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THE INFIDEL;
OR, THE FALL OF MEXICO.
A ROMANCE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF "CALAVAR."
SECOND EDITION.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
Philadelphia:
CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD.
1835.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year
1835, by CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD, in the Clerk's office
of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
PHILADELPHIA
C. SHERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, NO. 19 ST. JAMES STREET.
--Un esforcado soldado, que se dezia _Lerma_--Se fue entre los Indios
como aburrido de temor del mismo Cortes, a quien avia ayudado a salvar
la vida, por ciertas cosas de enojo que Cortes contra el tuvo, que
aqui no declaro por su honor: nunca mas supimos del vivo, ni muerto,
mala suspecha tuvimos.
BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO--_Hist. Verd. de la Conqista_.
No hay mal que por bien no venga,
Dicen adagios vulgares.
CALPERON--_La Dama Duende_.
THE INFIDEL.
CHAPTER I.
Before sunrise on the following morning, many a feathered band of allies
from distant tribes was pouring into Tezcuco; for this was the day on
which the Captain-General had appointed to review his whole force,
assign the several divisions to the command of his favourite officers,
and expound the system of warfare, by which he expected to reduce the
doomed Tenochtitlan. The multitudes that were collected by midday would
be beyond our belief, did we not know that the royal valley, and every
neighbouring nook of Anahuac capable of cultivation, were covered by a
population almost as dense as that which makes an ant-heap of the
'Celestial Empire,' at this day.
While they were thus congregating together, marshalled under their
native chiefs, emulously expressing their attachment to the Spaniard,
and their enthusiasm in his cause, by the horrible clamour of drums and
conches, Cortes was receiving, in the great Hall of Audience, the
compliments and reverence of those cavaliers, distinguished soldiers,
and valiant infidel princes, whom he had invited to the feast, with
which he marked the close of his mighty preparations and the beginning
of his not less arduous campaign.
A table crossed the room immediately in front of the platform, on which
the noblest and most honoured guests had already taken their stations.
Two others, running from pillar to pillar, extended the whole length of
the apartment, leaving in the intermediate space, as well as betwixt
them and the walls, sufficient room for the passage of revellers and
attendants, of which latter there were many present, bustling to and
fro, in the persons of Indian boys and girls, all branded with the
scarry badge of servitude. The walls, pillars, and ceiling, were
ornamented with green branches of trees and viny festoons, among which
breathed and glittered a multitude of the gayest and most odoriferous
flowers; and besides these, there were deposited and suspended, in many
places, Indian banners and standards as well as spears, bucklers, and
battle-axes, the trophies of many a field of victory. The tables were
covered with brilliant cotton-cloths, and loaded not only with all the
dainties of Mexico, but with some of the luxuries of Europe, among which
were conspicuous divers flagons of wine, on which many a veteran gazed
with looks of anxious and affectionate expectation.
The peculiarity of the scene, animated as it was by a densely moving
throng of guests in their most gallant attire, was greatly heightened by
a circumstance, for which but few were able to account. Although full
noon-day, the light of heaven was carefully excluded, and the apartment
illuminated only by torches and lamps. This, though it gave
picturesqueness to every object in view, was, to say the least,
remarkable; and those who were most interested to watch the workings of
the commander's mind, beheld in it a subject for many disturbing
reflections. But, to such persons, there was another phenomenon still
more unsatisfactory, in the spectacle of a line of veteran soldiers,
original followers of Cortes, extending round the whole apartment, who
stood against the walls, each with a spear in his hand and a
_machete_,--a heavy, straight sword,--on his thigh, surveying the
revellers more with the air of sentinels than companions in festivity.
While the inferior guests stood or lounged about, speculating on these
curious particulars, and expecting the signal to begin the feast, which
seemed to be delayed by the absence of some important guest, Cortes
occupied himself conversing with Alvarado, De Olid, Guzman, De Ircio,
and other hidalgos, who stood with him on the platform, occasionally
extending his notice to the young king of Tezcuco, his brother Suchel,
the Tlascalan chief Chichimecatl, and other noble barbarians, who made
part of the distinguished group. Many curious, and not a few anxious,
eyes were turned upon them from different parts of the hall; and it was
soon observed, and remarked with whispers, that Sandoval, the valiant
and beloved, and Xicotencal, the gloomy, were absent from the party.
By and by, however, conjectures were put to rest by the sudden
appearance of the cavalier in question, who entered with his garments in
some disorder, his countenance heated and troubled, and his whole
appearance that of a man just released from some exciting and laborious
duty.
As soon as Cortes perceived him approaching, he commanded room to be
made for him on the platform, welcomed him with a smiling face and a
cordial grasp of hand, and then signed to the guests to take their
places at the tables.
