THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GIFT THE FAIR GOD OR, THE LAST OF THE TZINS &le of tlje Conquest of BY LEW WALLACE From Mexico ... a civilization that might have instructed Europe was crushed out. ... It has been her [Spain's] evil destiny to ruin two civilizations, Oriental and Occidental, and to be ruined thereby herself. ... In America she destroyed races more civilized than her self. DRAPER, Int. Development of Eitrope. SEVENTY-FIRST THOUSAND BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY Press, iSSS Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, BY JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO., to the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED AT THB RIVERSIDE PRESS. College Library P5 -3/ F/5" NOTE BY THE AUTHOR A PERSONAL experience, though ever so plainly told, is, generally speaking, more attractive to listeners and readers than fiction. A circumstance from the tongue or pen of one to whom it actually happened, or who was its hero or victim, or even its spectator, is always more interesting than if given second-hand. If the makers of history, contradistinguished from its writers, could teach it to us directly, one telling would suffice to secure our lasting remembrance. The reason is, that the narrative so proceeding derives a personality and reality not otherwise attainable, which assist in making way to our imagination and the sources of our sympathy. With this theory or bit of philosophy in mind, when the annexed book was resolved upon, I judged best to assume the character of a translator, which would en able me to write in the style and spirit of one who not merely lived at the time of the occurrences woven in the text, but was acquainted with many of the his- torical personages who figure therein, and was a native iv NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. of the beautiful valley in which the story is located. Thinking to make the descriptions yet more real, and therefore more impressive, I took the liberty of attrib uting the composition to a literator who, whatever may be thought of his works, was not himself a fiction. Without meaning to insinuate that THE FAIR GOD would have been the worse for creation by Don Fer nando de Alva, the Tezcucan, I wish merely to say that it is not a translation. Having been so written, however, now that publication is at hand, change is impossible ; hence, nothing is omitted, title-page, introductory, and conclusion are given to the reader exactly as they were brought to the publisher by the author. L. W. Boston Mass. Augusts, 1873. CONTENTS. BOOK ONE. CHAPTER PAOB I. OUR MOTHER HAS A FORTUNE WAITING us YONDER . 1 II. QUETZAL', THE FAIR GOD . 7 III. A CHALLENGE 13 IV. TENOCHTITLAN AT NIGHT ...... 16 V. THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE 20 VI. THE Cu OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA . 25 , VII. THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL 30 VIII. A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN .... 39 IX. THE QUESTIONER OF THE MORNING . . . .46 X. GOING TO THE COMBAT 50 XI. THE COMBAT 59 XII. MUALOX, AND HIS WORLD 68 XIII. THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL' 74 I. WHO ARE THE STRANGERS ? . . . . .83 II. A TEZCUCAN LOVER 89 III. THE BANISHMENT OF GUATAMOZIN .... 95 IV. GUATAMOZIN AT HOME ...... 103 V. NIGHT AT THE CHALCAN'S 112 VI. THE CHINAMPA 120 VII. COURT GOSSIP 126 VIII. GUATAMOZIN AND MUALOX 130 IX. A KING'S BANQUET 135 X. THE 'Tzix's LOVE 141 XI. THE CHANT . 150 Vi CONTENTS. BOOK THREE. I. THE FIRST COMBAT 162 II. THE SECOND COMBAT 169 III. THE PORTRAIT 180 IV. THE TRIAL . .... 183 BOOK FOUR. I. THE KING GIVES A TRUST TO HUALPJL . . .192 II. THE -KING- AND THE 'TziN 198 III. LOVE ON THE LAKE 207 IV. THE KING- DEMANDS A SIGN or MUALOX . . 214 V. THE MASSACRE IN CHOLULA 220 VI. THE CONQUEROR WILL COME ..... 230 VII. MONTEZUMA GOES TO MEET CORTEZ .... 239 VIII. THE ENTRY 246 BOOK FIVE. I. PUBLIC OPINION 257 if. A MESSAGE FROM THE GODS 261 III. How ILLS OF STATE BECOME ILLS OF SOCIETY . . 267 IV. ENNUYE IN THE OLD PALACE 275 V. ALVARADO FINDS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD . . 282 VI. - THE* IRON Cfidss ' . ' 291 VII. THE CHRISTIANS 'IN THE TOILS 299 VIII. THE iRorf CROSS COMES BACK TO ITS GIVER . . 306 IX. TRULY WONDERFUL A FORTUNATE MAN HATH A MEMORY 315 X. How THE IRON CROSS CAME BACK .... 317 XL THE CHRISTIAN TAKES CARE OF' HIS OWN . . . 325 BOOK SIX. I. THE LORD HUALPA FLEES HIS FORTUNE . . . 339 II. WHOM THE GODS DESTROY THEY FIKST MAKE MAD . 347 CONTENTS. vii III. THE PUBLIC OPINION MAKES WAY .... 357 IV. THE 'TziN's FAREWELL TO QUETZAL' ... 364 V. THE CELLS OF QUETZAL' AGAIN 374 VL LOST IN THE OLD Cu 379 VII. How THE HOLY MOTHER HELPS HEE CHILDEEN . 385 VIII. THE PABA'S ANGEL 392 IX. LIFE IN THE PABA'S WOELD 404 X. THE ANGEL BECOMES A BEADSWOMAX . . . 410 XL THE PUBLIC OPINION PROCLAIMS ITSELF BATTLE . 427 BOOK SEVEN. - I. THE HEART CAN BE WISER THAN THE HEAD . . 438 II. THE CONQUEROR ON THE CAUSEWAY AGAIN . . 449 III. LA VIRUELA 454 IV. MONTEZUMA A PROPHET. HlS PROPHECY . . 455 V. HOW TO YIELD A CROWN 462 VI. IN THE LEAGUER 465 VIL IN THE LEAGUER YET ...... 473 VIII. THE BATTLE OF THE MANTAS .... 481 IX. OVER THE WALL, INTO THE PALACE . . . 489 X. THE WAY THROUGH THE WALL .... 499 XI. BATTLE IN THE AIR 510 XII. IN THE INTERVAL OF THE BATTLE LOVE . . 524 XIII. THE BEGINNING OF THE END ...".. 527 XIV. THE KING BEFORE HIS PEOPLE AGAIN . . . 532 XV. THE DEATH OF MONTEZUMA 544 XVI. ADIEU TO THE PALACE 550 XVII. THE PURSUIT BEGINS 559 XVIII. LA NOCHE TEISTE 562 THE FAIR GOD FROM THE SPANISH OF FERNANDO DE ALVA. IKTEODUCTOEY. DE ALVA,* a noble Tezcucan, flour- ished, we are told, in the beginning of the six teenth century. He was a man of great learning, familiar with the Mexican and Spanish languages, and the hieroglyphics of Anahuac. Ambitious to rescue his race from oblivion, and inspired by love of learning, he collected a library, availed himself of his knowledge of picture-writing, became master of the songs and traditions, and, in the Castilian lan guage, composed books of merit. It was scarcely possible that his labors should escape the researches of Mr. Prescott, who, with such incom parable genius, has given the world a history of the Conquest of Mexico. From him we have a criticism upon the labors of the learned Fernando, from which the following paragraph is extracted. " Iztlilzochitl's writings have many of the defects belonging to his age. He often crowds the page with incidents of a trivial and sometimes improbable char acter. The improbability increases with the distance * Fernando De Alva Iztlilzochitl. INTKODUCTORY. of the period; for distance, which diminishes objects to the natural eye, exaggerates them to the mental. His chronology, as I have more than once noticed, is inextricably entangled. He has often lent a too will ing ear to traditions and reports which would startle the more sceptical criticism of the present time. Yet there is an appearance of good faith and simplicity in his writings, which may convince the reader that, when he errs, it is from no worse cause than the national partiality. And surely such partiality is ex cusable in the descendant of a proud line, shorn of its ancient splendors, which it was soothing to his own feelings to revive again though with some thing more than their legitimate lustre on the can vas of history. It should also be considered that, if his narrative is sometimes startling, his researches penetrate into the mysterious depths of antiquity, where light and darkness meet and melt into each other; and where everything is still further liable to distortion, as seen through the misty medium of hiero glyphics." Besides his Relaciones and Historia Chichemeca, De Alva composed works of a lighter nature, though equally based upon history. Some were lost ; others fell into the hands of persons ignorant of their value ; a few only were rescued and given to the press. For a considerable period he served as interpreter to the Spanish Viceroy. His duties as such were trifling^ INTRODUCTORY. xiii he had ample time for literary pursuits; his enthu siasm as a scholar permitted him no relaxation or idle ness. Thus favored, it is believed he composed the books now for the first time given to the world. The MSS. were found among a heap of old de spatches from the Viceroy Mendoza to the Emperor. It is quite probable that they became mixed with the State papers through accident; if, however, they were purposely addressed to His Majesty, it must have been to give him a completer idea of the Azte- can people and their civilization, or to lighten the burthens of royalty by an amusement to which, it is known, Charles V. was not averse. Besides, Men doza, in his difficulty with the Marquess of the Valley (Cortes), failed not to avail himself of every means likely to propitiate his cause with the court, and especially with the Royal Council of the Indies. It is not altogether improbable, therefore, that the MSS. were forwarded for the entertainment of the members of the Council and the lordly personages of the Court, who not only devoured with' avidity, but, as the wily Mendoza well knew, were vastly obliged for, every thing relative to the New "World, and particularly the dazzling conquest of Mexico. In the translation, certain liberties have been taken, for which, if wrong has been done, pardon is besought both from the public and the shade of the author. Thus, The Books in the original are unbroken narra- XIV INTRODUCTORY. lives; but, with infinite care and trouble, they have all been brought out of the confusion, and arranged into chapters. So, there were names, some of which have been altogether changed ; while others, for the sake of euphony, have been abbreviated, though with out sacrificing the identity of the heroes who woro story is long, and you are in a hurry. We also are going to the city, but will halt our slaves at Iztapa- rapan lor the night, and cross the causeway before the sun to-morrow. If you care to keep us company, we will start . at once ; on the way I will tell you a few things that may ' not be unacceptable." " I see,'' said the hunter, pleasantly, " I have reason to be proud of my father's good report. Certainly, I will go a dis tance with you at least, and thank you for information. To speak frankly, I am seeking my fortune." The merchant spoke to his companions, and raising a huge conch-shell to his mouth, blew a blast that started every slave to his feet. For a few minutes all was commotion. The mats were rolled up, and, with the provision-baskets, slung upon broad shoulders ; each tamane resumed his load of wares, and took his place ; those armed put themselves, with their masters, at the head ; and at another peal from the shell all set forward. The column, if such it may be called, was long, and not without a certain picturesqueness as it crossed the stream, and entered a tract covered with tall trees, amongst which the palm was strangely intermingled with the oak and the cypress. The whole valley, from the lake to the mountains, was irrigated, and under cultivation. Full of wonder, the hunter marched beside the merchant. QUETZAL', THE FAIR GOD. CHAPTER II. QUETZAL', THE FAIR GOD. " T WAS speaking about Quetzal', I believe," said the old -L man, when all were fairly on the way. "His real name was Quetzalcoatl.* He was a wonderfully kind god, who, many ages ago, came into the valley here, and dwelt awhile. The people were then rude and savage ; but he taught them agri culture, and other arts, of which you will see signs as we get on. He changed the manners and customs ; while he stayed, famine was unknown ; the harvests were abundant, and happiness universal. Above all, he taught the princes wis dom in their government. If to-day the Aztec Empire is the strongest in the world, it is owing to Quetzal'. Where he came from, or how long he stayed, is not known. The peo ple and their governors after a time proved ungrateful, and banished him ; they also overthrew his religion, and set up idols again, and sacrificed men, both of which he had pro hibited. Driven away, he went to Cholula ; thence to the sea-coast, where, it is said, he built him a canoe of serpent- skins, and departed for Tlapallan, a heaven lying somewhere toward the rising sun. But before he went, he promised to return some day, and wrest away the Empire and restore his own religion. In appearance he was not like our race ; his skin was white, his hair long and wavy and black. He is said to have been wise as a god, and more beautiful than men. Such is his history ; and, as the prophecy has it, the time of his return is at hand. The king and Tlalac, the teotuctli,^ are looking for him ; they expect him every hour, * In Aztec mythology, God of the Air. t Equivalent to Pontiff or Pope. 8 THE FAIR GOD. and, they say, live in continued dread of him. Wishing to propitiate him, they have called the people together, and cele brate to-morrow, with sacrifices and combats and more pomp than was ever seen before, not excepting the time of the king's coronation." The hunter listened closely, and at the conclusion said,' " Thank you, uncle. Tell me now of the combats." " Yes. In the days of the first kings it was the custom to go into the temples, choose the bravest warriors there set apart for sacrifice, bring them into the tianguez, and make them do battle in the presence of the people. If they con quered, they were set free and sent home with presents."* " With whom did they combat 1 " " True enough, my son. The fight was deemed a point of honor amongst the Aztecs, and the best of them volunteered. Indeed, those were royal times ! Of late, I am sorry to say, the custom of which I was speaking has been neglected, but to-morrow it is to be revived. The scene will be very grand. The king and all the nobles will be there." The description excited the listener's fancy, and he said, with flushed cheeks, " I would not lose the chance for the world. Can you tell me who of the Aztecs will combat 1 " " In the city we could easily find out ; but you must recollect I am going home after a long absence. The shields of the combatants are always exhibited in the tianguez the evening before the day of the fight. In that way the public are notified beforehand of those who take the field. As the city is full of caciques, you may be assured our champions will be noble." " Thank you again, uncle. And now, as one looking for service, like myself, is anxious to know with whom to en gage, tell me of the caciques and chiefs." " Then you intend entering the army 1 " * Suhagnn, Hist, de Nueva Esp. QUETZAL', THE FAIR GOD. 9 <4 "Well, yes. I am tired of hunting ; and though trading is honorable, I have no taste for it." The merchant, as if deliberating, took out a box of snuff and helped himself ; and then he replied, " The caciques are very numerous ; in no former reign, probably, were there so many of ability and renown. With some of them I have personal acquaintance ; others I know only by sight or reputation. You had better mention those of whom you have been thinking." " Well," said the hunter, " there is IzthT, the Tezcucan." * " Do not think of him, I pray you ! " And the good man spoke earnestly. " He is brave as any, and perhaps as skil ful, but proud, haughty, soured, and treacherous. Every body fears him. I suppose you have heard of his father." " You mean the wise 'Hualpilli ] " " Yes. Upon his death, not long since, Iztlil' denied his brother's right to the Tezcucan throne. There was a quarrel which would have ended in blood, had not Montezuma inter fered, and given the city to Cacama, and all the northern part of the province to Iztlil'. Since that, the latter has been discontented with the great king. So, I say again, do not think of him, unless you are careless about honor." " Then what of Cacama 1 1 Tezcuco is a goodly city." "He has courage, but is too effeminate to be a great warrior. A garden and a soft couch delight him more than camps, and dancing women better than fighting men. You might grow rich with him, but not renowned. Look else where." " Then there is the lord Cuitlahua." J " The king's brother, and governor of Iztapalapan ! " said the merchant, promptly. " Some have thought him better Txtlilxpchitl, son of Nezahualpilli, king of Tezcuco. \" King of Tezcuco. J See Prescott's Conq. of Mexico. 10 THE FAIR GOD. qualified for Chapultepec than Montezuma, but it is not wise to say so. His people are prosperous, and he has the most beautiful gardens in the world ; unlike Cacama, he cares nothing for them, when there is a field to be fought. Con sidering his influence at court and his love of war, you would do well to bear shield for him ; but, on the other hand, he is old. Were I in your place, my son, I would attach myself to some young man." "That brings me to Maxtla, the Tesoyucan." " I know him only by repute. AYith scarcely a beard, he is chief of the king's guard. There was never anything like his fortune. Listen now, I will tell you a secret which may be of value to you some time. The king is not as young as he used to be by quite forty summers." The hunter smiled at the caution with wliich the old man spoke of the monarch. " You see," the speaker continued, " time and palace life have changed him : he no longer leads the armies ; his days are passed in the temples with the priests, or in the gardens with his women, of whom there are several hundreds ; his most active amusement now is to cross the lake to his forests, and kill birds and rabbits by blowing little arrows at them through a reed. Thus changed, you can very well under stand how he can be amused by songs and wit, and make favorites of those who best lighten his hours of satiety and indolence. In that way Maxtla rose, a marvellous court ier, but a very common soldier." The description amused the young man. but he said gravely, "You have spoken wisely, uncle, and I am satisfied you know the men well. Really, I had no intention of entering the suite of either of them : they are not of my ideal ; but there is a cacique, if reports are to be credited, beyond all excep tion, learned and brave, honored alike by high and low." " Ah ! you need not name him to me. I know him, aa QUETZAL', THE FAIR GOD. 11 who does not 1 " And now the merchant spoke warmly. " A nobler than Guatamozia,* or, as he is more commonly called, the 'tzin Guatamo never dwelt in Anahuac. He is the people's friend, and the Empire's hope. His valor and wisdom, ah, you should see him, my son ! Such a face ! His manner is so full of sweet dignity ! But I will give you other evidence." He clapped his hands three times, and a soldier sprang forward at the signal. " Do you know the 'tzin Guatamo ? " asked the merchant. " I am an humble soldier, my master, and the 'tzin is the great king's nephew ; but I know him. When he was only a boy, I served under him in Tlascala. He is the best chief in Anahuac." " That will do." The man retired. " So I might call up my tamanes," the merchant resumed, " and not one but would speak of him in the same way." " Strange ! " said the Tihuancan, in a low tone. " No ; if you allude to his popularity, it is not strange : if you mean the man himself, you are right. The gods seldom give the qualities that belong to him. He is more learned than Tlalac or the king ; he is generous as becomes a prince ; in action he is a hero. You have probably heard of the Tlascalan wall in the eastern valley ; t few warriors ever passed it and lived ; yet he did so when almost a boy. I * Guatamozin, nephew to Montezuma. Of him Bernal Diaz says : " This monarch was between twenty-three and twenty-four years of age, and could in all truth be called a handsome man, both as regards his coun tenance and figure. His face was rather of an elongated form, with a cheer ful look ; his eye had great expression, both when he assumed a majestic expression, or when he looked pleasantly around ; the color of his face in clined to white more than to the copper-brown tint of the Indians in gen eral." DIAZ, Conquest of Mexico, Lockhart's Trans., Vol. IV., p. 110. f Presoott's Conq. of Mexico, Vol. I. , p. 417. 12 THE FAIR GOD. myself have seen him send an arrow to the heart of an eagla in its flight. He has a palace and garden in Iztapalapan ; in one of the halls stand the figures of three kings, two of Michuaca, and one of the Ottomies. He took them prisoners in battle, and now they hold torches at his feasts." " Enough, enough ! " cried the hunter. " I have been dream ing of him while among the hills. I want no better leader." The merchant cast an admiring glance at his beaming countenance, and said, " You are right ; enter his service." In such manner the conversation was continued, until the sun fast declined towards the western mountains. Mean time, they had passed through several hamlets and consider able towns. In nearly the whole progress, the way on either hand had been lined with plantations. Besides the presence of a busy, thriving population, they everywhere saw evi dences of a cultivation and science, constituting the real superiority of the Aztecs over their neighbors. The country was thus preparing the stranger for the city, unrivalled in splendor and beauty. Casting a look toward the sun, he at length said, " Uncle, I have much to thank you for, you and your friends. But it is growing late, and I must hurry on, if I would see the tianguez before the market closes." " Very well," returned the old trader. " We will be iii the city to-morrow. The gods go with you ! " Whistling to his ocelot, the adventurer quicken*d his pace, and was soon far in the advance. A CHALLENGE. 