin will return. How shall the Mexican noble know that the Teuctli will
not take his life?"
"Does that deter you?" said Cortes: "I swear by the cross which I
worship, that, come thou or another, or come Guatimozin himself,
provided he come to me in peace, and with the king's message, he shall
depart in safety, with good-will and with favours such as this."
As he spoke, he took from his own neck, and flung round the Mexican's, a
chain of beads, which were neither of diamond, sapphire, nor ruby, but
sufficiently resembling each and all, to gratify the vanity of a
barbarian. The young king smiled--but it was at the thought of freedom.
"Thou shalt have more such, and richer," said Cortes, misconceiving his
joy. "Why is not Olin the friend of Malintzin?"
"Malintzin is a great prince," said the prisoner, softly.
"Is Olin content to be the slave of Guatimozin?" pursued the
Captain-General, insidiously. "Will Olin do Malintzin's bidding, and be
the king of Chalco?"
"Shall Olin slay Guatimozin?" cried the prisoner, with a gleam of subtle
intelligence, and so abruptly, that Cortes was startled.
"Hah! by my conscience!" he cried, "I understand thee: thou art even
more knave than I thought thee.--Kill the king indeed? By no means; harm
not a hair of his head: we will have no assassination. It is better this
young boy should be king than another.--This is a very proper knave.
Gentlemen, by your leave, I will bid you good-night: I will see the dog
to the water-side. Antonio, do thou walk with us, and explain between
us.--A very excellent shrewd villain."
So saying, the Captain-General turned to the door by which he had lately
entered, and taking the prisoner's arm, in the most familiar and
friendly manner, he stepped forthwith into the garden. The Mexican's
flesh crept, when it came in contact with that of the Spaniard; but
this, the Spaniard doubted not, was the tribute of awe to his greatness.
His voice became yet blander, as, walking onwards towards the lake, he
poured into Guatimozin's ear his wishes and instructions.
As they passed by the little pool and its dark enclosure of
schinus-trees, the infidel looked towards it anxiously and lingeringly,
as if hoping to behold once more the pale and beautiful countenance
which had shone upon it.--It lay in deep silence and solitude.
A few moments after, the Mexican had passed through the broken wall, and
by the sentries who guarded it, receiving the last instructions of the
invader. The next instant he was alone, stalking towards a little green
point, where a fringe of reeds and water-lilies shook in the diminutive
surges. He cast his eye backward to the two cavaliers, and beheld them
pass into the garden. Then, taking the chain of beads from his neck, and
rending it with foot and hand, he cast the broken jewels into the lake.
A moment after, his light skiff shot from its concealment, and the sound
of his paddle startled the droning wild-fowl from their slumbers.