In the bustle of festivity that followed the command, the revellers
forgot to wonder at the torchlight around them and the presence of the
armed guards. If a few still bent their eyes uneasily on the
commander-in-chief, striving to catch the low accents with which he
conversed with his immediate friends, and particularly with Sandoval,
their efforts were unnoticed by the others; and, in a short time, the
hum of whispers waxed into murmurs of joyous hilarity, so that the
conversation on the platform could only be guessed at by the expressive
visages and gestures of the cavaliers.
By and by, the feast became still more unrestrained and noisy. Wine was
poured and drunk, jests were uttered, songs almost sung, and care
banished from all but a few, who still turned their looks to the
platform, exchanged glances occasionally with each other, and at every
bustle attending the entrance of any one at the great door, cast their
eyes in that direction with much meaning anxiety.
Still, however, the feast went on, and enjoyment was becoming revelry,
when the voice of Cortes was suddenly heard. The murmurs of all were
instantly hushed, and all turning their eyes to the platform, they
beheld the Captain-General standing erect, and eyeing them with extreme
gravity of countenance, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a golden
bowl of wine.
"My brothers and fellow-soldiers," he said, as soon as all were
composed, "it becomes us, as true and loyal Castilians, to remember our
duty to the king our master, whom God preserve for a thousand years! We
are here afar from his sight, but not beyond the reach of his authority,
nor the constraint of our true allegiance. Let it not be thought that
the cavaliers of Madrid will drink his health with more zeal and
humility at the palace-door, than we, his true subjects, in the deserts
of Mexico. A bowl, then, to his majesty our master, Don Carlos of Spain,
Austria, and this New World!"
As he spoke, he knelt upon one knee, and all present, even the barbaric
king at his side, doing the same thing, allegiance was pledged in the
cup,--which is undoubtedly the best way to make it agreeable.
From this exhibition of humility, all rose up, shouting lusty _vivas_.
"It gratifies me," said Cortes, when this customary ebullition of
loyalty was over, "to perceive that I have about me men so truly
faithful to my very noble and loyal master. For in this, I perceive I
shall be no more afflicted with the painful necessity of exerting those
powers with which his majesty has so bountifully endowed me, even to the
shedding of blood and the taking of life."
A sudden damper fell upon the spirits of many present, and all who were
not apprized of the secret of Villafana's fate, looked upon Cortes with
surprise.
"Know, my truly faithful and loyal friends," he went on, speaking with
an appearance of solemn indignation, "that we have had among us a
TRAITOR,--a Christian man and a Spaniard, yet a traitor to the king our
master! Yet, in the band of the holy apostles, there was one Judas; and
it does not become us to believe that we, sinful creatures as we are,
and much more numerous, should be without _our_ Iscariot, who would have
sold our lives for silver, and sunk into perdition the interest of his
majesty in this opulent kingdom. It rejoices me to know that we have had
but _one_. The pain with which I have been filled to discover there were
other knaves for his accomplices, is assuaged by the knowledge that they
were not Castilians, but infidel Indians; to whom perfidy is so natural,
that it is wholly superfluous to lament its occurrence. Know therefore,
my friends, and grieve not to know it, for the evil is past, that
Xicotencal, General-in-chief of the Tlascalan forces, besides secretly
treating with our foes, his own enemies, the men of Tenochtitlan, did,
last night, traitorously abandon our standard, and set out, to throw
himself, as I doubt not, into the arms of the Mexicans."
"A villain! a very vile traitor! death to the dog of an unbeliever!"
were the expressions with which the revellers protested their
indignation.
"Think not," said the Captain-General, in continuation, "that the
villain who doth seriously pursue a scheme of disloyalty, shall escape a
just retribution. The toils and sufferings which we have endured in this
land, in his majesty's service, are such that I can readily excuse the
murmurs with which some have occasionally indulged a peevish discontent.
I will never account it much against a brave soldier that he has
sometimes grumbled a little; but he who meditates, or practises, a
treason, shall die. I have said, that among us all there was but _one_
villain. Perhaps there were two; but of that we will inquire hereafter.
He of whom I speak, was one to whom I had forgiven much semblance of
discontent, and whom I had raised into no little favour. Yet did he
conceive a foul conspiracy, having for its object no less a thing than
the destruction of this enterprise against a rich pagan kingdom, and the
murder of all those who would not become the enemies of Spain. The man
of whom I speak you know. It was--"
"Villafana!" muttered many, with eager, yet fearful voices; while those
who had hitherto betrayed anxiety at the ominous lights and guards,
turned pale in secret.