13 CHAPTER III. A CHALLENGE. IN the valley of Anahuac, at the time I write, are four lakes, Xaltocan, Chalco, Xochichalco, and Tezcuco. The 'atter, besides being the largest, washed the walls of Tcnonhtitlan, and was the especial pride of the Aztecs, who, familiar with its ways as with the city, traversed them all the days of the year, and even the nights. " Ho, there ! " shouted a voyageur, in a voice that might have been heard a long distance over the calm expanse of the lake. " Ho, the canoe ! " The hail was answered. " Is it Guatamozin 1 " asked the first speaker. " Yes." " And going to Tenochtitlan ? " " The gods willing, yes." The canoes of the voyageur s I use that term be cause it more nearly expresses the meaning of the word the Aztecs themselves were wont to apply to persons thus abroad were, at the time, about the middle of the little sea. After the 'tzin's reply, they were soon alongside, when lashings were applied, and together they swept on rapidly, for the slaves at the paddles vied in skill and dis cipline. "Iztlil', of Tezcuco!" said the 'tzin, lightly. "He is welcome ; but had a messenger asked me where at this hour he would most likely be found, I should have bade him search the chinampas^ especially those most notable for their perfume and music." The speech was courteous, yet the moment of reply was 14 THE FAIR GOD allowed to pass. The 'tzin waited until the delay excited his wonder. " There is a rumor of a great battle with the Tlascalan.-," he said again, this time with a direct question. " Has my friend heard of it 1 " "The winds that carry rumors seldom come to me," answered IztliT. " Couriers from Tlascala pass directly through your capi tal " The Tezcucan laid his hand on the speaker's shoulder. " My capital ! " he said. " Do you speak of the city of Tezcucot" The 'tzin dashed the hand away, and arose, saying, " Your meaning is dark in this dimness of stars." " Be seated," said the other. " If I sit, is it as friend or foe ? " " Hear me ; then be yourself the judge." The Aztec folded his cloak about him and resumed hi- neat, very watchful " Montezuma, the king " " Beware ! The great king is my kinsman, and I am his faithful subject." The Tezcucan continued. " In the valley the kinu is wxt to the gods ; yet to his nephew I say I hate him, and will teach him that my hate is no idleness, like a passing love. Tzin, a hundred years ago our races were distinct anlhuan. suppliants of Montezuma, the Aztec." And, as if overcome A CHALLENGE. 15 by the recollection, he burst into apostrophe. " I mourn thee, Tezcuco, garden of my childhood, palace of my fathers, inheritance of my right ! Against me are thy gates closed. The stars may come, and as of old garland thy tow ers with t?ieir rays ; but in thy echoing halls and princely courts never, never shall I be known again ! " The silence that ensued, the 'tzin was the first to break. " You would have me understand," he said, " that the king has done you wrong. Be it so. But, for such cause, why quarrel with me 1 " " Ah, yes ! " answered the Tezcucan, in an altered voice. " Come closer, that the slaves may not hear." The Aztec kept his attitude of dignity. Yet lower IztliT dropped his voice. " The king has a daughter whom he calls Tula, and loves as the light of his palace." The 'tzin started, but held his peace. " You know her ? " continued the Tezcucan. " Name her not ! " said Guatamozin, passionately. "Why not"? I love her, and but for you, 'tzin, she would have loved me. You, too, have done me wrong." With thoughts dark as the waters he rode, the Aztec looked long at the light of fire painted on the sky above the distant city. " Is Guatamozin turned woman 1 " asked Iztlil', tauntingly. " Tula is my cousin. We have lived the lives of brother and sister. In hall, in garden, on the lake, always together, I could not help loving her." " You mistake me," said the other. " I seek her for wife, but you seek her for ambition ; in her eyes you see only her father's throne." Then the Aztec's manner changed, and he assumed the mastery. " Enough, Tezcucan ! I listened calmly while you reviled 16 THE FAIR GOD. the king, and now I have somewhat to say. In your youth the wise men prophesied evil from you ; they said you were ingrate and blasphemer then : your whole life has but veri fied their judgment. Well for your royal father and his beautiful city had he cut you off as they counselled him to do. Treason to the king, deiiance to me ! By the holy Sun, for each offence you should answer me shield to shield ! But I recollect that I am neither priest to slay a victim nor officer to execute the law. I mourn a feud, still more the blood of countrymen shed by my hand; yet the wrongs shall not go unavenged or Avithout challenge. To-morrow is the sacrifice to Quetzal'. There will be combat with, the best captives in the temples ; the arena will be in the tianguez ; Tenochtitlan, and all the valley, and all the nobility of the Empire, will look on. Dare you prove your kingly blood 1 ? I challenge the son of 'Hualpilli to share the danger with me." The cacique was silent, and the 'tzin did not disturb him. At his order, however, the slaves bent their dusky forms, and the vessels sped on, like wingless birds. CHAPTER IV. TENOCHTITLAN AT NIGHT. THE site of the city of Tenochtitlan was chosen by the gods. In the southwestern border of Lake Te/cuco, one morning in 1300, a wandering tribe of Aztecs saw an eagle perched, with outspread wings, upon a cactus, and holding a serpent in its talons. At a word from their priests, they took possession of the marsh, and there stayed their migration and founded the city : such is the tradition. As men love TENOCHTITLAN AT NIGHT. to trace their descent back to some storied greatness, nations delight to associate the gods with their origin. Originally the Aztecs were barbarous. In their southern march, they brought with them only their arms and a spirit of sovereignty. The valley of Anahuac, when they reached it, was already peopled ; in fact, had been so for ages. The cultivation and progress they found arid conquered there re acted upon them. They grew apace ; and as they carried their shields into neighboring territory, as by intercourse and commerce they crept from out their shell of barbarism, as they strengthened in opulence and dominion, they repu diated the reeds and rushes of which their primal houses were built, and erected enduring temples and residences of Oriental splendor. Under the smiles of the gods, Avhom countless victims kept propitiated, the city threw abroad its arms, and, before the passage of a century, became the emporium of the valley. Its people climbed the mountains around, and, in pursuit of cap tives to grace their festivals, made the conquest of " Mexico." Then the kings began to centralize. They made Tenochtit- lan their capital ; under their encouragement, the arts grew and flourished ; its market became famous ; the nobles and privileged orders made it their dwelling-place; wealth abound ed ; as a consequence, a vast population speedily filled its walls and extended them as required. At the coming of the * conquistadores," it contained sixty thousand houses and three hundred thousand souls. Its plat testifies to a high degree of order and regularity, with all the streets running north and south, and intersected by canals, so as to leave quadrilateral blocks. An ancient map, exhibiting the city proper, presents the face of a checker-board, each square, except those of some of the temples and palaces, being meted with mathematical certainty. Such was the city the 'tzin and the cacique were approach- 18 THE FAIR GOD. ing. Left of them, half a league distant, lay the towers and embattled gate of Xoloc. On the horizon behind paled the fires of Iztapalapan, while those of Tenochtitlan at each moment threw brighter hues into the sky, and more richly empurpled the face of the lake. In mid air, high over all others, like a great torch, blazed the pyre of Huit/il'. * Out on the sea, the course of the voyageurs was occasionally ob structed by chinampas at anchor, or afloat before the light wind ; nearer the walls, the floating gardens multiplied until the passage was as if through an archipelago in miniature. From many of them poured the light of torches ; others gave to the grateful sense the melody of flutes and blended voices ; while over them the radiance from the temples fell softly, re vealing white pavilions, orange-trees, flowering shrubs, and nameless varieties of the unrivalled tropical vegetation. A breeze, strong enough to gently ripple the lake, hovered around the undulating retreats, scattering a largesse of per fume, and so ministering to the voluptuous floramour of the locality. As the voyageurs proceeded, the city, rising to view, un derwent a number of transformations. At first, amidst the light of its own fires,f it looked like a black sea-shore ; di rectly its towers and turrets became visible, some looming vaguely and dark, others glowing and purpled, the whole mag nified by the dim duplication below ; then it seemed like a cloud, one half kindled by the sun, the other obscured by the night. As they swept yet nearer, it changed to the likeness of a long, ill-defined wall, over which crept a hum wing-like and strange, the hum of myriad life. * The God of War, aptly called the " Mexican Mars." t There was a fire for each altar in the temples which was inextinguish- able ; and so numerous were the altars, and so brilliant their fires, that they kept the city illuminated throughout the darkest nights. Prescott, COIHJ. of Mexico, Vol. I., p 72. TENOCHT1TLAN AT NIGHT. 19 Iii silence still they hurried forward. Vessels like their own, but with lanterns of stained aguave at the prows, seek ing some favorite chinampa, sped by with benisons from the crews. At length they reached the Avail, and, passing through an interval that formed the outlet of a canal, entered the city. Instantly the water became wavcless ; houses encom passed them ; lights gleamed across their way ; the hum t',iat hovered over them while out on the lake realized itself in the voices of men and the notes of labor. Yet farther into the city, the light from the temples in creased. From towers, turreted like a Moresco castle, they heard the night-watchers proclaiming the hour. Canoes, in flocks, darted by them, decked with garlands, and laden with the wealth of a merchant, or the trade of a market-man, or full of revellers singing choruses to the stars or to the fair denizens of the palaces. Here and there the canal was bor dered with sidewalks of masonry, and sometimes with steps leading from the water up to a portal, about which were companies Avhose flaunting, parti-colored costumes, bril liant in the mellowed light, had all the appearance of Vene tian masqueraders. At last the canoes gained the great street that continued from the causeway at the south through the whole city ; then the Tezcucan touched the 'tzin, and said, " The son of 'Hualpilli accepts the challenge, Aztec. In the tianguez to-morrow." Without further speech, the foemen leaped on the landing, and separated. 20 THE FAIR GOD. CHAPTEE V. THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE. THERE Avere two royal palaces in the city ; one built by Axaya', the other by Montezuma, the reigning king, who naturally preferred his own structure, and so resided there. It was a low, irregular pile, embracing not only the king's abode proper, but also quarters for his guard, and edi- iices for an armory, an aviary, and a menagerie. Attached to it was a garden, adorned with the choicest shrubbery and plants, with fruit and forest trees, with walks strewn with shells, and fountains of pure water conducted from the reser voir of Chapultepec. At night, except when the moon shone, the garden was lighted with lamps ; and, whether in day or night, it Avas a favorite lounging-place. During fair evenings, particularly, its Avalks, of the whiteness of snow, were thronged by nobles and courtiers. Shortly after the arrival of Iztlil' and Guatamozin, a party, mostly of the sons of provincial governors kept at the palace as hostages, were gathered in the garden, under a canopy used to shield a fountain from the noonday sun. The place Avas fairly lighted, the air fresh Avith the breath of flowers, and delightful with the sound of falling water. Maxtla, chief of the guard, Avas there, his juvenility Avell hidden under an ostentatious display. That he was " a very common soldier " in the opinion of the people was of small moment : he had the king's ear ; and that, without wit and courtierly tact, would have made him Avhat he was, the oracle of the party around him. In the midst of his gossip, Iztlil', the Tezcucan, came sud- THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE. 21 denly to the fountain. He coldly surveyed the assembly. Maxtla alone saluted him. " Will the prince of Tezcuco be seated 1 " said the chief. " The place is pleasant, and the company looks inviting," returned Iztlil', grimly. Since his affair with Guatamozin, he had donned the uniform of an Aztec chieftain. Over his shoulders was care lessly flung a crimson tilmatli, a short, square cloak, fan tastically embroidered with gold, and so sprinkled with jewels as to flash at every movement ; his body was Avrapped closely in an escaupil, or tunic, of cotton lightly quilted, over which, and around his waist, was a maxtlatl, or sash, inseparable from the warrior. A casque of silver, thin, burnished, and topped with plumes, surmounted his head. His features were gracefully moulded, and he would have been handsome but that his complexion was deepened by black, frowning eyebrows. He was excessively arrogant ; though sometimes, when deeply stirred by passion, his manner rose into tie royal. His character I leave to history. " I have just come from Iztapalapan," he said, as he sat upon the proffered stool. ' The lake is calm, the way was very pleasant, I had the 'tzin Guatamo' for comrade." " You were fortunate. The izin is good company," said Maxtla. Iztlil' frowned, and became silent. "To-morrow," continued the courtier, upon whom the iiscontent, slight as it was, had not been lost, " is the sacri fice to Quetzal'. I am reminded, gracious prince, that, at a recent celebration, you put up a thousand cocoa,* to be for feited if you failed to see the daughter of Mualox, the paba. * The Aztec currency consisted of bits of tin, in shape like a capital T, of quills of gold-dust, and of bags of cocoa, containing a stated num ber of grains. Sahagun, Hist, de Nueva Esp. 22 THE FAIR GOD. If not improper, how runs the wager, and what of the result ? " The cacique shrugged his broad shoulders. " The man trembles ! " whispered one of the party. " Well he may ! Old Mualox is more than a man. " Maxtla bowed and laughed. " Mualox is a magician ; the stars deal with him. And my brother will not speak, lest he may cover the sky of his fortune with clouds." " No," said the Tezcucan, proudly ; " the wager was not a sacrilege to the paba or his god ; if it was, the god, not the man, should be a warrior's fear." " Does Maxtla believe Mualox a prophet 1 " asked Tlahua, a noble Otompan. " The gods have power in the sun ; why not on earth 1 " " You do not like the paba," observed Iztlil', gloomily. " Who has seen him, prince, and thought of love 1 And the walls and towers of his dusty temple, are they not hung with dread, as the sky on a dark day with clouds 1 " The party, however they might dislike the cacique, could not listen coldly to this conversation. They were mostly of that mystic race of Azatlan, who, ages before, had descended into the valley, like an inundation, from the north ; the race whose religion was founded upon credulity ; the race full of chivalry, but horribly governed by a crafty priesthood. None of them disbelieved in star-dealing. So every eye fixed on the Tezcucan, every ear drank the musical syllables of Maxtla. They were startled when the former said abruptly, " Comrades, the wrath of the old paba is not to be lightly provoked ; he has gifts not of men. But, as there is nothing I do not dare, I will tell the story." The company now gathered close around the speaker. " Probably you have all heard," he began, " that Mualox keeps in his temple somewhere a child or woman too beau tiful to be mortal. The story may be true ; yet it is only a THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE. 23 belief; no eye has seen footprint or shadow of her. A cer tain lord in the palace, who goes thrice a week to the shrine of Quetzal', has faith in the gossip and the paha. He says the mystery is Quetzal' himself, already returned, and wait ing, concealed in the temple, the ripening of the time when he is to hurst in vengeance on Tenochtitlan. I heard him talking about it one day, and wagered him a thousand cocoa that, if there was such a being I would see her before the next sacrifice to Quetzal'." The Tezcucan hesitated. " Is the believer to boast himself wealthier by the wager?" said Maxtla, profoundly interested. " A thousand cocoa would buy a jewel or a slave : surely, prince, surely they were worth the winning ! " Iztlil' frowned again, and said bitterly, " A thousand cocoa I cannot well spare ; they do not grow on my hard northern hills like flowers in Xochimilco. I did my best to save the wager. Old habit lures me to the great teocallis ; * for I am of those who believe that a warrior's worship is meet for no god but HuitziT. But, as the girl was supposed to be down in the cells of the old temple, and none but Mualox could satisfy me, I began going there, thinking to bargain humilities for favor. I played my part studiously, if not well ; but no offering of tongue or gold ever won me word of friendship or smile of confidence. Hopeless and Aveary, I at last gave up, and went back to the teocallis. But now hear my parting with the paba. A short time ago a mystery was enacted in the temple. At the end, I turned to go away, determined that it should be my last visit. At the eastern steps, as I was about descending, I felt a hand laid on my arm. It was Mualox; and not more terrible looks Tlalac Avhen he has sacrificed a thousand victims. * Temple. The term appears to have applied particularly to th temples of the god HuitziT. TR. 24 THE FAIR GOD. There was no blood on his hands ; his beard and surplice were white and stainless ; the terror was in his eyes, that seemed to burn and shoot lightning. You know, good chief, that I could have crushed him with a blow ; yet I trembled. Looking back now, I cannot explain the awe that seized me. I remember how my will deserted me, how another's came in its stead. With a glance he bound me hand and foot. While I looked at him, he dilated, until I was covered by his shadow. He magnified himself into the stature of a god. ' Prince of Tezcuco,' he said, ' son of the wise 'Hualpilli, from the sun Quetzal' looks down on the earth. Alike over land and sea he looks. Before him space melts into a span, and darkness puts on the glow of day. Did you think to deceive my god, prince 1 ' I could not answer ; my tongue was like stone. ' Go hence, go hence ! ' he cried, waving his hand. ' Your presence darkens his mood. His wrath is on your soul; ho has cursed you. Hence, abandoned of the gods ! ' So saying, he went back to the tower again, and my will returned, and I fled. And now," said the cacique, turning suddenly and sternly upon his hearers, "who will deny the magic of Mualoxl How may I be assured that his curse that day spoken was not indeed a curse from Quetzal' 1 " There was neither word nor laugh, not even a smile. The gay Maxtla appeared infected with a sombreness of spirit ; and it was not long until the party broke up, and went each his way THE cO OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA. 25 CHAPTEE VL THE cu OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA. OVER the city from temple to temple passed the wail of the watchers, and a quarter of the night was gone. Few heard the cry without pleasure ; for to-morrow was Quetzal's day, which would bring feasting, music, combat, crowd, and flowers. Among others the proclamation of the passing time was made from a temple in the neighborhood of the Tlateloco tianguez, or market-place, which had been built by one of the first kings of Tenochtitlan, and, like all edifices of that date properly called Ciis, was of but one story, and had but one tower. At the south its base was washed by a canal ; on all the other sides it was enclosed by stone walls high, probably, as a man's head. The three sides so walled were bounded by streets, and faced by houses, some of which were higher than the Cil itself, and adorned with beautiful porticos. The canal on the south ran parallel with the Tlacopan cause way, and intersected the Iztapalapan street at a point nearly half a mile above the great pyramid. The antique pile thus formed a square of vast extent. Ac cording to the belief that there were blessings in the orient rays of the sun, the front was to the east, where a flight of steps, wide as the whole building, led from the ground to the azoteas, a paved area constituting the roof, crowned in the centre by a round tower of wood most quaintly carved with religious symbols. Entering the door of the tower, the dev otee might at once kneel before the sacred image of Quetzal'. A circuitous stairway outside the tower conducted to its summit, where blazed the fire. Another flight of steps about 2 26 THE FAIR GOD. midway the tower and the western verge of the azotcas de scended into a court-yard, around which, in the shade of a colonnade, were doors and windows of habitable apartments and passages leading far into the interior. And there, shrouded in a perpetual twilight and darkness, once slept, ate, prayed, and studied or dreamed the members of a frater nity powerful as the Templars and gloomy as the Fratre? Minores. The interior was cut into rooms, and long, winding halls, and countless cellular dens. Such was the Cu of Quetzal', stern, sombre, and massive as in its first days ; unchanged in all save the prosperity of its priesthood and the popularity of its shrine. Time was when every cell contained its votaries, and kings, returning from battle, bowed before the altar. But Montezuma had built a new edifice, and set up there a new idol ; and as if a king could better make a god than custom, the people aban doned the old ones to desuetude. Up in the ancient cupola, however, sat the image said to have been carved by Quetzal's own hand. Still the fair face looked out benignly on its realm of air ; carelessly the winds waved " the plumes of fire " that decked its awful head ; and one stony hand yet grasped a golden sceptre, while the other held aloft the painted shield, symbols of its dominion.* But the servitors and surpliced mystics were gone ; the cells were very solitudes ; the last paba lingered to protect the image and its mansion, all un witting how,^ his faithfulness of love, he himself had as sumed the highest prerogative of a god. The fire from the urn on the tower flashed a red glow down over the azoteas, near a corner of which Mualox stood, his beard white and flowing as his surplice. Thought of days palmier for himself and more glorious for his temple and god struggled to his lips. "Children of Azatlan, ye have strayed from his * Sahaguii, Hist, de Nueva Esr>, THE CO OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA. 27 and dust is on his shield. The temple is of his handiwork, but its chambei's are voiceless ; the morning comes and falls asleep on its steps, and no foot disturbs it, no one seeks its blessings. Where is the hymn of the choir 1 Where the prayer ? Where the holiness that rested, like a spell, around the altar 1 Is the valley fruitless, and are the gardens with out flowers, that he should be without offering or sacrifice 1 .... Ah ! well ye know that the day is not distant when lie will glister again in the valley ; when he will come, not as of old he departed, the full harvest quick ripening in his footsteps, but with the power of Mictlan,* the owl on his skirt, and death in his hand, lieturn, children, and Tenoch- titlan may yet live ! " In the midst of his pleadings there was a clang of san dalled feet on the pavement, and two men came near him, and stopped. One of them wore the hood and long black gown of a priest ; the other the full military garb, bur nished casque crested Avith plumes, a fur-trimmed tilmatli, escanpil, and maxtlatl, and sandals the thongs of which were embossed with silver. He also carried a javelin, and a shield with an owl painted on its face. Indeed, one will travel far before finding, among Christians or unbelievers, liis peer. He was then not more than twenty-five years old, tall and nobly proportioned, and with a bearing truly royal. In Spain I have seen eyes as large and lustrous, but none of snch power and variety of expression. His complexion was merely the brown of the sun. Though very masculine, his features, especially when the spirit was in repose, were soft ened by an expression unusually gentle and attractive. Such was the 'tzin Guatamo', or, as he is more commonly known in history, Guatamozin, the highest, noblest type of his race, blending in one its genius and heroism, with but few of its debasements. * The Mexican Hell. The owl was the symbol of the Devil, whose name signifies "the rational owl," 28 THE FAIR GOD. " Mualox," said the priestly stranger. The paba turned, and knelt, and kissed the pavement. " O king, pardon your slave ! He was dreaming of his country." " No slave of mine, but Quetzal's. Up, Mualox ! " said Montezuma, throwing back the hood that covered his head. 4 Holy should be the dust that mingles in your beard ! " And the light from the tower shone full on the face of wim, the priest of lore profound, and monarch wise of thought, for whom Heaven was preparing a destiny most memorable among the melancholy episodes of history. A slight mustache shaded his upper lip, and thin, dark beard covered his chin and throat ; his nose was straight ; his brows curved archly ; his forehead was broad and full, while he seemed possessed of height and strength. His neck was round, muscular, and encircled by a collar 01 golden wires. His manner was winsome, and he spoke to the kneeling man in a voice clear, distinct, and sufficiently emphatic for the king he was.* Mualox arose, and stood with downcast eyes, and hands crossed over his breast. " Many a coming of stars it has been," he said, " since the old shrine has known the favor of gift from Montezuma. Gloom of clouds in a vale of firs is not darker than the mood of Quetzal' ; but to the poor paba, your voice, O king, is welcome as the song of the river in the ear of the thirsty." The king looked up at the fire on the tower. " Why should the mood of Quetzal' be dark 1 A new teocattis holds his image. His priests are proud ; and they say ho is happy, and that when he comes from the golden land his canoe wil be full of blessings." Sernal Diaz, Hist, de la Conquista. THE CU OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA. 29 Mualox sighed, and when he ventured to raise his eyes to the king's, they were wet with tears. " king, have you forgotten that chapter of the teoamox- tli* in which is written how this Cu was built, and its first fires lighted, by Quetzal' himself 1 } The new pyramid may be grand ; its towers may be numberless, and its fires far reaching as the sun itself: but hope not that will satisfy the god, while his own house is desolate. In the name of Quetzal', I, his true servant, tell you, never again look for smile from Tlapallan." The paba's speech was bold, and the king frowned ; but in the eyes of the venerable man there was the unaccount able fascination mentioned by Iztlil'. " I remember the Mualox of my father's day ; surely he was not as you are ! " Then, laying his hand on the 'tzin's arm, the monarch added, " Did you not say the holy man had something to tell me ^ " Mualox answered, " Even so, king ! Few are the friends left the paba, now that his religion and god are mocked ; but the 'tzin is faithful. At my bidding he went to the palace. Will Montezuma go with his servant 1 " "Where?" " Only into the Cu." The monarch faltered. " Dread be from you ! " said Mualox. " Think you it is as hard to be faithful to a king as to a god whom even he has abandoned 1 " Montezuma was touched. " Let us go," he said to tho 'tzin The Divine Book, or Bible. Ixtlil's Relaciones M. S. 30 THE FAIR GOD. CHAPTER VII. THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL. MUALOX led them into the tower. The light of pur pled lamps filled the sacred place, and played softly around the idol, before which they bowed. Then he took a light from the altar, and conducted them to the azoteas, and down into the court-yard, from whence they entered a hall leading on into the Cu. The way was labyrinthine, and both the king and the 'tzin became bewildered ; they only kneAV that they de scended several stairways, and walked a considerable dis tance ; nevertheless, they submitted themselves entirely to their guide, who went forward without hesitancy. At last he stopped ; and, by the light which he held up for the pur pose, they saw in a wall an aperture roughly excavated, am! large enough to admit them singly. " You have read the Holy Book, wise king," said Mualox. " Can you not recall its saying that, before the founding of Tenochtitlan, a Cu was begun, with chambers to lie under the bed of the lake? Especially, do you not remember the declaration that, in some of those chambers, besides a store of wealth so vast as to be beyond the calculation of men, there were prophecies to be read, written on the walls by a god 1 " " I remember it," said the king. " Give me faith, then, and I will show you all you there read." Thereupon the paba stepped into the aperture, saying, " Mark ! I am now standing under the eastern wall of the old Cfi." THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL. 31 He passed through, and they followed him, and were amazed. " Look around, O king ! You are in one of the chambers mentioned in the Holy Book." The light penetrated but a short distance, so that Mon- tezuma could form no idea of the extent of the apartment. He would have thought it a great natural cavern but for the floor smoothly paved with alternate red and gray flags, and some massive stone blocks rudely piled up in places to support the roof. As they proceeded, Mualox said, " On every side of us there are rooms through which we might go till, in stormy weather, the waves of the lake can be heard breaking over head." In a short tiro", they again stopped. " We are nearly there. Son of a king, is your heart strong ] " said Mualox, solemnly. Montezuma made no answer. " Many a time," continued the paba, " your glance has re^ed on the tower of the old Cu, then flashed to where, in prouder state, your pyramids rise. You never thought the gray pile you smiled at was the humblest of all Quetzal's works. Can a man, though a king, outdo a god ? " " I never thought so, I never thought so ! " But the mystic did not notice the deprecation. " See," he said, speaking louder, " the pride of man says, I will build upward that the sun may show my power ; but the gods are too great for pride ; so the sun shines not on their especial glories, which as frequently lie in the earth and sea as in the air and heavens. O mighty king ! You crush the worm under your sandal, never thinking that its humble life is more wonderful than all your temples and state. It was the same folly that laughed at the simple towel of Quetzal', which has mysteries - " 32 THE FAIR GOD. " Mysteries ! " said the king. " I will show you wealth enough to restock the mines and visited valleys with all their plundered gold and jewels." " You are dreaming, paba." " Come, then ; let us see ! " They moved past some columns, and came before a great, arched doorway, through which streamed a brilliance like day. " Now, let your souls be strong ! " They entered the door, and for a while were blinded by the glare, and could see only the floor covered with grains of gold large as wheat. Moving on, they came to a great stone table, and stopped. '" You wonder ; and so did I, until I was reminded that a god had been here. Look up, king ! look up, and see the handiwork of Quetzal' ! " The chamber was broad and square. The obstruction of many pillars, forming the stay of the roof, was compensated by their lightness and wonderful carving. Lamps, lit by Mua lox in anticipation of the royal coming, blazed in all quarters. Tho ceiling was covered with lattice-work of shining white and yellow metals, the preciousness of which was palpable to eyes accustomed like the monarch's. Where the bars crossed each other, there were fanciful representations .of flowers, wrought in gold, some of them large as shields, and garnished with jewels that burned with star-like fires. Between the columns, up and down ran rows of brazen tables, bearing urns and vases of the royal metals, higher than tall men, and carved all over with gods in Ins-relief, not as hideous cari catures, but beautiful as love and Grecian skill could make them. Between the vases and tirns there were heaps of rubies and pearls and brilliants, amongst which looked out softly the familiar, pale-green lustre of the chalchuites, 01 THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL. 33 priceless Aztecan diamond.* And here and there, like guardians of the buried beauty and treasure, statues looked down from tall pedestals, crowned and armed, as became the kings and demi-gods of a great and martial people. The monarch was speechless. Again and again he surveyed the golden chamber. As if seeking an explanation, but too overwhelmed for words, he turned to Mualox. " And now does Montezuma believe his servant dream ing 1 " said the paba. " Quetzal' directed the discovery of the chamber. I knew of it, O king, before you were born. And here is the wealth of which I spoke. If it so confounds you, how much more will the other mystery ! I have dug up a prophecy ; from darkness plucked a treasure richer than all these. king, I will give you to read a message from the gods ! " The monarch's face became bloodless, and it had now not a trace of scepticism. " I will show you from Quetzal' himself that the end of your Empire is at hand, and that every wind of the earth ia full sown with woe to you and yours. The writing is on the walls. Come ! " And he led the king, followed by Guatamozin, to tho northern corner of the eastern wall, on which, in square marble panels, bas-relief style, were hierograms and sculp tured pictures of men, executed apparently by the same hand that chiselled the statues in the room. The ground of the carvings was coated with coarse gray coral, which had the effect to bring out the white figures with marvel lous perfection. "This, king, is the writing," said Mualox, "which begins here, and continues around the walls. I will read, if you please to hear." * A kind of emerald, used altogether by the nobility. Sahagun, Hist de Nueva Esp. 2* o 34 THE FAIR GOD. Montezuma waved his hand, and the paba proceeded. " This figure is that of the lirst king of Tenochtitlau ; the others are his followers. The letters record the time of the march from the north. Observe that the first of the writing its commencement is here in the north." After a little while, they moved on to the second panel. " Here," said Mualox, " is represented the march of the king. It was accompanied with battles. See, he stands with lifted javelin, his foot on the breast of a prostrate foe. His followers dance and sound shells ; the priests sacrifice a victim. The king has won a great victory." They stopped before the third panel. " And here the monarch is still on the march. He is in the midst of his warriors ; no doubt the crown he is receiving is that of the ruler of a conquered city." This cartoon Montezuma examined closely. The chief, or king, was distinguished by a crown in all respects like that then in the palace ; the priests, by their long gowns ; and the warriors, by their arms, which, as they were counterparts of those still in use, sufficiently identified the wanderers. Greatly was the royal inspector troubled. And as the paba slowly conducted him from panel to panel, he forgot the treasure with which the chamber was stored. What he read was the story of his race, the record of their glory. The whole eastern wall, he found, when he had passed before it, given to illustrations of the crusade from Axatlan, tho father land, northward so far that corn .was gathered in the snow, and liowers were the wonder of the six weeks' summer. In front of the lirst panel on the southern wall Mualox said, "All we have passed is the first era in the history ; this is the beginning of the second ; and the first writing on the western wall will commence a third. Here the king stands ou a roctlf ; a priest points him to an eagle on a cactus, hold- THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL. 35 ing a serpent. At last they have reached the place where Tenochtitlan is to be founded." The paba passed on. " Here," he said, " are temples and palaces. The king re clines on a couch ; the city has been founded." And before another panel, " Look well to this, king ! A new character is introduced ; here it is before an altar, offering a sacrifice of fruits and flowers. It is Quetzal' ! In his worship, you recollect, there is no slaughter of victims. My hands are pure of blood." The Quetzal', with its pleasant face, flowing curls, and simple costume, seemed to have a charm for Montezuma, for he mused over it a long time. Some distance on, the figure again appeared, stepping into a canoe, while the people, tem ples, and palaces of the city were behind it. Mualox ex plained, " See, king ! The fair god is departing from Tenochtitlan ; he has been banished. Saddest of all the days was that ! " And so, the holy man interpreting, they moved along the southern wall. Not a scene but was illustrative of some in cident memorable in the Aztecan history. And the review ers were struck with the faithfulness of the record not less than with the beauty of the work. On the western wall, the first cartoon represented a young man sweeping the steps of a temple. Montezuma paused be fore it amazed, and Guatamozin for the first time cried out, " It is the king ! It is the king ! " The likeness was per fect. After that came a coronation scene. The teotuctli was placing a panache * on Montezuma's head. In the third cartoon, he was with the army, going to battle. In the * Or capilli, the king's crown. A pcvt.ache was the head-dress of a warrior. 36 THE FAIR GOD. fourth, he was seated, while a man clad in nequen* bU$ crowned, stood before him. " Yon have grown familiar with triumphs, and it is many summers since, king," said Mualox ; " but you have not yet forgotten the gladness of your first conquest. Here is its record. As we go on, recall the kings who were thus made to stand before you." And counting as they proceeded, Montezuma found that in . every cartoon there was an additional iigure crowned and in nequen. When they came to the one next the last on the western wall, he said, " Show me the meaning of all this : here are thirty kings." " Will the king tell his slave the number of cities he has conquered 1 " He thought awhile, and replied, " Thirty." " Then the record is faithful. It started with the first king of Tenochtitlan ; it came down to your coronation ; now, it has numbered your conquests. See you not, king ] Behind us, all the writing is of the past ; this is Montezuma and Teuochtitlan as they are : the present is before us ! Could the hand that set this chamber and carved these walls have been a man's ? Who but a god six cycles ago could have foreseen that a son of the son of Axa- ya' would cany the rulers of thirty conquered cities in his train]" The royal visitor listened breathlessly. He began to com prehend the writing, and thrill with fast-coming presenti ments. Yet he struggled with his fears. " Prophecy has to do \\dth the future," he said ; " and you have shown me nothing that the sculptors and jewellers in * A garment of coarse white material, made from the fibre of the aloe, and by court etiquette required to be worn by courtiers and suitors in the king's presence. The rule appears to have been of universal application. THE PROPHECY ON THE WALL. 37 pay palace cannot do. Would you have me believe all this from Quetzal', show me something that is to come." Mualox led him to the next scene which represented the king sitting in state ; above him a canopy ; his nobles and the women of his household around him ; at his feet the peo ple ; and all were looking at a combat going on between warriors. " You have asked for prophecy, behold ! " said Mua lox. " I see nothing," replied the king. " Nothing ! Is not this the celebration to-morrow 1 Since it was ordered, could your sculptors have executed what you Back to the monarch's face stole the pallor. " Look again, king ! You only saw yourself, your peo ple and warriors. But what is this 1 " Walking up, he laid his finger on the representation of a man landing from a canoe. " The last we beheld of Quetzal'," he continued, " was on the southern wall ; his back was to Tenochtitlan, which he was leaving with a curse. All you have heard about his promise to return is true. He himself has written the very day, and here it is. Look ! While the king, his warriors and people, are gathered to the combat, Quetzal' steps from the canoe to the sea-shore." The figure in the carving was scarcely two hands high, but exquisitely wrought. With terror poorly concealed, Monte. zuma recognized it. "And now my promise is redeemed. I said I would give you to read a message from the sun." " Eead, Mualox: I cannot." The holy man turned to the writing, and said, with a swelling voice, " Thus writes Quetzal' to Montezuma, the king ! In the last day he will seek to stay my vengeance ; 38 THE FAIR GOD. he will call together his people ; there will be combat in Tenochtitlan ; but in the midst of the rejoicing I will land on the sea-shore, and end the days of Azatlan forever." " Forever ! " said the unhappy monarch. " No, no } Read the next writing." " There is no other ; this is the last." The eastern, southern, and western walls had been suc cessively passed, and interpreted. ]S T ow the king turned to the northern wall : it was blank ! His eyes flashed, and he almost shouted, " Liar ! Quetzal' may come to-morrow, but it will be as friend. There is no curse ! " The paba humbled himself before the speaker, and said, slowly and tearfully, " The wise king is blinded by his hope. When Quetzal' finished this chapter, his task was done ; he had recorded the last day of perfect glory, and ceased to write because, Azatlan being now to perish, there was noth ing more to record. unhappy king ! that is the curse, and it needed no writing ! " Montezuma shook with passion. " Lead me hence, lead me hence ! " he cried. " I will \ratch ; and if Quetzal' comes not on the morrow, conies not during the celebration, I swear to level this temple, and let the lake into its chambers ! And yoii, paba though you be, I will drown you like a slave ! Lead on ! " Mualox obeyed without a word. Lamp in hand, he led his visitors from the splendid chamber up to the azoteas of the ancient house. As they descended the eastern steps, he inelt, and kissed the pavement. A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN. 39 CHAPTER YIIL A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN. OLI, the Chalcan, was supposed to be the richest cit* /v zen, exclusive of the nobles, in Tenochtitlan. Amongst other properties, he owned a house on the eastern side of the Tlateloco tianguez, or market-place ; which, whether con sidered architecturally, or with reference to the business to which it was devoted, or as the device of an unassoilzied heathen, was certainly very remarkable. Its portico had six great columns of white marble alternating six others of green porphyry, with a roof guarded by a parapet intricately and tastefully carved ; while cushioned lounges, heavy curtains festooned and flashing with cochineal, and a fountain of water pure enough for the draught of a king, all within the columns, perfected it as a retreat from the sultry summer sun. The house thus elegantly garnished was not a meson, or a cafe, or a theatre, or a broker's office ; but rather a combina tion of them all, and therefore divided into many apart ments ; of which one was for the sale of beverages favorite among the wealthy and noble Aztecs, Bacchic inventions, with