"It was indeed the Alguazil, Villafana," said Cortes, sternly; "and you
shall know his villany. First, the Mexican ambassadors, last night
committed to his charge, he permitted to escape, that they might be no
hinderance to the ambushed infidels, then lying on the lake, ready to
burn my brigantines. Secondly, being the captain of the prison, he
permitted the same to be approached and sacked by other infidels,
whereby a prisoner, convicted of a heavy crime and condemned to die, was
snatched out of our hands, and given into those of the enemy, whom he
will doubtless aid and abet in all the sanguinary resistance which they
are inclined to make. Thirdly, by his persuasions, Xicotencal was
induced to throw off his allegiance, at the very moment when the fleet
and the prison were beset, and desert from the post. And fourthly, the
consummation of the whole villany was to be effected at this very hour,
and on this very floor, in the blood of myself, my officers, and as I
may say of yourselves also; since none were to be spared who were not
his sworn colleagues; and, certainly, there are none here so base and
criminal?"
The answer to this address mingled a thousand protestations of loyalty
with as many fierce calls for punishment on the traitor. In the midst of
the tumult, Cortes gave a sign to two Indian slaves, who stood behind
the platform; and the heavy curtain being rapidly pulled aside, the
lustre of the noontide sun streamed through the pellucid wall, until
lamp and torch seemed to smoulder into darkness, under the diviner ray;
and the revellers looking up, beheld the ghastly spectacle of
Villafana's body, hanging motionless and stiff in the midst of the
light.
At this unexpected sight, the guests, inflamed as they were with wine,
anger, and enthusiasm, were struck with horror; and if traitors were
among them, as none but Cortes and themselves could say, it was not
possible to detect them by their countenances, all being equally pale
and affrighted.
"Thus perish all who plot treason against the king and the king's
officers!" cried the Captain-General, with a loud voice. "The rebel
Xicotencal swings upon an oak-tree, on the wayside as you go to Chalco;
the mutineer Lerma hath fled to the pagans, to become a renegade and
perhaps apostate; and Villafana, the traitor, hangs as you see, upon the
window of our banqueting-room, to teach all who may have meditated a
like villany, the fate that shall most certainly await them.--Hide the
carrion!" he exclaimed to the slaves, and in an instant the frightful
spectacle was excluded, along with the cheerful light of day. The return
to that of the torches was like a lapse into darkness, and for a few
moments, it was scarce possible for the guests to distinguish the
features of those nearest to them. In the gloom, however, the voice of
the Captain-General was heard, concluding his oration:
"Let no one of this true and loyal company be in fear," he said, with
his accustomed craft. "The paper, on which the villain had recorded the
names of such madmen as would have joined him in his crime, he was
artful enough to destroy. But let the disaffected tremble. There has
been one dog among us, and there may others prove so, hereafter. But I
am now awake; and the treason that may be planted, shall be discovered,
and nipped before it come to the budding.--God save his majesty! Another
bowl to his greatness! And let all fall to feasting again; for, by and
by, the signal gun will be fired for the review, and this is the last
feast ye must think of sharing together, till ye can spread it again in
the halls of Montezuma."
Whatever relief might have been carried by these words to the bosoms of
the guilty, the spectacle of their murdered associate had sunk too
deeply in their spirits, to allow any festive exertions. The innocent
were equally shocked, and gloom and uneasiness oppressed the hearts of
all.
It was felt therefore as a relief, when the signal for breaking up the
feast was given by the sound of a gun from the temple-top; and all
rushed out, to forget in the bustle of parade, the sickening event which
had marred their enjoyment.
On this day, the whole army of Cortes, of which the thousand Christians
made scarcely the three-hundredth part, was marched out upon the meadows
of Tezcuco, and there, with ceremonies of great state and ostentation,
was reviewed, divided, and each division appointed to its respective
duties.
The first division was assigned to the command of Sandoval, and was
ordered to march southward to the city of Iztapalapan, which commanded
the principal causeway, or approach to Mexico. The second was given to
the ferocious De Olid, whose destination was to Cojohuacan, a city
southwest of Mexico, the dike from which led to that betwixt the
metropolis and Iztapalapan. The third was appointed to the Capitan del
Salto, or Alvarado, who was to take possession of Tacuba, which
commanded the shortest of the causeways. The two last divisions were
ordered to proceed in company, around the northern borders of the lake,
destroying the towns on the route, and separating at Tacuba.
The fleet Cortes reserved in his own hands, intending, besides
commanding the whole lake, so to act with it, as to give assistance to
each division, as it might be needed. The royal city of Tezcuco was to
be entrusted to the government of the young king Ixtlilxochitl, the
cavalier Don Francisco de Guzman remaining, though somewhat reluctantly,
to guide and control his actions, under the appearance of adding to his
state and security.
These preliminaries arranged, the remainder of the day was devoted to
festivities. The great work of conquest was to begin on the morrow.