pulque for chief staple, since it had the sanction of antiquity and was mildly intoxicating ; another was a res taurant, where the cuisine was only excelled at the royal table ; indeed, there was a story abroad that the king had several times borrowed the services of the Chalcan's artistes; but, whether derived from the master or his slaves, the shrewd reader will conclude from it, that the science of advertising was known and practised as well in Tenochtitlan as in Madrid. ISTor were these all. Under the same roof were rooms for the amusement of 40 THE FAIR GOD. patrons, for reading, smoking, and games ; one in especial for a play of hazard called totoloque, then very popular, be cause a passion of Montezuma's. Finally, as entertainments not prohibited by the teotuctli, a signal would, at any time, summon a minstrel, a juggler, or a dancing-girl. Hardly need I say that the establishment was successful. Always ringing with music, and of nights always resplendent with lamps, it was always overflowing with custom. " So old Tepaja wanted you to be a merchant," said the Cbalcan, in his full, round voice, as, comfortably seated under the curtains of his portico, he smoked his pipe, and talked with our young friend, the Tihuancan. " Yes. Now that he is old, he thinks war dangerous." " You mistake him, boy. He merely thinks with me, that there is something more real in wealth and many slaves. As he has grown older, he has grown wiser." " As you will. I could not be a merchant." " Whom did you think of serving 1 " " The 'tzin Guatamo." * " I know him. He comes to my portico sometimes, but not to borrow money. You see, I frequently act as broker, and take deposits from the merchants and securities from the spendthrift nobles ; he, however, has no vices. When not with the army, he passes the time in study ; though they do say he goes a great deal to the palace to make love to the princess. And now that I reflect, I doubt if you can get place with him." " Why so 1 " " Well, he keeps no idle train, and the time is very quiet If he were going to the frontier it would be different." " Indeed ! " " You see, boy, he is the bravest man and best fighter in * 'Tzin was a title eqiiivalent to lord in English. Guatanwtvin, as compounded, signifies Lord Ouatamo. A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN. 41 the army ; and the sensible fellows of moderate skill and ambition have no fancy for the hot place in a fight, which is generally where he is." " The discredit is not to him, by Our Mother ! " said Hualpa, laughing. The broker stopped to cherish the fire in his pipe, an act which the inexperienced consider wholly incompatible' with the profound reflection he certainly indulged. When next he spoke, it was with smoke wreathing his round face, ^s white clouds sometimes wreathe the full moon. " About an hour ago a fellow came here, and said he had neard that IztliT, the Tezcucan, had challenged the 'tzin to go into the arena with him to-morrow. Not a bad thing lor the god Quetzal', if all I hear be true ! " Again the pipe, and then the continuation. " You see, when the combat was determined on, there happened to be in the temples two Othmies and two Tlas- calans, warriors of very great report. As soon as it became known that, by the king's choice, they were the challengers, the young fellows about the palace shunned the sport, and there was danger that the god would find himself without a champion. To avoid such a disgrace, the 'tzin was coming here to-night to hang his shield in the portico. If he and the Tezcucan both take up the fight, it will be a great day indeed." The silence that ensued was broken by the hunter, whom the gossip had plunged into revery. " I pray your pardon, Xoli ; but you said, I think, that the lords hang back from the danger. Can any one volunteer ? " " Certainly ; any one who is a warrior, and is in time. Are you of that mind ? " The Chalcan took down the pipe, and looked at .him ear nestly. " If I had the arms " THE FAIR GOD. " But you know nothing about it, not even how such combats are conducted ! " The broker was now astonished. " Listen to me," he said. " These combats are always in honor of some one or more of the Aztecan gods, generally of HuitziT, god of war. They used to be very simple af fairs. A small platform of stone, of the height of a man, was put up in the midst of the tianguez, so as to be seen by the people standing around; and upon it, in pairs, the champions fought their duels. This, however, was too plain to suit the tastes of the last Montezuma ; and he changed the ceremony into a spectacle really honorable and great. Now, the arena is first prepared, a central space in a great many rows of seats erected so as to rise one above the other. At the proper time, the people, the priests, and the soldiers go in and take possession of their allotted places. Some time previous, the quarters of the prisoners taken in battle are examined, and two or more of the best of the warriors found there are chosen by the king, and put in training for the occasion. They are treated fairly, and are told that, if they fight and win, they shall be crowned as heroes, and returned to their tribes. No need, I think, to tell you how brave men fight when stimulated by hope of glory and hope of life. When chosen, their names are published, and their shields hung up in a portico on the other side of the square yonder ; after which they are understood to be the challeng ers of any equal number of warriors who dare become champions of the god or gods in whose honor the celebra tion is had. Think of the approved skill and valor of the foe ; think of the thousands who will be present ; think of your own inexperience in war, and of your youth, youi stature hardly gained, your muscles hardly matured ; think of everything tending to weaken your chances of success, and then speak to me." A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN. 43 Hualpa met the sharp gaze of the Chalcan steadily, and answered, " I am thought to have some skill with the bow and maquakuitl. Get me the opportunity, and I will fight." And Xoli, "who was a sincere friend, reflected awhile. "There is peril in the undertaking, to be sure; but then he is resolved to be a warrior, and if he survives, it is glory at once gained, fortune at once made." Then he arose, and, smiling, said aloud, " Let us go to the portico. If the list be not full, you shall have the arms, yes, by the Sun ! as the lordly Aztecs swear, the very best in Tenochtitlan." And they lifted the curtains, and stepped into the tian- guez* The light of the fires on the temples was hardly more in strength than the shine of the moon ; so that torches had to be set up at intervals over the celebrated square. On an ordinary occasion, with a visitation of forty thousand busy buyers and sellers, it was a show of merchants and mer chantable staples worthy the chief mart of an empire so notable ; but now, drawn by the double attraction of market and celebration, the multitude that thronged it was trebly greater ; yet the order was perfect. An officer, at the head of a patrol, passed them with a prisoner. " Ho, Chalcan ! If you would see justice done, follow me." "Thanks, thanks, good friend; I have been before the judges too often already." So the preservation of the peace was no mystery. The friends made way slowly, giving the Tihuancan time to gratify his curiosity. He found the place like a great national fair, in which few branches of industry were unrep resented. There were smiths who worked in the coarser * The great market-place or square of Tlateloco. The Spaniards called it tianguez. For description, see Prescott, Conq. of Mexico, Vol. II., Book IV. Benial Diaz's Work, Hist, de la Conq. 44 THE FAIR GOD. metals, and jewellers skilful as those of Europe ; there were makers and dealers in furniture, and sandals, and plumaje ; at one place men were disposing of fruits, flowers, and vege tables ; not far away fishermen boasted their stock caught that day in the fresh waters of Chalco ; tables of pastry and maize bread were set next the quarters of the hunters of Xilotepec ; the armorers, clothiers, and dealers in cotton were each of them a separate host. In no land where a science has been taught or a book written have the fine arts been dishonored ; and so in the great market of Tenochtit- lan there were no galleries so rich as those of the painters, nor was any craft allowed such space for their exhibitions as the sculptors. They halted an instant before a porch full of slaves. A rapid glance at the miserable wretches, and Xoli said, piti lessly, " Bah ! Mictlan has many such. Let us go." Farther on they came to a platform on which a band of mountebanks was performing. Hualpa Avould have stayed to witness their tableaux, but Xoli was impatient. " You see yon barber's shop," he said ; " next to it is the portico we seek. Come on ! " At last they arrived there, and mixed with the crowd curious like themselves. " Ah, boy, you are too late ! The list is full." The Chalcan spoke regretfully. Hualpa looked for himself. On a clear white wall, that fairly glistened with the flood of light pouring upon it, he counted eight shields, or gages of battle. Over the four to the left were picture-written, " Othmies," " Tlascalans." They belonged to the challengers, and were battered and stained, proving that their gathering had been in no field of peace. The four to the right were of the Aztecs, and all bore de vices except one. A sentinel stood sileritly beneath them. w Welcome, Chalcan ! " said a citizen, saluting the broker. A BUSINESS MAN IN TENOCHTITLAN. 45 " You are in good time to tell us the owners of the shields here." " Of the Aztecs ? " Yes." " Well," said Xoli, slowly and gravely. " The shields I do not know are few and of little note. At one time or another I have seen them all pass my oortico going to battle." A bystander, listening, whispered to his friends, " The braggart ! He says nothing of the times the owners passed his door to get a pinch of his snuff." " Or to get drunk on his abominable pulque" said another. " Or to get a loan, leaving their palaces in pawn," said a third party. But Xoli went on impressively, " Those two to the left belong to a surly Otompan and a girl-faced Cholulan. They had a quarrel in the king's gar den, and this is the upshot. That other, surely, citizens, you know the shield of IztliT, the Tezcucan 1 " " Yes ; but its neighbor ? " " The plain shield ! Its owner has a name to win. I can find you enough such here in the market to equip an army. Say, soldier, whose gage is that ? " The sentinel shook his head. " A page came not long ago, and asked me to hang it up by the side of the Tezcucan's. He said not whom he served." " Well, maybe you know the challengers." " Two of the shields belong to a father and son of the tribe of Othmies. In the last battle the son alone slew eight Cernpoallan warriors for us. Tlascalans, whose names I do Hot know, own the others." " Do you think they will escape 1 " asked a citizen. The sentinel smiled grimly, and said, " Not if it be true that yon plain shield belongs to Guatamo, the 'tzin." 46 THE FAIR GOD. Directly a patrol, rudely thrusting the citizens aside, came to relieve the guard. In the confusion, the Chalcan whis pered to his friend, " Let us go back. There is no chance for you in the arena to-morrow ; and this new fellow is sul len ; his tongue would not wag though I promised him drink from the king's vase." Soon after they reached the Chalcan's portico and disap peared in the building, the cry of the night-watchers arose from the temples, and the market was closed. The great crowd vanished ; in stall and portico the lights were extin guished ; but at once another scene equally tumultuous usurped the tianguez. Thousands of half-naked tamanes rushed into the deserted place, and all night long it re sounded, like a Babel, with clamor of tongues, and notes of mighty preparation. THE QUESTIONER OP THE MORNING. ~Y~YT"HEN Montezuma departed from the old Cu for his V V palace, it was not to sleep or rest. The revelation that so disturbed him, that held him wordless on the street, and made him shrink from his people, wild with the promise of pomp and combat, would not be shut out by gates and guards ; it clung to his memory, and with him stood by the fountain, walked in the garden, and laid down on his couch. Royalty had no medicine for the trouble ; he was restless as a fevered slave, and at times muttered prayers, pronouncing no name but Quetzal's. When the morning approached, he called Maxtla, and bade him get ready his canoe : from Chapultepec, the palace and tomb of his fathers, he would see the sun rise. THE QUESTIONER OF THE MORNING. 47 From one of the westerly canals they put out. The lake was still rocking the night on its bosom, and no light other than of the stars shone in the east. The gurgling sound of waters parted by the rushing vessel, and the regular dip of the paddles, were all that disturbed the brooding of majesty abroad thus early on Tezcuco. The canoe struck the white pebbles that strewed the land ing at the princely property just as dawn was dappling the sky. On the highest point of the hill there was a tower from which the kings were accustomed to observe the stars. Thither Montezuma went. Maxtla, who alone dared follow, spread a mat for him on the tiles ; kneeling upon it, and folding his hands worshipfully upon his breast, he looked to the east. And the king was learned ; indeed, one more so was not in all his realm. In his student days, and in Ms priest hood, before he was taken from sweeping the temple to be arch-Hder, he had gained astrological craft, and yet practised it from habit. The heavens,' with their blazonry, were to him as pictured parchments. He loved the stars for their sublime mystery, and had faith in them as oracles. He con sulted them always ; his armies marched at their bidding ; and they and the gods controlled every movement of his civil polity. But as he had never before been moved by so great a trouble, and as the knowledge he now sought directly concerned his throne and nations, he came to consult and question the Morning, that intelligence higher and purer than the stars. If Quetzal' was angered, and would that day land for vengeance, he naturally supposed the Sun, his dwelling-place, would give some warning. So he came seek ing the mood of the god from the Sun. And while he knelt, gradually the gray dawn melted into purple and gold. The stars went softly out. Long rays, like radiant spears, shot up and athwart the sky. As the in- 48 THE FAIR GOD. dications multiplied, his hopes arose. Farther back he threw the hood from his brow ; the sun seemed coming clear and cloudless above the mountains, kindling his heart no less than the air and earth. A wide territory, wrapped in the tarn light, extended be neath his feet. There slept Tenochtitlan, with her shining temples and blazing towers, her streets and resistless nation ality ; there were the four lakes, with their blue waters, their shores set with cities, villages and gardens ; beyond them lay eastern Anahuac, the princeliest jewel of the Empire. What with its harvests, its orchards, and its homesteads, its forests of oak, sycamore, and cedar, its population busy, happy, and faithful, contented as tillers of the soil, and brave as lions in time of need, it was all of Aden he had ever known or dreamed. In the southeast, above a long range of mountains, rose the volcanic peaks poetized by the Aztecs into " The White Woman"* and "The Smoking HilL"t Mythologf had covered them with sanctifying faith, as, in a different age and more classic clime, it clothed the serene mountain of Thessaly. But the king saw little of all this beauty ; he observed nothing but the sun, which was rising a few degrees north of " The Smoking Hill." In all the heavens round there was not a fleck ; and already his heart throbbed with de light, when suddenly a cloud of smoke rushed upward from the mountain, and commenced gathering darkly about its white summit. Quick to behold it, he scarcely hushed a cry of fear, and instinctively waved his hand, as if, by a kingly gesture, to stay the eruption. Slowly the vapor crept over the roseate sky, and, breathless and motionless, the seeker of the god's mood and questioner of the Morning watched its progress. Across the pathway of the sun it stretched, S6 * Iztaccihuatl. f Popocatepetl. THE QUESTIONER OF THE MORNING. 49 that when the disk wheeled fairly above the mountain- range, it looked like a ball of blood. The king was a reader of picture-writing, and skilful in deducing the meaning of men from cipher and hieroglyph. Straightway he interpreted the phenomenon as a direful por tent ; and because he came looking for omens, the idea that this was a message sent him expressly from the gods was but a right royal vanity. He drew the hood over his face again, and drooped his head disconsolately upon his breast. His mind filled with a host of gloomy thoughts. The rev elation of Mualox was prophecy here confirmed, Quet zal' was coming ! Throne, power, people, all the glo ries of his country and Empire, he saw snatched from his nerveless grasp, and floating away, like the dust of the valley. After a while he arose to depart. One more look he gave the sun before descending from the roof, and shuddered at the sight of city, lake, valley, the cloud itself, and the sky above it, all colored with an ominous crimson. " Behold ! " he said, tremulously, to Maxtla, " to-day we will sacrifice to Quetzal' : how long until Quetzal' sacrifices to himself]" The chief cast down his eyes ; for he knew how dangerous it was to look on royalty humbled by fear. Then Monte- zuma shaded his face again, and left the proud old hill, with a sigh for its palaces and the beauty of its great cypress- groves. 50 THE FAIR GOD. CHAPTEE X. GOING TO THE COMBAT. AS the morning advanced, the city grew fully animate, A festal spirit was abroad, seeking display in masks, mimes, and processions. Jugglers performed on the street- corners ; dancing-girls, with tambours, and long elf-locks dressed in flowers, possessed themselves of the smooth side walks. Very plainly, the evil omen of the morning affected the king more than his people. The day advanced clear and beautiful. In the eastern sky the smoke of the volcano still lingered ; but the sun rose above it, and smiled on the valley, like a loving god. At length the tambour in the great temple sounded the signal of assemblage. Its deep tones, penetrating every recess of the town and rushing across the lake, were heard in the villages on the distant shores. Then, in steady cur rents, the multitudes set forward for the lianguez. The chinampas were deserted ; hovels and palaces gave up their tenantry ; canoes, gay with garlands, were abandoned in the waveless canals. The women and children came down from the roofs ; from all the temples all but the old one with the solitary gray tower and echoless court poured the priesthood in processions, headed by chanting choirs, and interspersed with countless sacred symbols. Many were the pomps, but that of the warriors surpassed all others. March ing in columns of thousands, they filled the streets with flashing arms and gorgeous regalia, roar of attabals and peals of minstrelsy. About the same time the royal palanquin stood at tho GOING TO THE COMBAT. 51 palace portal, engoldened, jewelled, and surmounted with a panache of green plumes. Cuitlahua, Cacama, Maxtla, and the lords of Tlacopan, Tepejaca, and Cholula, with other nobles from the provinces far and near, were collected about it in waiting, sporting on their persons the wealth of princi palities. When the monarch came out, they knelt, and every one of them placed his palm on the ground before him. On the last stone at the portal he stopped, and raised his eyes to the sky. A piece of aguave, fluttering like a leaf, fell so near him that he reached out his hand and caught it. " Read it, my lords," he said, after a moment's study. The paper contained only the picture of an eagle attacked by an owl, and passed from hand to hand. Intent on de ciphering the writing, none thought of inquiring whether its coming was of design or accident. " What does it mean, my lord Cacama ? " asked the mon arch, gravely. Cacama's eyes dropped as he replied, " When we write of you, king, we paint an eagle ; When we write of the 'tzin Guatamo, we paint an owl." " What ! " said the lord Cuitlahua, " would the 'tzin attack his king 1 " And the monarch looked from one to the other strangely, saying only, " The owl is the device on his shield." Then he entered the palanquin ; whereupon some of the nobles lilted it on their shoulders, and the company, in procession, set out for the tianguez. On the way they were joined by Iztlil', the Tezcucan ; and it was remarkable that, of them all, he was the only one silent about the paper. The Iztapalapan street, of great width, and on both sides lined with gardens, palaces, and temples, was not only the boast of Tenochtitlan ; its beauty was told in song and story 52 THE FAIR GOD. throughout the Empire. The signal of assemblage for the day's great pastime found Xoli and his provincial friend lounging along the broad pave of the beautiful thoroughfare. They at once started for the tianguez. The broker was fat, and it was troublesome for him to keep pace with the hunter ; nevertheless, they overtook a party of iamanes going in the same direction, and bearing a palanquin richly caparisoned. The slaves, very sumptuously clad, proceeded slowly and with downcast eyes, and so steadily that the carriage had the onward, gliding motion of a boat. " Lower, down, boy ! See you not the green panache? " whispered Xoli, half frightened. Too late. The Chalcan, even as he whispered, touched the pavement, but Hualpa remained erect : not only that ; he looked boldly into the eyes of the occupants of the palan quin, two women, whose beauty shone upon him like a sud den light. Then he bent his head, and his heart closed upon the recollection of what he saw so that it never escaped. The picture was of a girl, almost a woman, laughing ; opposite her, and rather in the shade of the fringed curtain, one older, though young, and grave and stately ; her hair black, her face oval, her eyes large and lustrous. To her he made his involuntary obeisance. Afterwards she reminded many a Spaniard of the dark-eyed hermosura with whom he had left love-tokens in his native land. "They are the king's daughters, the princesses Tula and Nenetzin," said Xoli, when fairly past the carriage. " And as you have just come up from the country, listen. Green is the royal color, and belongs to the king's family ; and wherever met, in the city or on the lake, the people salute it. Though what they meet be but a green feather in a slave's hand, they salute. Eemember the lesson. By the way, the gossips say that Guatamozin will marry Tula, the eldest one." GOING TO THE COMBAT. 53 " She is very beautiful," said the hunter, as to himself, and slackening his steps. " Are you mad 1 " cried the broker, seizing his arm. " Would you bring the patrol upon us ? They are not for sucli as you. Come on. It may be we can get seats to see the king and his whole household." At the entrance to the arena there was a press which the police could hardly control. In the midst of it, Xoli pulled his companion to one side, saying, " The king comes ! Let us under the staging here until he passes." They found themselves, then, close by the spears, which, planted in the ground, upheld the shields of the combatants ; and when the Tihuancan heard the people, as they streamed in, cheer the champions of the god, he grieved sorely that he was not one of them. The heralds then came up, clearing the way ; and all there about knelt, and so received the monarch. He stopped to inspect the shields ; for in all his realm there was not one better versed in its heraldry. A diadem, not unlike the papal tiara, crowned his head ; his tunic and cloak were of the skins of green humming-birds brilliantly iridescent ; a rope of pearls large as grapes hung, many times doubled, from his neck down over his breast ; his sandals and sandal- thongs were embossed with gold, and besides anklets of massive gold, cuishes of the same metal guarded his legs from knee to anklet. Save the transparent, lustrous gray of the pearls, his dress was of the two colors, green and yellow, and the effect was indescribably royal ; yet all the bravery of his trappings could not hide from Hualpa, beholding him for the first time, that, like any common soul, he was suffering from some trouble of mind. " So, Cacama," he said, pleasantly, after a look at the gages, " your brother has a mind to make peace with the gods It is well ! " 54 THE FAIR GOD. And thereupon Iztlil' himself stepped out and knelt before him in battle array, the javelin in his hand, and bow, quiver, and maquahuitl at his back ; and in his homage the floating feathers of his helm brushed the dust from the royal feet. " It is well ! " repeated the king, smiling. " But, son of ;my friend, where are your comrades 1 " Tlahua, the Otompan, and the young Cholulan, equipped like Iztlil', rendered their homage also. Over their heads he extended his hands, and said, softly, " They who love the gods, the gods love. Put your trust in them, my children ! And upon you be their blessing ! " And already he had passed the spears : one gage was for-, gotten, one combatant unblessed. Suddenly he looked back " Whose shield is that, my lords 1 " All eyes rested upon the plain gage, but no one replied. " Who is he that thus mocks the holy cause of Quetzal' 1 Go, Maxtla, and bring him to me ! " Then outspake Iztlil'. " The shield is Guatamozin's. Last night he challenged me to this combat, and he is not here. king, the owl may be looking for the eagle." A moment the sadly serene countenance of the monarch knit and flushed as from a passing pain ; a moment he re garded the Tezcucan. Then he turned to the shields of the Othmies and Tlascalans. " They are a sturdy foe, and I warrant will fight hard," he said, quietly. " But such victims are the delight of the gods. Fail me not, children ! " When the Tihuancan and his chaperone climbed half-way to the upper row of seats, in the quarter assigned to the peo ple, the former was amazed. He looked down on a circulai arena, strewn with white sand from the lake, and large enough for manoeuvring half a thoxisand men. It was bounded by a rope, outside of which was a broad margin crowded with GOING TO THE COMBAT. 55 rank on rank of common soldiery, whose shields were ar ranged before them like a wall impervious to a glancing arrow. Back from the arena extended the staging, rising gradually seat above seat, platform above platform, until the whole area of the tianguez was occupied. " Is the king a magician, that he can do this thing in a single night 1 " asked Hualpa. Xoli laughed. " He has done many things much greater. The timbers you see were wrought long ago, and have been lying in the temples ; the tamanes had only to bring them out and put them together." In the east there was a platform, carpeted, furnished with lounges, and protected from the sun by a red canopy ; broad passages of entrance separated it from the ruder structure erected for the commonalty ; it was also the highest of the platforms, so that its occupants could overlook the whole amphitheatre. This lordlier preparation belonged to the king, his household and nobles. So, besides his wives and daugh ters, under the red canopy sat the three hundred women of his harem, soft testimony that Orientalism dwelt not alone in the sky and palm-trees of the valley. As remarked, the margin around the arena belonged to the soldiery ; the citizens had seats in the north and south ; while the priesthood, superior to either of them in sanctity of character, sat aloof in the west, also screened by a canopy. And, as the celebration was regarded in the light of a relig ious exercise, not only did women crowd the place, but mothers brought their children, that, from the examples of the arena, they might learn to be warriors. Upon the appearance of the monarch there was a perfect calm. Standing awhile by his couch, he looked over the scene ; and not often has royal vision been better filled with all that constitutes royalty. Opposite him he saw the servi tors of his religion ; at his feet were his warriors and people 56 THE FAIR GOD. almost innumerable. When, at last, the minstrels of the soldiery poured their wild music over the theatre, he thrilled with the ecstasy of power. The champions for the god then came in ; and as they strode across to the western side of the arena the air was filled with plaudits and flying garlands ; but hardly was the welcome ended before there was a great hum and stir, as the spectators asked each other why the fourth combatant came not with the others. " The one with the bright panache, asked you 1 That is IztliF, the Tezcucan," said Xoli. " Is he not too fine 1 " " No. Only think of the friends the glitter has made him among the women and children." The Chalcan laughed heartily at the cynicism. " And the broad-shouldered fellow now fixing the thongs of his shield r' " The Otompan, a good warrior. They say he goes to battle with the will a girl goes to a feast. The other is the Cholulan ; he has his renown to win, and is too young." "But he may have other qualities," suggested Hualpa. " I have heard it said that, in a battle of arrows, a quick eye is better than a strong arm." The broker yawned. " Well, I like not those Cholulans. They are proud ; they scorn the other nations, even the Aztecs. Probably it is well they are better priests than soldiers. Under the red canopy yonder I see his father." " Listen, good Xoli. I hear the people talking about the 'tzin ? Where can he be 1 " Just then within the wall of shields there came a warrior, who strode swiftly toward the solitary gage. His array was less splendid than his comrades' ; his helm was of plain leather without ornament ; his escanpil was secured by a simple loop : yet the people knew him, and shouted ; and GOING TO THE COMBAT. 57 when he took down the plain shield and fixed it to his arm, the approbation of the common soldiery arose like a storm. As they bore such shields to battle, he became, as it were, their peculiar representative. It was Guatamozin. And under the royal canopy there was rapid exchange of whispers and looks ; every mind reverted to the paper dropped so mysteriously into the king's hand at the palace door ; and some there were, acuter than the rest, who saw corroboration of the meaning given the writing in the fact that the shield the 'tzin now chose was without the owl, his usual device. Whether the monarch himself was one of them might not be said; his face was as impassive as bronze. Next, the Othmies and Tlascalans, dignified into common challengers of the proudest chiefs of Tenochtitlan, were con ducted into the arena. The Tlascalans were strong men used to battle ; and though, like their companions in danger, at first bewildered by the sudden introduction to so vast a multitude, they became quickly inured to the situation. Of the Oth mies, a more promising pair of gladiators never exhibited before a Roman audience. The father was past the prime of life, but erect, broad-shouldered, and of unusual dignity; the son was slighter, and not so tall, but his limbs were round and beautiful, and he looked as if he might outleap an antelope. The people were delighted, and cheered the challengers with scarcely less heartiness than their own champions. Still, the younger Othmi appeared hesitant, and, when the clamor somewhat abated, the sire touched him, and said, " Does my boy dream 1 What voice is in his ear that his heart is so melted ? Awake J the shield is on the arm of the foe." The young man aroused. " I saw the sun on the green 3* 58 THE FAIR GOD. hills of Othmi. But see ! " he said, proudly, and with flashing eyes, "there is no weakness in the dreamer's arm." And with the words, he seized a bow at his feet, fitted an arrow upon the cord, and, drawing full to the head, sent it cleaving the sunshine far above them. Every eye fol lowed its flight but his own. " The arm, chief, is not stronger than the heart," he added, carelessly dropping the bow. The old warrior gazed at him tenderly ; but as that was no time for the indulgence of affection, he turned to the Tlascalans, and said, " We must be ready : let us arm." Each donned a leathern helm, and wrapped himself in a quilted escaupil ; each buckled the shield on his arm, and tightened the thongs of his sandals. Their arms lay at hand. Such were the preparations for the combat, such the combatants. And as the foemen faced each other, awaiting the signal for the mortal strife, I fancy no Christian has seen anything more beautiful than the theatre. Among the faces the gaze swam as in a sea ; the gleaming of arms and ornaments was bewildering ; while the diversity of colors in the costumes of the vast audience was without comparison. With the exception of the arena, the royal platform was the cynosure. Behind the king, with a shield faced with silver, stood Maxtla, vigilant against treachery or despair. The array of nobles about the couch was imperial ; and what with them, and the dark-eyed beauties of his house- haid, and the canopy tingeing the air and softly undulating above him, and the mighty congregation of siibjects at his feet, it was with Montezuma like a revival of the glory of the Hystaspes. Yet the presence of his power but increased his gloom ; in a short time he heard no music and saw no splendor ; everything reminded him of the last picture on the western wall of the golden chamber. THE COMBAT. 59 CHAPTER XL THE COMBAT. fTlHE champions for the god drew themselves up in the J_ west, while their challengers occupied the east of the arena. This position of parties was the subject of much speculation with the spectators, who saw it might prove a point of great importance if the engagement assumed the form of single combats. Considering age and appearance, the Tlascalans were ad judged most dangerous of the challengers, a palm readily awarded to the Tezcucan and the 'tzin on their side. The common opinion held also, that the Cholulan, the youngest and least experienced of the Aztecs, should have been the antagonist of the elder Othmi, whose vigor was presumed to be affected by his age ; as it was, that combat belonged to Tlahua, the Otompan, while the younger Othmi confronted the Cholulan. And now the theatre grew profoundly still with expec tancy. " The day grows old. Let the signal be given." And so saying, the king waved his hand, and sunk indolently back upon his couch. A moment after there was a burst of martial symphony, and the combat began. It was opened with arrows ; and to determine, if possi ble, the comparative skill of the combatants, the spectators watched the commencement with closest attention. The younger Othmi sent his missile straight into the shield of the Cholulan, who, from precipitation probably, was not so successful. The elder Othmi and hi? antagonist each planted 60 THE FAIR GOD. his arrow fairly, as did Iztlil' and the Tlascalans. But a great outcry of applause attended Guatamozin, when his bolt, flying across the space, buried its barb in the crest of his adversary. A score of feathers, shorn away, floated slowly to the sand. " It was well done ; by Our Mother, it was well done !" murmured Hualpa. " Wait ! " said the Chalcan patronizingly. " "Wait till they come to the maquahmtl ! " Quite a number of arrows were thus interchanged by the parties without effect, as they were always dexterously inter cepted. The passage was but the preluding skirmish, partici pated in by all but the 'tzin, who, after his first shot, stood a little apart from his comrades, and, resting his long bow on the ground, watched the trial with apparent indifference. Like the Chalcan, he seemed to regard it as play ; and the populace after a while fell into the same opinion : there was not enough danger to fully interest them. So there began to arise murmurs and cries, which the Cholulan was the first to observe and interpret. Under an impulse which had rela tion, probably, to his first failure, he resolved to avail him self of the growing feeling. Throwing down his bow, he seized the maquahmtl at his back, and, without a word to his friends, started impetuously across the arena. The peril was great, for every foeman at once turned his arrow against him. Then the 'tzin stirred himself. " The boy is mad, and will die if we do not go with him," he said ; and already his foot was advanced to follow, when the young Othmi sprang forward from the other side to meet the Cholulan. The eagerness lest an incident should be lost became intense ; even the king sat up to see the duel. The theatre rang with cries of encouragement, none, however, so cheery as that of the elder Othmi, whose feelings of paternity were, for the moment, lost in his passion of warrior. THE COMBAT. 61 " On, boy ! Remember the green hills, and the hammock by the stream. Strike hard, strike hard ! " The combatants were apparently well matched, being about equal in height and age ; both brandished the maqua- huitl, the deadliest weapon known to their wars. Wielded by both hands and swung high above the head, its blades of glass generally clove their way to the life. About mid way the arena the foemen met. At the instant of contact the Cholulan brought a downward blow, well aimed, at the head of his antagonist ; but the lithe Othmi, though at full speed, swerved like a bird on the wing. A great shout attested the appreciation of the audience. The Cho lulan wheeled, with his weapon uplifted for another blow ; the action called his left arm into play, and drew his shield from its guard. The Othmi saw the advantage. One step he took nearer, and then, with a sweep of his arm and an upward stroke, he drove every blade deep into the side of his enemy. The lifted weapon dropped in its half-finished circle, the shield flew wildly up, and, with a groan, the vic tim fell heavily to the sand, struggled once to rise, fell back again, and his battles were ended forever. A cry of anguish went out from under the royal canopy. " Hark ! " cried Xoli. " Did you hear the old Cholulan 1 See ! They are leading him from the platform ! " Except that cry, however, not a voice was heard ; from rising apprehension as to the result of the combat, or touched by a passing sympathy for the early death, the multitude was perfectly hushed. " That was a brave blow, Xoli ; but let him beware now ! " ^aid Hualpa, excitedly. And in expectation of instant vengeance, all eyes watched 3 Othmi. Around the arena he glanced, then back to his ends. Retreat would forfeit the honor gained : death 5 preferable. So he knelt upon the breast of his enemy, 62 THE FAIR GOD. and, setting his shield before him, waited sternly and in silence the result. And IztliT and Tlahua launched their arrows at him in quick succession, but Guatamozin was as indifferent as ever. " What ails the 'tzin ? " said Maxtla to the king. " The Othmi is at his mercy." The monarch deigned no reply. The spirit of the old Othmi rose. On the sand behind him, prepared for service, was a dart with three points of copper, and a long cord by which to recover it when once thrown. Catching the weapon up, and shouting, " I am com ing, I am coming ! " he ran to avert or share the danger. The space to be crossed was inconsiderable, yet such his animation that, as he ran, he poised the dart, and exposed his hand above the shield. The 'tzin raised his bow, and let the arrow fly. It struck right amongst the supple joints of the veteran's wrist. The unhappy man stopped bewil dered ; over the theatre he looked, then at the wound ; in despair he tore the shaft out with his teeth, and rushed on till he reached the boy. The outburst of acclamation shook the theatre. " To have seen such archery, Xoli, were worth all the years of a hunter's life ! " said Hualpa. The Chalcan smiled like a connoisseur, and replied, " It is nothing. Wait ! " And now the combat again presented a show of equality. The advantage, if there was any, was thought to be with the Aztecs, since the loss of the Cholulan was not to be weighed against the disability of the Othmi. Thus the populace were released from apprehension, without any abatement of in terest; indeed, the excitement increased, for there was a promise of change in the character of the contest ; from quiet archery was growing bloody action. The Tlascalans, alive to the necessity of supporting their THE COMBAT. 63 friends, advanced to where the Cholulan lay, but more cau tiously. When they were come up, the Othmies both arose, and calmly perfected the front. The astonishment at this was very great. " Brave fellow ! He is worth ten live Cholulans ! " said Xoli. " But now look, boy ! The challengers have advanced half-way ; the Aztecs must meet them." The conjecture was speedily verified. Iztlil' had, in fact, ill brooked the superior skill, or better fortune, of the 'tzin ; the applause of the populace had been worse than wounds to his jealous heart. Till this time, however, he had restrained his passion ; now the foe were ranged as if challenging attack : he threw away his useless bow, and laid his hand on his maquahuitl. " It is not for an Aztec god that we are fighting, com rade ! " he cried to Tlahua. " It is for ourselves. Come, let us show yon king a better war ! " And without waiting, he set on. The Otompan followed, leaving the 'tzin alone. The call had not been to him, and as he was fighting for the god, and the Tezcucan for himself, he merely placed another arrow on his bow, and observed the attack. Leaving the Otompan to engage the Othmies, the fierce Tezcucan assaulted the Tlascalans, an encounter in which there was no equality ; but the eyes of Tenochtitlan were upon him, and at his back was a hated rival. His antago nists each sent an arrow to meet him ; but, as he skilfully caught them on his shield, they, too, betook themselves to the maquahuitl. Right on he kept, until his shield struck theirs ; it was gallantly done, and won a furious outburst from the people. Again Montezuma sat up, momentarily animated. " Ah, my lord Cacama ! " he said, " if your brother's lov were but equal to his courage, I would give him an army." 64 THE FAIR GOD. " All the gods forfend ! " replied the jealous prince. " The viper would recover his fangs." The speed with which he Avent was all that saved Iztlil' from the blades of the Tlascalans. Striking no blow himself, he strove to make way between them, and get behind, so that, facing about to repel his returning onset, their backs would be to the 'tzin. But they were wary, and did not yield. As they pushed against him, one, dropping his more cumbrous weapon, struck him in the breast with a cop per knife. The blow was distinctly seen by the spectators. Hualpa started from his seat. " He has it ; they will finish him now ! No, he recovers. Our Mother, what a blow ! " The Tezcucan disengaged himself, and, maddened by the blood that began to flow down his quilted armor, as saulted furiously. He was strong, quick of eye, and skil ful ; the blades of his weapon gleamed in circles around his head, and resounded against the shields. At length a desperate blow beat down the guard of one of the Tlascalans ; ere it could be recovered, or Iztlil' avail himself of the advan tage, there came a sharp whirring through the air, and an arrow from the 'tzin pierced to the warrior's heart. Up he leaped, dead before he touched the sand. Again Iztlil' heard the acclamation of his rival. "Without a pause, he rushed upon the surviving Tlascalan, as if to bear him down by stormy dint. Meantime, the combat of Tlahua, the Otompan, was not without its difficulties, since it was not singly with the young Othmi. " Mictlan take the old man ! " cried the lord Cuitlahua, bending from his seat. " I thought him done for ; but, see ! he defends, the other fights." And so it was. The Otornpan struck hard, but was dis tracted by the tactics of his foemen : if he aimed at the THE COMBAT. 65 younger, both their shields warded the blow ; if he assaulted the elder, he was in turn attacked by the younger ; and so, without advantage to either, their strife continued until the fall of the Tlascalan. Then, inspired by despairing valor, the boy threw down his maquahuitl, and endeavored to push aside the Otompan's shield. Once within its guard, the knife would finish the contest. Tlahua retreated ; but the foe clung to him, one wrenching at his shield, the other in tercepting his blows, and both carefully avoiding the deadly archery of the 'tzin, who, seeing the extremity of the danger, started to the rescue. All the people shouted, " The 'tzin, the 'tzin ! " Xoli burst into ecstasy, and clapped his hands. " There he goes ! Now look for something ! " The rescuer went as a swift wind ; but the clamor had been as a warning to the young Othmi. By a great effort he tore away the Otompan's shield. In vain the latter struggled. There was a flash, sharp, vivid, like the sparkle of the sun upon restless waters. Then his head drooped forward, and he staggered blindly. Once only the death-stroke was repeated ; and so still was the multitude that the dull sound of the knife driving home was heard. The 'tzin was too late. The prospect for the Aztecs was now gloomy. The Cholu- lan and Otompan were dead ; the Tezcucan, wounded and bleeding, was engaged in a doubtful struggle with the Tlas calan ; the 'tzin was the last hope of his party. Upon him devolved the fight with the Othmies. In the interest thus excited Iztlil's battle was forgotten. Twice had the younger Othmi been victor, and still he was scathless. Instead of the maquahuitl, he was now armed with the javelin, which, while effective as a dart, was excel lent to repel assault. From the crowded seats of the theatre not a sound was heard. At no time had the excitement risen to such a pitch. 66 THE FAIR GOD. Breathless and motionless, the spectators awaited the advance of the 'tzin. He was, as I have said, a general favorite, be loved by priest and citizen, and with the wild soldiery an object of rude idolatry. And if, under the royal canopy there were eyes that looked not lovingly upon him, there were lips there murmuring soft words of prayer for his success. When within a few steps of the waiting Othmies, he halted. They glared at him an instant in silence ; then the old chief said tauntingly, and loud enough to be heard above the noise of the conflict at his side, " A woman may wield a bow, and from a distance slay a warrior ; but the maquahuifl is heavy in the hand of the coward, looking in the face of his foeman." The Aztec made no answer ; he was familiar with the wile. Looking at the speaker as if against him he intended his first attack, with right hand back he swung the heavy weapon above his shoulder till it sung in quickening circles ; when its force was fully collected, he suddenly hurled it from him. The old Othmi crouched low behind his shield : but his was not the form in the 'tzin's eyes ; for right in the centre of the young victor's guard the flying danger struck. Jfor arm nor shield might bar its way. The boy was lifted sheer above the body of the Otompan, and driven backward as if shot from a catapult. Guatamozin advanced no further. A thrust of his javelin would have disposed of the old Othmi, now unarmed and help less. The acclamation of the audience, in which was blent the shrill voices of women, failed to arouse his passion. The sturdy chief arose from his crouching ; he looked for the boy to whom he had so lately spoken of home ; he saw him lying outstretched, his face in the sand, and his shield, so often bound with wreaths and garlands, twain-broken beneath him ; and his will, that in the fight had been tougher than THE COMBAT. 67 the gold of his bracelets, gave way ; forgetful of all else, he ran, and, with a great cry, threw himself upon the body. The Chalcan was as exultant as if the achievement had been his own. Even the prouder souls under the red canopy yielded their tardy praise ; only the king was silent. As none now remained of the challengers but the Tlascalan occupied with Iztlil', none whom he might in honor engage, Guatamozin moved away from the Othmies ; and as he went, once he allowed his glance to wander to the royal plat form, but with thought of love, not wrong. The attention of the people was again directed to the combat of the Tezcucan. The death of his comrades nowise daunted the Tlascalan; he rather struck the harder for revenge ; his shield was racked, the feathers in his crest torn away, while the blades were red with his blood. Still it fared but ill with Iztlil' fighting for himself. His wound in the breast bled freely, and his equipments were in no bet ter plight than his antagonist's. The struggle was that of the hewing and hacking which, whether giving or taking, soon exhausts the strongest frame. At last, faint with loss of blood, he went down. The Tlascalan attempted to strike a final blow, but darkness rushed upon him ; he staggered, the blades sunk into the sand, and he rolled beside his enemy. With that the combat was done. The challengers might not behold their " land of bread " again ; nevermore for them was hammock by the stream or echo of tambour amongst the hills. And all the multitude arose and gave way to their rejoic ing ; they embraced each other, and shouted and sang ; the pabas waved their ensigns, and the soldiers saluted with voice and pealing shells ; and up to the sun ascended the name of Quetzal' with form and circumstance to soften the mood of the most demanding god; but all th time the 68 THE FAIR GOD. audience saw only the fortunate hero, standing so calmly before them, the dead at his feet, and the golden light about him. And the king was happy as the rest, and talked gayly, caring little for the living or the dead. The combat was over, and Quetzal' not come. Mualox was a madman, not a prophet; the Aztecs had won, and the god was propiti ated : so the questioner of the Morning flattered himself ! " If the Othmi cannot fight, he can serve for sacrifice. Let him be removed. And the dead But hold ! " he cried, and his cheeks blanched with mortal pallor. " Who comes yonder 1 Look to the arena, nay, to the people ! By my father's ashes, the paba shall perish ! White hairs and prophet's gifts shall not save him." While the king was speaking, Mualox, the keeper of the temple, rushed within the wall of shields. His dress was disordered, and he was bareheaded and unsandalled. Over his shoulders and down his breast flowed his hair and beard, tangled and unkempt, wavy as a billow and white as the foam. Excitement flashed from every feature ; and far as his vision ranged, in every quarter, on every platform, in the blood of others he kindled his own unwonted passion. CHAPTER XII. MUALOX AND HIS WORLD. MUALOX, after the departure of the king and 'tzin, ascended the tower of the old Cu, and remained there all night, stooped beside the sacred fire, sorrowing and dream ing, hearkening to the voices of the city, or watching the mild- eyed stars. So the morning found him. He, too, beheld the coming of the sun, and trembled when the. Smoking Hill MUALOX AND HIS WOULD. 69 sent up its cloud. Then he heaped fresh fagots on the dying fire, and went down to the court-yard. It was the hour when in all the other temples worshippers came to pray. He took a lighted lamp from a table in his cell, and fol lowed a passage on deeper into the building. The way, like that to the golden chamber, was intricate and bewildering. Before a door at the foot of a flight of steps he stopped. A number of earthen jars and ovens stood near ; while from the room to which the door gave entrance there came a strong, savory perfume, very gratefvd to the sense of a hungry man. Here was the kitchen of the ancient house. The paba went in. This was on a level with the water of the canal at the south base ; and when the good man came out, and descended another stairway, he was in a hall, which, though below the canal, was dusty and perfectly dry. Down the hall further he came to a doorway in the floor, or rather an aperture, which had at one time been covered and hidden by a pon derous flag-stone yet lying close by. A rope ladder was coiled up on the stone. Flinging the ladder through the door, he heard it rattle on the floor beneath ; then he stooped, and called, " Tecetl, Tecetl ! " IS"o one replied. He repeated the call. " Poor child ! She is asleep," he said, in a low voice. " I will go down without her." Leaving the lamp above, he committed himself to the unsteady rope, like one accustomed to it. Below all was darkness ; but, pushing boldly on, he suddenly flung aside a curtain which had small silver bells in the fringing ; and, ushered by the tiny ringing, he stepped into a chamber lighted and full of beauty, a grotto carven with infinite labor from the bed-rock of the lake. And here, in the day mourned by the paba, when the 70 THE FAIR GOD. temple was honored, and its god had worshippers, and the name of Quetzal' was second to no other, not even Huitzil's, must have been held the secret conclaves of the priesthood, so great were the dimensions of the cham ber, and so far was it below the roll of waters. But now it might be a place for dwelling, or for thought and dreaming, or for pleasure, or in which the eaters of the African lotus might spend their hours and days of semi-consciousness sounding of a life earthly yet purely spiritual. There were long aisles for walking, and couches for rest ; there were pictures, flowers, and a fountain ; the walls and ceiling glowed with frescoing ; and wherever the eye turned it rested upon some cunning device intended to instruct, gladden, comfort, and content. Lamplight streamed into every corner, ill supplying the perfect sunshine, yet serving its grand pur pose. The effect was more than beautiful. The world above was counterfeited, so that one ignorant of the original and dwelling in the counterfeit could have been happy all his life long. Scarcely is it too much to say of the master who designed and finished the grotto, that, could he have borrowed the materials of nature, he had the taste and genius to set a star with the variety and harmony that mark the setting of the earth's surface, and of themselves prove its Creator divine. In the enchantment of the place there was a peculiarity indicative of a purpose higher than mere enjoyment, and that was the total absence of humanity in the host of things visible. Painted on the ceiling and walls were animals of almost every kind common to the clime ; birds of wondrous plumage darted hither and thither, twittering and singing ; there, also, were flowers the fairest and most fragrant, and orange and laurel shrubs, and pines and cedars and oaks, and other trees of the forest, dwarfed, and arranged for conven ient carriage to the azoteas; in the pictures, moreover, were MUALOX AND HIS WORLD. 71 the objects most remarkable in the face of nature, rivers, woods, plains, mountains, oceans, the heavens in storm and calm ; but nowhere was the picture of man, woman, or child. In the frescoing were houses and temples, grouped as in hamlets and cities, or standing alone on a river's bank, or in the shadow of great trees ; but of their habitants and build ers there was not a trace. In fine, the knowledge there taught was that of a singular book. A mind receiving im pressions, like a child's, would be carried by it far enough in the progressive education of life to form vivid ideas of the world, and yet be left in a dream of unintelligence to people it with fairies, angels, or gods. Almost everything had there a representation but humanity, the brightest fallen nature. Mualox entered as one habituated to the chamber. The air was soft, balmy, and pleasant, and the illumination mel lowed, as if the morning were shut out hy curtains of gos samer tinted with roses and gold. Near the centre of the room he came to a fountain of water crystal clear and in full play, the jet shooting from a sculptured stone up almost to the ceiling. Around it were tables, ottomans, couches, and things of vertu, such as would have adorned the palace ; there, also, were vases of flowers, culled and growing, and of such color and perfume as would have been estimable in Cholula, and musical instrument, and pencils and paints. It was hardly possible that this conception, so like the Eestful World of Brahma, should be without its angel ; for the atmosphere and all were for a spirit of earth or heaven softer than man's. And hy the fountain it was, a soul fresh and pure as the laughing water. The girl of whom I speak was asleep. Her head lay upon a cushion ; over the face, clear and almost white, shone a lambent transparency, which might have "been the reflec tion of the sparkling water. The garments gathered close about her did not conceal the delicacy and childlike grace 72 THE FAIR GOD. of her form. One foot was exposed, and it was bare, small, and nearly lost in the tufted mattress of her couch. Under a profusion of dark hair, covering the cushion like the floss of silk, lay an arm ; a hand, dimpled and soft, rested lightly on her breast. The slumber was very deep, giving the face the expression of dreamless repose, with the promise of, health and happiness upon waking. The paba approached her tenderly, and knelt down. His face was full of holy affection. He bent his cheek close to her parted lips, listening to her breathing. He brought the straying locks back, and laid them across her neck. ISTow and then a bird came and lighted on the table, and he waved his mantle to scare it away. And when the voice of the fountain seemed, under an increased pulsation of the water, to grow louder, he looked around, frowning lest it might dis turb her. She slept on, his love about her like a silent prayer that has found its consummation in perfect peace. And as he knelt, he became sad and thoughtful. The events that were to come, and his faith in their coming, were as actual sorrows. His reflections were like a plea ad dressed to his conscience. " God pardon me, if, after all, I should be mistaken ! The wrong would be so very great as to bar me from the Sun. Is any vanity like that which makes sorrows for our fellows ? And such is not only the vanity of the warrior, and that of the ruler of tribes ; sometimes it is of the priests who go into the temples thinking of things that do not pertain to the gods. What if mine were such 1 " The holy Quetzal' knows that I intended to be kind to the child. I thought my knowledge greater than that of ordinary mortals ; I thought it moved in fields where only the gods walk, sowing wisdom. The same vanity, taking words, told me, ' Look up ! There is no abyss between you and the gods ; they eannot make themselves of the dust, MUALOX AND HIS WORLD. 73 but you can reach their summit almost a god.' And I labored, seeking the principles that would accomplish my dream, if such it were. Heaven forgive me, but I once thought I had found them ! Other men looking out on creation could see nothing but Wisdom Wisdom every where ; but I looked with a stronger vision, and wherever there was a trace of infinite WISDOM, there was also for me an infinite WILL. " Here were the principles, but they were not enough. Something said to me, ' What were the Wisdom and Will of the gods without subjects 1 ' It was a great idea : I thought I stood almost upon the summit ! " And I set about building me a world. I took the treas ure of Quetzal', and collected these marvels, and bought me the labor of art. Weavers, florists, painters, masons, all toiled for me. Gold, labor, and time are here, there is little beauty without them. Here is my world," he said aloud, glancing around the great hall. " I had my world ; next I wanted a subject for my will. But where to go 1 Not among men, alas,- they are their own slaves ! One day I stood in the tianguez where a woman was being sold. A baby in her arms smiled, it might have been at the sunshine, it might have been at me. The mother said, 'Buy.' A light flashed upon me I bought you, my poor child. Men say of the bud, It will be a rose, and of the plant, It will be a tree ; you were so young then that I said, ' It will be a mind.' And into my world I brought you, thinking, as I had made it, so I would make a subject. This, I told you, was your birthplace ; ^,nd here passed your infancy and childhood ; here you have dwelt. Your cheeks are pale, my little one, but full and fresh ; your breath is sweet as the air above a garden ; and you have grown in beauty, knowing nothing living but the birds and me. My will has a sub- 4 74 THE FAIR GOD. ject, Tecetl, and- my heart a child. And judge me, holy Quetzal', if I have not tried to make her happy ! I have given her knowledge of everything but humanity, and ignorance of that is happiness. My world has thus far been a heaven to her ; her dreams have been of it ; I am its god ! " ' And yet unwilling to disturb her slumber, Mualox arose, and walked away. CHAPTER THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL*. r~ BY and by he returned, and standing by the couch, passed his hand several times above her face. Silent as the movements were, she awoke, and threw her arms around his neck. " You have been gone a long while," she said, in a child ish voice. " I waited for you ; but the lamps burned down low, and the shadows, from their hiding among the bushes, came creeping in upon the fountain, and I slept." " I saw you," he answered, playing with her hair. " I saw you; I always see you." " I tried to paint the fountain," she went on ; " but when I watched the water to catch its colors, I thought its singing changed to voices, and, listening to them, they stole my thoughts away. Then I tried to blend my voice with them, and sing as they sung ; but whenever mine sank low enough, it seemed sad, while they went on gayer and more ringing than ever. I can paint the flowers, but not the water ; 1 can sing with the birds, but not with the fountain. But you promised to call me, that you would always call me." " I knew you were asleep." " But you had only to think to waken me," THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL'. 75 He smiled at this acknowledgment of the power of his will. Just then a "bell sounded faintly through the chamber ; hastening away, he shortly returned with breakfast on a great shell waiter ; there were maize bread and honey, quails and chocolate, figs and oranges. Placing them on a table, he rolled up an ottoman for the girl ; and, though she talked much and lightly, the meal was soon over. Then he com posed himself upon the couch, and in the quiet, unbroken save by Tecetl, forgot the night and its incidents. His rest was calm ; when he awoke, she was sitting by the basin of the fountain talking to her birds gleefully as a child. She had given them names, words more of sound pleasant to the oar than of signification ; so she understood the birds, whose varied cries were to her a language. And they were fearless and tame, perching on her hand, and courting her caresses ; while she was as artless, with a knowledge as inno cent, and a nature as happy. If Quetzal' was the paba's idol in religion, she was his idol in affection. He watched her awhile, then suddenly sat up ; though he said not a word, she flung her birds off, and came to him smiling. " You called me, father." He laid his hand upon her shoulder, all overflowed with the dark hair, and said in a low voice, " The time approaches when Quetzal' is to come from the home of the gods ; it may be he is near. I will send you over the sea and the land to find him ; you shall have wings to carry you into the air ; and you shall fly swifter than the birds you have been talk ing to." Her smile deepened. " Have you not told me that Quetzal' is good, and that his voice is like the fountain's, and that when he speaks it is like singing? I am ready." He kissed her, and nearer the basin rolled the couch, upon 76 THE FAIR GOD. which she sat reclined against a heap of cushions, her hands clasped over her breast. " Do not let me be long gone ! " she said. " The lamps will burn low again, and I do not like to have the shadows come and fold up my flowers." The paba took a pearl from the folds of his gown, and laid it before her ; then he sat down, and fixed his eyes upon her face ; she looked at the jewel, and composed herself as for sleep. Her hands settled upon her bosom, her features grew impassive, the lips slowly parted ; gradually her eyelids drooped, and the life running in the veins of her cheeks and forehead went back into her heart. Out of the pearl seemed to issue a spell that stole upon her spirits gently as an atomy settles through the still air. Finally, there was a sigh, a sob, and over the soul of the maiden the will of Mualox became absolute. He took her hand in his. " Wings swifter than the winds are yours, Tecetl. Go," he said, " search for the god ; search the land." She moved not, and scarcely breathed. " Speak," he continued ; " let me know that I am obeyed." The will was absolute ; she spoke, and though at first the words came slowly, yet he listened like a prophet waiting for revelation. She spoke of the land, of its rivers, forests, and mountains ; she spoke of the cities, of their streets and buildings, and of their people, for whom she kuew no name. She spoke of events transpiring in distant provinces, as well as in Tenochtitlan. She went into the temples, markets, and palaces. Wherever men travelled, thither her spirit flew. When the flight was done, and her broken description ceased, the holy man sighed. " Not yet, Tecetl ; he is not found. The god is not on the land. Search the air." And still the will was absolute, though the theme of the changed ; it was not of the land now, but of the higher THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL'. 77 realm ; she spoke of the sunshine and the cloud, of the wind rushing and chill, of the earth far down, and grown so small that the mountains levelled with the plains. " Not yet, not yet," he cried ; " the god is not in the air. Go search the sea ! " In the hollow of his hand he lifted water, and sprinkled her face ; and when he resumed his seat she spoke, not slowly as before, but fast and free. " The land is passed ; behind me are the cities and lakes, and the great houses and blue waters, such as I have seen in my pictures. I am hovering now, father, where there is nothing before me but waves and distance. White birds go skimming about careless of the foam ; the winds pour upon me steadily ; and in my ear is a sound as of a great voice. I listen, and it is the sea ; or, father, it may be the voice of the god whom you seek." She was silent, as if waiting for an answer. " The water, is it ? Well, well, whither shaU I go now?" " Follow the shore ; it may lead where only gods have been." " Still the waves and the distance, and the land, where it goes down into the sea sprinkled with shells. Still the deep voice in my ear, and the wind about me. I hurry on, but it is all alike, - all water and sound. No ! Out of the waves rises a new land, the sea, a girdle of billows, encircling it everywhere ; yet there are blue clouds ascending from the fields, and I see palm-trees and temples. May not thy god dwell here 1 " " No. You see but an island. On ! " " Well, well. Behind me fades the island ; before me is nothing but sheen and waves and distance again ; far around runs the line separating the sea and sky. Waste, all waste ; the sea all green, the sky all blue ; no life ; no god. But tay ! " 78 THE FAIR GOD. " Something moves on the waste : speak, child ! " But for a time she was still. " Speak ! " he said, earnestly. " Speak, Tecetl ! " " They are far off, far off," she replied, slowly and in a doubting way. " They move and live, but I cannot tell whether they come or go, or what they are. Their course is unsteady, and, like the flight of birds, now upon the sea, then in air, a moment seeming of the waves, then of the sky. They look like white clouds." " You are fleeter than birds or clouds, nearer ! " he said, sternly, the fire in his eyes all alight. " I go, I approach them, I now see them coming. O father, father ! I know not what your god is like, nor what shape he takes, nor in what manner he travels ; but surely these are his ! There are many of them, and as they sweep along they are a sight to be looked at with trembling." " What are they, Tecetl ? " " How can I answer 1 They are not of the things I have Been in my pictures, nor heard in my songs. The face of the sea is whitened by them ; the largest leads the way, looking like a shell, of them I have heard you speak as coming from the sea, a great shell streaked with light and shade, and hollow, so that the sides rise above the reach of the waves, wings ." " Nay, what would% god of the air with wings to journey upon the sea ! " " Above it are clouds, clouds white as the foam, and such as a god might choose to waft him on his way. I can see them sway and toss, but as the shell rushes into the hollow places, they lift it up, and drive it on." A brighter light flashed from his eyes. "It is the canoe, the canoe ! " he exclaimed. " The canoe from Tlapallan ! " v The canoe, father ! The waves rush joyously around it ; they lift themselves in its path, and roll on to meet it ; then, THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL'. 79 as if they knew it to be a god's, in peace make way for its coining. Upon the temples in my pictures I have seen signs floating in the air " " You mean banners, banners, child," he said, tremulously. " I remember now. Above the foremost canoe, above its clouds, there is a banner, and it is black " " T is Quetzal's ! 'T is Quetzal's ! " he muttered. " It is black, with golden embroidery, and something pic ture-written on it, but what I cannot tell." " Look in the canoe." 11 1 see 0, I know not what to call them." " Of what shape are they, child 1 " " Yours, father." " Go on : they are gods ! " he said, and still the naming of men was unheard in the great chamber. " There are many of them," she continued ; " their gar ments flash and gleam ; around one like themselves they are met ; to me he seems the superior god ; he is speaking, they are listening. He is taller than you, father, and has a fair face, and hair and beard like the hue of his banner. His garments are the brightest of all." " You have described a god ; it is Quetzal', the holy, beau tiful Quetzal' ! " he said, with rising voice. " Look if his course be toward the land." " Every canoe moves toward the shore." " Enough ! " he cried. " The writing on the wall is the god's ! " And, rising, he awoke the girl. As Tecetl awake had no recollection of her journey, or of what she had seen in its course, she wondered at his trouble and excitement, and spoke to him, without answer. " Father, what has Tecetl done that you should be so trou bled]" He put aside her arms, and in silence turned slowly from the pleasant place, and retraced his steps back through the halls of the Cu to the court-yard and azoteas. 80 THE FAIR GOD. The weight of the secret did not oppress him ; it rested upon him lightly as the surplice upon his shoulders ; for the humble servant of his god was lifted above his poverty and trembling, and, vivified by the consciousness of inspiration, felt more than a warrior's strength. But what should he do ] Where proclaim the revelation ? Upon the temple ? " The streets are deserted ; the people are in the theatre j the king is there with all Anahuac," he muttered. "The coming of Quetzal' concerns the Empire, and it shall hear the announcement : so not on the temple, but to the tianguez, The god speaks to me ! To the tianguez ! " In the chapel he exchanged his white surplice for the regalia of sacrifice. Never before, to his fancy, wore the idol such seeming of life. Satisfaction played grimly about its mouth ; upon its brow, like a coronet, sat the infinite Will. From the chapel he descended to the street that led to the great square. Insensibly, as he hurried on, his steps quick ened ; and bareheaded and unsandalled, his white beard and hair loose and flowing, and his face beaming with excite ment, he looked the very embodiment of direful prophecy. On the streets he met only slaves. At the theatre the entrance was blocked by people ; soldiery guarded the arena : but guard and people shrunk at his approach ; and thus, without word or cry, he rushed within the wall of shields, where were none but the combatants, living and dead. Midway the arena he halted, his face to the king. Around ran his wondrous glance, and, regardless of the royalty pres ent, the people shouted, " The paba, the paba ! " and their many voices shook the theatre. Flinging the white locks back on his shoulders, he tossed his arms aloft ; and the tumult rose into the welkin, and a calm settled over the multitude. Montezuina, with the malediction warm on his lips, bent from his couch to hear his words. " Woe is Tenochtitlan, the beautiful ! " he cried, iu tho THE SEARCH FOR QUETZAL'. 81 unmeasured accents of grief. " Woe to homes, and people, and armies, and king ! Why this gathering of dwellers on the hills and in the valleys ? Why the combat of warriors 1 Quetzal' is at hand. He comes for vengeance. Woe is Tenochtitlan, the beautiful t * * * * This, king, is the day of the fulfilment of prophecy. From out the sea, wafted by clouds, even now the canoes of the god are coming. His power whitens the waves, and the garments of his warriors gleam with the light of the sky. Woe is Tenochtitlan ! This day is the last of her perfect glory ; to-morrow Quetzal' will glisten on the sea-shore, and her Empire vanish forever. * * * * People, say farewell to peace ! Keepers of the temples, holy men, go feed the fires, and say the prayer, and sacrifice the victim ! And thou, king ! summon thy strong men, leaders in battle, and be thy banners counted, and thy nations marshalled. In vain ! Woe is Tenochtitlan ! Sit ting in the lake, she shines lustrously as a star ; and though in a valley of gardens, she is like a great tree shadowing in a desert. But the ravager comes, and the tree shall be felled, and the star go out darkling forever. The fires shall fade, the bones of the dead kings be scattered, altars and gods overthrown, and every temple levelled with the streets. Woe is Tenochtitlan ! Ended, ended forever is the march of Azatlan, the mighty ! " His arms fell down, and, without further word, his head bowed upon his breast, the prophet departed. The spell he left behind him remained unbroken. As they recovered from the effects of his bodement, the people left the theatre, their minds full of indefinite dread. If perchance they spoke of the scene as they went, it was in whispers, and rather to sound the depths of each other's alarm. And for the rest of the day they remained in their houses, brooding alone, or collected in groups, talking in low voices, wonder ing about the prescience of the paba, and looking each mo ment for the development of something more terrible. 82 THE FAIR GOD. The king watched the holy man until he disappeared in the crowded passage ; then a deadly paleness overspread his face, and he sunk almost to the platform. The nobles rushed around, and bore him to his palanquin, their brave souls astonished that the warrior and priest and mighty monarch could be so overcome. They carried him to his palace, and left him to a solitude full of unkingly superstitions. Guatamozin, serene amid the confusion, called the tamanes, and ordered the old Othmi and the dead removed. The Tez- cucan still breathed. " The reviler of the gods shall be cared for," he said to himself. " If he lives, their justice will convict him." Before the setting of the sun, the structure in the tianguez was taken down and restored to the temples, never again to be used. Yet the market-place remained deserted and vacant ; the whole city seemed plague-smitten. And the common terror was not without cause, any more than Mualox was without inspiration. That night the ships of Cortes, eleven in number, and freighted with the materials of conquest, from the east of Yucatan, came sweeping down the bay of Campeachy. Next morning they sailed up the Eio de Tabasco, beautiful with its pure water and its banks fringed with mangroves. Tecetl had described the fleet, the sails of which from afar looked like clouds, while they did, indeed, whiten the sea. Next evening a courier sped hotly over the causeway and up the street, stopping at the gate of the royal palace. He was taken before the king ; and, shortly after, it went flying over the city how Quetzal' had arrived, in canoes larger than temples, wafted by clouds, and full of thunder and lightning. Then sank the monarch's heart ; and, though the Spaniard knew it not, his marvellous conquest was half completed before his iron shoe smote the shore at San Juan de Ulloa. * * Cortes' squadron reached the mouth of the river Tabasco on the 12th of March, 1519. BOOK TWO. CHAPTEE I. WHO ARE THE STRANGERS ? MAECH passed, and April came, and still the strangers, in their great canoes, lingered on the coast. Montezuma observed them with becoming prudence ; through his lookouts, he was informed of their progress from the time they left the Eio de Tabasco. The constant anxiety to which he was subjected affected his temper ; and, though roused from the torpor into which he had been plunged by the visit to the golden chamber, and the subsequent prophecy of Mualox, his melancholy was a thing of common observation. He renounced his ordinary amusements, even totoloque, and went no more to the hunting- grounds on the shore of the lake ; in preference, he took long walks in the gardens, and reclined in the audience- chamber of his palace ; yet more remarkable, conversa tion with his councillors and nobles delighted him more than the dances of his women or the songs of his min strels. In truth, the monarch was himself a victim of the delusions he had perfected for his people. Polytheism had come to him with the Empire ; but he had enlarged upon it, and covered it with dogmas; and so earnestly, through a long and glorious reign, had he preached them, that, at last, he had become his own most zealous convert. In all his dominions, there was not one whom faith more inclined to absolute fear of Quetzal' than himselt 84 THE FAIR GOD. One evening he passed from his bath to the dining-hall for the last meal of the day. Invigorated, and, as was his custom, attired for the fourth time since morning in fresh garments, he walked briskly, and even droned a song. No monarch in Europe fared more sumptuously than Montezuma. The room devoted to the purpose was spacious, and, on this occasion, brilliantly lighted. The floor was spread with figured matting, and the walls hung with beau tiful tapestry ; and in the centre of the apartment a lux urious couch had been rolled for him, it being his habit to eat reclining ; while, to hide him from the curious, a screen had been contrived, and set up between the couch and prin cipal door. The viands set down by his steward as the substantial of the first course were arranged upon the floor before the couch, and kept warm and smoking by chafing- dishes. The table, if such it may be called, was supplied by contributions from the provinces, and furnished, in fact, no contemptible proof of his authority, and the perfection with which it was exercised. The ware was of the finest Cholulau manufacture, and, like his clothes, never used by him but the once, a royal custom requiring him to present it to his friends.* When he entered the room, the evening I haw 1 6 mentioned, there were present only his steward, four or five aged coun cillors, whom he was accustomed to address as " uncles," and a couple of women, who occupied themselves in preparing certain wafers and confections which he particularly affected. He stretched himself comfortably upon the couch, much, I presume, after the style of the Boruans, and at once began the meal. The ancients moved back several steps, and a score of boys, noble, yet clad in the inevitable nequen, re sponding to a bell, came in and posted themselves to answei bis requests. * Prescott, Conq. of Mexico. WHO ARE THE STRANGLES 1 85 Sometimes, by invitation, the councillors were permitted to share the feast ; oftener, however, the only object of their presence was to afford him the gratification of remark. The conversation was usually irregular, and hushed and renewed as lie prompted, and not unfrequently extended to the gravest political and religious subjects. On the evening in question he spoke to them kindly. " I feel better this evening, uncles. My good star is rising above the mists that have clouded it. We ought not to com plain of what we cannot help ; still, I have thought that when the gods retained the power to afflict us with sorrows, they should have given us some power to correct them." One of the old men answered reverentially, "A king should be too great for sorrows ; he should wear his crown against them as we wear our mantles against the cold winds." " A good idea," said the monarch, smiling ; " but you for- get that the crown, instead of protecting, is itself the trouble. Come nearer, uncles ; there is a matter more serious about which I would hear your minds." They obeyed him, and he went on. "The last courier brought me word that the strangers were yet on the coast, hovering about the islands. Tell me, who say you they are, and whence do they come ? " "How may we know more than our wise master?" said one of them. " And our thoughts, do we not borrow them from you, king 1 " added another. " What ! Call you those answers ? Nay, uncles, my fools can better serve me ; if they cannot instruct, they can at least amuse." The king spoke bitterly, and looking at one, probably the oldest of them all, said, " Uncle, you are the poorest courtier, but you are discreet and honest. I want opinions that have in them more wis< 86 THE FAIR GOD. dom than flattery. Speak to me truly : who are these strangers ? " " For your sake, my good king, I wish I were wise ; for the trouble they have given my poor understanding is indeed very great. I believe them to be gods, landed from the Sun." And the old man went on to fortify his belief with arguments. In the excited state of his fancy, it was easy for him to convert the cannon of the Spaniards into engines of thunder and lightning, and transform their horses into creatures of Mictlan mightier than men. Right summarily he also concluded, that none but gods could traverse the dominions of Haloc,* subjecting the variant winds to their will. Finally, to prove the strangers irresist ible, he referred to the battle of Tabasco, then lately fought between Cortes and the Indians. Montezuma heard him in silence, and replied, " Not badly given, uncle ; your friends may profit by your exam ple ; but you have not talked as a warrior. You have for gotten that we, too, have beaten the lazy Tabascans. That reference proves as much for my caciques as for your gods." He waved his hand, and the first course was removed. The second consisted for the most part of delicacies in the preparation of which his artistes delighted ; at this time ap peared the choclatl, a rich, frothy beverage served in xicaras, or small golden goblets. Girls, selected for their rank and beauty, succeeded the boys. Flocking around him with light and echoless feet, very graceful, very happy, theirs was in deed the service that awaits the faithful in Mahomet's Para dise. To each of his ancients he passed a goblet of choclatl, then continued his eating and talking. " Yes. Be they gods or men, I would give a province to know their intention ; that, uncles, would enable me to de termine my policy, whether to give them war or peace. * God of the sea. WHO ARE THE STRANGER* - 87 As yet, they have asked nothing but the privilege of trading with us ; and, judging them by our nations, I want not bet ter warrant of friendship. As you know, strangers have twice before been upon our coast in such canoes, and with such arms ; * and in both instances they sought gold, and getting it they departed. Will these go like them ? " " Has my master forgotten the words of Mualox 1 " " To Mictlan with the paba ! " said the king, violently. " He has filled my cities and people with trouble." " Yet he is a prophet," retorted the old councillor, boldly. '* How knew he of the coming of the strangers before it was known in the palace ? " The flush of the king's face faded. "It is a mystery, uncle, a mystery too deep for me. All the day and night before he was in his Cu ; he went not into the city even." " If the wise master will listen to the words of his slave, he will not again curse the paba, but make him a friend." The monarch's lip curled derisively. " My palace is now a house of prayer and sober life ; he would turn it into a place of revelry." All the ancients but the one laughed at the irony ; that one repeated his words. " A friend ; but how 1 " asked Montezuma. " Call him from the Cu to the palace ; let him stand here with us ; in the councils give him a voice. He can read the future ; make of him an oracle. king, who like him can stand between you and Quetzal' ] " For a while Montezuma toyed idly with the xicara. He also believed in the prophetic gifts of Mualox, and it was not the first time he had pondered the question of how the holy man had learned the coming of the strangers ; to satisfy * The allusion was doubtless to the expeditions of Hernandez de Cor dova, in 1517, and Juan de Grijalva, in 1518. 88 THE FAIR GOD. himself as to his means of information, he had even insti tuted inquiries outside the palace. And yet it was but one of several mysteries ; behind it, if not superior, were the golden chamber, its wealth, and the writing on the Avails. They were not to be attributed to the paba : works so won drous could not have been done in one lifetime. They Avero the handiwork of a god, who had chosen Mualox for his ser vant and prophet ; such was the judgment of the king. Nor was that all. The monarch had come to believe that the strangers on the coast were Quetzal' and his followers, whom it were vain to resist, if their object was vengeance. But the human heart is seldom without its suggestion of hope ; and he thought, though resistance was impossible, might he not propitiate 1 ? This policy had occupied his thoughts, and most likely without result, for the words of the councillor seemed welcome. Indeed, he could scarcely fail to recognize the bold idea they conveyed, nothing less, in fact, than meeting the god with his own prophet. " Very well," he said, in his heart. " I will use the paba. He shall come and stand between me and the woe." Then he arose, took a string of pearls from his neck, and with his own hand placed it around that of the ancient. " Your place is with me, uncle. I will have a chamber fitted for you here in the palace. Go no more away. Ho, steward ! The supper is done ; let the pipes be brought, and give me music and dance. Bid the minstrels come. A song of the olden time maj make me strong again." A TEZCUCAN LOVER. 89 CHAPTER n. A TEZCUCAN LOVER. TRACES of the supper speedily disappeared. The screen was rolled away, and pipes placed in the monarch's hand for distribution amongst his familiars. Blue vapor began to ascend to the carved rafters, when the tapestry on both sides of the room was flung aside, and the sound of cornets and flutes poured in from an adjoining apartment ; and, as if answering the summons of the music, a company of dancing-girls entered, and filled the space in front of the monarch ; half nude were they, and flashing with ornaments, and aerial with gauze and flying ribbons ; silver bells tinkled with each step, and on their heads were wreaths, and in their hands garlands of flowers. Voluptuous children were they of the voluptuous valley. Saluting the monarch, they glided away, and commenced a dance. "With dreamy, half-shut eyes, through the scented cloud momently deepening around him, he watched them ; and in the sensuous, animated scene was disclosed one of the enchantments that had weaned him from the martial love of his youth. Every movement of the figure had been carefully studied, and a kind of aesthetic philosophy was blent with its perfect time and elegance of motion. Slow and stately at first, it gradually quickened ; then, as if to excite the blood and fancy, it became more mazy and voluptuous ; and finally, as that is the sweetest song that ends with a long decadence, it was so concluded as to soothe the transports itself had awakened. Sweeping along, it reached a point, a very climax of abandon and beauty, in which the dancers ap- 90 THE FAIR GOD. peared to forget the music and the method of the figure ; then the eyes of the king shone brightly, and the pipe lin gered on his lips forgotten ; and then the musicians began, one by one, to withdraw from the harmony, and the dancers to vanish singly from the room, until, at last, there was but ; one flute to be heard, while but one girl remained. Finally, she also disappeared, and all grew still again. And the king sat silent and listless, surrendered to the enjoyment which was the object of the diversion ; yet he heard the music ; yet he saw the lithe and palpitating forms of the dancers in posture and motion ; yet he felt the sweet influence of their youth and grace and beauty, not as a passion, but rather a spell full of the suggestions of passion, when a number of men came noiselessly in, and, kneeling, saluted him. Their costume was that of priests, and each of them carried an instrument of music fashioned somewhat like a Hebrew lyre. " Ah, my minstrels, my minstrels ! " he said, his face flushing with pleasure. " Welcome in the streets, welcome in the camp, welcome in the palace, also ! What have you to-night ] " " When last we were admitted to your presence, O king, you bade us compose hymns to the god Quetzal' " " Yes ; I remember." " We pray you not to think ill of your slaves if we say that the verses which come unbidden are the best ; no song of the bird's so beautiful as the one it sings when its heart is fall." The monarch sat up. " Nay, I did not command. I know something of the spirit of poetry. It is not a thing to be driven by the will, like a canoe by a strong arm ; neither is it a slave, to come or go at a signal. I bid my warriors march ; I order the sacri fice ; but the lays of my minstrels have ever been of their A TEZCUCAN LOVER. 91 free will. Leave me now. To you are my gardens and pal aces. I warrant the verses you have are good ; but go ask your hearts for better." They retired with their faces toward him until hidden behind the tapestry. " I love a song, uncles," continued the king ; " I love a hymn to the gods, and a story of battle chanted in a deep voice. In the halls of the Sun every soul is a minstrel, and every tale a song. But let them go ; it is well enough. I promised Itzlil', the Tezcucan, to give him audience to-night. He comes to the palace but seldom, and he has not asked a favor since I settled his quarrel with the lord Cacama. Send one to see if he is now at the door.". Thereupon he fell to reflecting and smoking ; and when next he spoke, it was from the midst of an aromatic cloud. " I loved the wise 'Hualpilli ; for his sake, I would have his children happy. He was a lover of peace, and gave more to policy than to war. It were grievous to let his city be disturbed by feuds and fighting men ; therefore I gave it to the eldest son. His claim was best ; and, besides, he has the friendly heart to serve me. Still still, I wish there had been two Tezcucos." " There was but one voice about the judgment in Tezcuco, king ; the citizens all said it was just." " And they would have said the same if I had given them IzthT. I know the knaves, uncle. It was not their applause 1 cared for ; but, you see, in gaining a servant, I lost one. IzthT is a warrior. Had he the will, he could serve me in the field as well as his brother in the council. I must attach him to me. A strong arm is pleasant to lean on ; it is better than a staff." Addressing himself to the pipe again, he sat smoking, and moodily observing the vapor vanish above him. There was silence until IztliT was ushered in. 92 THE FAIR GOD. The cacique was still suffering from his wounds. His step was feeble, so that his obeisance was stopped by the monarch himself. " Let the salutation go, my lord Iztlil'. Your courage has cost you much. I remember you are the son of my old friend, and bid you welcome." " The Tlascalans are good warriors," said the Tezcucan, coldly. "And for that reason better victims," added the king, quickly. " By the Sun, I know not what we would do with out them. Their hills supply our temples." " And I, good king I am but a warrior. My heart is not softened by things pertaining to religion. Enough for me to worship the gods." " Then you are not a student 1 " " I never studied in the academies." " I understand," said the king, with a low laugh. " You cannot name as many stars as enemies whom you have slain. No matter. I have places for such scholars. Have you commanded an army 1 " " It pleased you to give me that confidence. I led my companies within the Tlascalan wall, and came back with captives." " I recollect now. But as most good warriors are modest, my son, I will not tell you what the chiefs said of your con duct ; you would blush " Iztlil' started. " Content you, content you ; your blush would not be for shame." There was a pause, which the king gave to his pipe. Sud denly he said, " There have been tongues busy with your fame, my son. I have heard you were greatly dissatisfied because I gave your father's city to your elder brother. But I consider that men are never without detractors, and I can- A TEZCUCAN LOVER. 93 not forget that you have perilled your life for the gods. Actions I accept as the proofs of will. If the favor that brought you here he reasonable, it is yours for the asking. I have the wish to serve you." " I am not surprised that I have enemies," said Iztlil', calmly. " I will abuse no one on that account ; for I am an enemy, and can forgive in others what I deem virtue in my self. But it moves me greatly, O king, that my enemies should steal into your palace, and, in my absence, wrong me in your opinion. But pardon me ; I did not come to defend myself " " You have taken my words in an evil sense," interposed the king, with an impatient gesture. "Or to conceal the truth," the Tezcucan continued. " There is kingly blood in me, and I dare speak as my father's son. So if they said merely that I was dissatisfied with your judgment, they said truly." Montezuma frowned. " I intend my words to be respectful, most mighty king. A common wisdom teaches us to respect the brave man and dread the coward. And there is not in your garden a flower as beautiful, nor in your power a privilege as precious, as free speech ; and it would sound ill of one so great and secure as my father's friend if he permitted in the streets and in the farmer's hut what he forbade in his palace. I spoke of dis satisfaction ; but think not it was because you gave Tezcuco to my brother, and to me the bare hills that have scarcely herbage enough for a wolf- covert. I am less a prince than a warrior ; all places are alike to me ; the earth affords me royal slumber, while no jewelled canopy is equal to the starred heavens ; and as there is a weakness in pleasant memories, I have none. To such as I am, king, what matters a barren hill or a proud palace ] I murmured, nay, I did more, be cause, in judging my quarrel, you overthrew the indepen- 94 THE FAIR GOD. dence of my country. When my father visited you irom across the lake, he was not accustomed to stand before you, or hide his kingly robes beneath a slave's garb." Montezuma half started from his seat. " Holy gods ! Is rebellion so bold 1 " "I meant no disrespect, great king. I only sought to justify myself, and in your royal presence say what I have "thought while fighting under your banner. But, without more abuse of your patience, I will to my purpose, especially as I came for peace and friendship." " The son of my friend forgets that I have ways to make peace without treating for it," said the king. The Tezcucan smothered an angry reply. " By service done, I have shown a disposition to serve you, king. Very soon every warrior will be needed. A throne may be laid amid hymns and priestly prayers, yet have no strength ; to endure, it must rest upon the allegiance of love. Though I have spoken unpleasant words, I came to ask that, by a simple boon, you give me cause to love. I have re flected that I, too, am of royal blood, and, as the son of a king, may lead your armies, and look for alliance in your house. By marriage, king, I desire, come good or evil, to link my fortune to yours." Montezuma's countenance was stolid ; no eye could have detected upon it so much as surprise. He quietly asked, " Which of my daughters has found favor in your eyes 1 " " They are all beautiful, but only one of them is fitted for a warrior's wife." " Tula 1 " IztliT bowed. ' " She is dear to me," said the king, softly, " dearer than a city ; she is holy as a temple, and lovelier than the morning ; her voice is sweet as the summer wind, and her presence as the summer itself. Have you spoken to her of this thing ? " THE BANISHMENT OF GUATAMOZIN. 95 "I love her, so that her love is nothing to me. Her feelings are her own, but she is yours ; and you are more powerful to give than she to withhold." " Well, well," said the monarch, after a little thought ; " in my realm there are none of hetter quality than the chil dren of 'Hualpilli, none from whom such demand is as proper. Yet it is worthy deliberation. It is true, I have the power to bestow, but there are others who have the right to be consulted. I study the happiness of my people, and it were unnatural if I cared less for that of my children. So leave me now, but take with you, brave prince, the assur ance that I am friendly to your suit. The gods go with you ! " And IztliT, after a low obeisance, withdrew ; and then the overture was fully discussed. Montezuma spoke freely, wel coming the opportunity of securing the bold, free-spoken cacique, and seeing in the demand only a question of policy. As might be expected, the ancients made no opposition ; they could see no danger in the alliance, and had no care for the parties. It was policy. CHAPTEE III. THE BANISHMENT OF GUATAMOZIN. THE palace of Montezuma was regarded as of very great sanctity, so that his household, its economy, and the exact relation its members bore to each other were mysteries to the public. From the best information, however, it would seem that he had two lawful and acknowledged wives, the queens Tecalco and Acatlan.* who, with their families, occu- * These are the proper names of the queens. MSS of Mufioz. Also, note to Prescott, Conq. of Mexico, Vol. II., p. 351. 96 THE FAIR GOD. pied spacious apartments secure from intrusion. They were good-looking, middle-aged women, whom the monarch hon ored with the highest respect and confidence. By the first one, he had a son and daughter ; by the second, two daughters. " Help me, Acatlan ! I appeal to your friendship, to the love you bear your children, help me in my trouble." So the queen Tecalco prayed the queen Acatlan in the palace the morning after the audience given the Tezcucan by the king. The two were sitting in a room furnished with some taste. Through the great windows, shaded by purple curtains, streamed the fresh breath of the early day. There were female slaves around them in waiting ; while a boy nearly grown, at the eastern end of the apartment, was pitching the golden balls in totoloque. This was prince Io', the brother of Tula, and son of Tecalco. " What is the trouble 1 What can I do ?" asked Acatlan. " Listen to me," said Tecalco. " The king has just gone. He came in better mood than usual, and talked pleasantly. Something had happened ; some point of policy had been gained. Nowadays, you know, he talks and thinks of noth ing but policy ; formerly it was all of war. We cannot deny, Acatlan, that he is much changed. Well, he played a game with Io', then sat down, saying he had news which he thought would please me. You will hardly believe it, but he said that IzthT, the proud Tezcucan, asked Tula in marriage last night. Think of it ! Tula, my blossom, my soul ! and to that vile cacique ! " "Well, he is brave, and the son of 'Hualpilli," said Acatlan. " What ! You ! " said Tecalco, despairingly. " Do you, too, turn against me ] I do not like him, and would not if he were the son of a god. Tula hates him ! " THE BANISHMENT OP GUATAMOZIN. 97 " I Avill not turn against you, Tecalco. Be calmer, and tell me what more the king said." " I told him I was surprised, but not glad to hear the news. He frowned, and paced the floor, now here, now there. I was frightened, but could bear his anger better than the idea of my Tula, so good, so beautiful, the wife of the base Tezcucan. He said the marriage must go on ; it was required by policy, and would help quiet the Empire, which was never so threatened. You will hardly believe I ventured to tell him that it should not be, as Tula was already contracted to Gttatamozin. I supposed that an nouncement would quiet the matter, but it only enraged him ; he spoke bitterly of the 'tzin. I could scarcely believe my ears. He used to love him. What has happened to change his feeling 1 " Acatlan thrummed her pretty mouth with her fingers, and thought awhile. " Yes, I have heard some stories about the 'tzin " " Indeed ! " said Tecalco, opening her eyes. " He too has changed, as you may have observed," con tinued Acatlan. " He used to be gay and talkative, fond of company, and dance ; latterly, he stays at home, and when abroad, mopes, and is silent; while we all know that no great private or public misfortune has happened him. The king appears to have noticed it. And, my dear sister," the queen lowered her voice to a confidential whisper, " they say the 'tzin aspires to the throne." " What ! "Do you believe it 1 Does the king ] " cried Tecalco, more in anger than surprise. " I believe nothing yet, though there are some grounds for his accusers to go upon. They say he entertains at his palace near Iztapalapan none but men of the army, and that while in Tenochtitlan, he studies the favor of the people, and uses his wealth to win popularity with all classes. Indeed, 5 98 THE FAIR GOD. Tecalco, somehow the king learned that, on the day of the celebration of Quetzal', the 'tzin was engaged in a direct conspiracy against him." " It is false, Acatlan, it is false ! The king has not a more .faithful subject. I know the 'tzin. He is worth a thousand of the Tezcucan, who is himself the traitor." And the vexed queen beat the floor with her sandalled foot. "As to that, Tecalco, I know nothing. But what more from the king 1 " " He told me that Tula should never marry the 'tzin ; he would use all his power against it ; he would banish him from the city first. And his rage increased until, finally, he swore by the gods he would order a banquet, and, in pres ence of all the lords of the Empire, publicly betroth Tula and the Tezcucan. He said he would do anything the safety of the throne and the gods required of him. He never was so angry. And that, O Acatlan, my sister, that is my trouble. How can I save my child from such a horrid betrothal 1 " Acatlan shook her head gloomily. " The king brooks de feat better than opposition. We would not be safe to do anything openly. I acknowledge myself afraid, and unable to advise you." Tecalco burst into tears, and wrung her hands, overcome by fear and rage. To' then left his game, and came to her. He was not handsome, being too large for his years, and un graceful ; this tendency to homeliness was increased by the smallness of his face and head ; the features were actually childish. " Say no more, mother," he said, tears standing in his eyes, as if to prove his sympathy and kindliness. " You know it would be better to play with the tigers than stir the king to anger." "Ah, Io', what shall I do? I always heard you speak well of the 'tzin. You loved him once." THE BANISHMENT OF GUATAMOZIN. 99 "And I love him yet." Tecalco was less pacified than ever. "What would I not give to know who set the king so against him ! Upon the traitor be the harm there is in a mother's curse ! If my child must be sacrificed, let it be by a priest, and as a victim to the gods." " Do not speak so. Be wise, Tecalco. Eecollect such sorrows belong to our rank." "Our rank, Acatlan ! I can forget it sooner than that I am a mother ! 0, you do not know how long I have nursed the idea of wedding Tula to the 'tzin ! Since their childhood I have prayed, plotted, and hoped for it. With what pride I have seen them grow up, - he so brave, gener ous, and princely, she so staid and beautiful ! I have never allowed her to think of other destiny : the gods made them for each other." " Mother," said Io', thoughtfully, " I have heard you say that Guatamozin was wise. Why not send him word of what has happened, and put our trust in him 1 " The poor queen caught at the suggestion eagerly ; for with a promise of aid, at the saTne time it relieved her of responsi bility, of all burthens the most dreadful to a woman. And Acatlan, really desirous of helping her friend, but at a loss for a plan, and terrified by the idea of the monarch's wrath incurred, wondered they had not thought of the pro posal sooner, and urged the 'tzin's right to be informed of the occurrence. "There must be secrecy, Tecalco. The king must never know us as traitors : that would be our ruin." " There shall be no danger ; I can go myself," said Io'. ' It is long since I was at Iztapalapan, and they say the 'tzin has such beautiful gardens. I want to see the three kings who hold torches in his hall; I want to try a bow with hi." 100 THE FAIR GOD. After some entreaty, Tecalco assented. She required him, however, to put on a costume less likely to attract attention, and take some other than a royal canoe across the lake. Half an hour later, he passed out of a garden gate, and, by a circuitous route, hurried to the canal in which lay the ves sels of the Iztapalapan watermen. He found one, and was bargaining with its owner, when a young man walked briskly up, and stepped into a canoe close by. Something in the gay dress of the stranger made Io' look at him a second time, and he was hardly less pleased than surprised at being addressed, " Ho, friend ! I am going to your city. Save your cocoa, and go with me." Io' was confused. " Come on ! " the stranger persisted, with a pleasant smile. " Come on ! I want company. You were never so wel come." The smile decided the boy. He set one foot in the vessel, but instantly retreated an ocelot, crouched in the bottom, raised its round head, and stared fixedly at him. The stranger laughed, and reassured him, after which he walked boldly forward. Then the canoe swung from its mooring, and in a few minutes, under the impulsion of three strong slaves, went flying down the canal. Under bridges, through incoming flotillas, and past the great houses on either hand they darted, until the city was left behind, and the lake, colored with the borrowed blue of the sky, spread out rich and billowy before them. The eyes of the stranger bright ened at the prospect. "I like this. By Our Mother, I like it ! " he said, ear nestly. " We have lakes in Tihuanco on which I have spent days riding waves and spearing fish ; but they were dull to this. See the stretch of the water ! Look yonder at the villages, and here at the city and Chapultepec ! Ah, that THE BANISHMENT OF GUATAMOZIN. 101 you were born in Tenochtitlan be proud. There is no grander birthplace this side of the Sun ! " " I am an Aztec," said Io', moved by the words. The other smiled, and added, " Why not go farther, and say, ' and son of the king ? ' " Io' was startled. " Surprised ! Good prince, I am a hunter. From habit, I observe everything ; a track, a tree, a place, once seen is never forgotten ; and since I came to the city, the night before the combat of Quetzal', the habit has not left me. That day you were seated under the red canopy, with the princesses Tula and Nenetzin. So I came to know the king's son." " Then you saw the combat ? " " And how brave it was ! There never was its match, never such archery as the 'tzin's. Then the blow with which he killed the Othmi ! I only regretted that the Tezcucan escaped. I do not like him ; he is envious and spiteful ; it would have been better had he fallen instead of the Otompan. You know Iztlil' 1 " " Not to love him," said Io'. "Ishelikethe'tzin?" " Not at all." " So I have heard," said the hunter, shrugging his shoul ders. " But Down, fellow ! " he cried to the ocelot, whose approaches discomposed the prince. " I was going to say," he resumed, with a look which, as an invitation to confidence, was irresistible, " that there is no reason why you and I should not be friends. We are both going to see the 'tzin " Io' was again much confused. " I only heard you say so to the waterman on the landing. If your visit, good prince, was intended as a secret, you are a careless messenger. But have no fear. I intend entering tiie 'tzin's service ; that is, if he will take me." 102 THE FAIR GOD. " Is the 'tzin enlisting men ] " asked Io'. " No. I am merely weary of hunting. My father is a good merchant whose trading life is too tame for me. I love excitement. Even hunting deer and chasing wolves are too tame. I will now try war, and there is but one whom I care to follow. Together we will see and talk to him." " You speak as if you were used to arms." " My skill may be counted nothing. I seek the service more from what I imagine it to be. The march, the camp, the battle, the taking captives, the perilling life, when it is but a secondary object, as it must be with every warrior of true ambition, all have charms for my fancy. Besides, I am discontented with my condition. I want honor, rank, and command, - wealth I have. Hence, for me, the army is the surest road. Beset with trials, and needing a good heart and arm, yet it travels upward, upward, and that is all I seek to know." The naivete and enthusiasm of the hunter were new au