To seize his antagonist with a powerful embrace, to fling him over the parapet into the water, and to plunge in after him, was the work of an instant. Swimming under water for some distance, and rising to the surface within the shadow of the building, he took possession of the nearest canoe, and, following in the wake ofGuatimozin, was soon out of the reach of danger, or pursuit.
Cacama, unsuspicious of danger, and intent only on the object of their meeting, was so engrossed with the scroll, and the plans delineated upon it, that he did not fully comprehend the meaning of this sudden interruption of their council, until his two friends had disappeared, and, in their place, a band of twenty armed men stood before him. Resistance was vain. By order of the chief of the conspirators, he was seized, securely bound, and carried a prisoner to Tenochtitlan. There, though treated with indignity by Cortez, and with severity by Montezuma, he maintained a haughty and independent bearing, sternly refusing to yield, in the slightest degree, to the insolent dictation of the one, or the pusillanimous policy of the other. Cuitlahua was afterwards seized in his own palace of Iztapalapan; but, after a short detention, was released again, at the instigation of Montezuma.
These outrages, so far from intimidating the people, only excited and incensed them the more, and led to other and more desperate assaults upon the beleaguered foe, till Cortez, apprehensive of ultimate defeat and ruin, applied once more to Montezuma, proposing that he should appear in person before his people, and require them to lay down their arms, retire to their homes, and leave his guests in peaceable possession of the quarters he had voluntarily assigned them.
Arrayed in his royal robes, with the imperial diadem upon his head, preceded by his officers of state, bearing the golden wands, the emblem of despotic power, and accompanied by a considerable train of his own nobles,and some of the principal Castilian cavaliers, the unfortunate monarch appeared on the battlements, to remonstrate with his own people for their zeal in the defence of his crown and honor, and appease the rage of his subjects for insults offered to his own person, and to those of his loyal nobles. His presence was instantly recognized by the thronging multitudes below and around. Some prostrated themselves on the earth in profound reverence, some bent the knee, and all waited in breathless silence to hear that voice, which had so long ruled them with despotic sway.
With a sad, but at the same time a calm and dignified tone, the monarch addressed them, “My children,” said he, “why are you here in this fierce array. The strangers are my friends. I abide with them as their voluntary guest, and all that you do against them is done against me, your sovereign and father.”
When the monarch declared himself the friend of the detested Spaniard, a murmur of discontent and rage arose, and ran through the assembled host. Their ungovernable fury burst at once the barrier of loyalty, and vented itself in curses upon the king who could, in the hour of their peril, thus basely forsake his people, and endeavor to betray them into the hands of a treacherous and blood thirsty foe. “Base Aztec!” they cried, “woman! coward! go back to the viper friends whom you have taken to your bosom. No longer worthy to reign over us, we cast away our allegiance for ever.” At the same moment, some powerful arm, more fearless than the rest, aimed a huge stone at the unprotected head of the king, which brought him senseless to the ground. His attendants, put off their guardby the previous calm and reverential attention of the crowd, were taken by surprise. In vain they interposed their shields and bucklers, to protect his person from further violence. The fatal blow was struck. The great Montezuma had received his death-wound from the hand of one of his own subjects, who, but a moment before, would have sacrificed a hundred lives, had he possessed them, to shield the person of his monarch from violence and dishonor.
The effect of this unexpected catastrophe seemed equally appalling to both the belligerent parties. The Aztecs, struck aghast at their own sacrilegious deed, dispersed in sorrow and shame to their homes; while the Spaniards felt that they had lost their only remaining hold upon the forbearance and regard of a mighty people, whose confidence they had shamefully abused, and whose altars and houses they had wantonly desecrated. It was a season of agonizing suspense. To retreat from their post, and abandon the conquest which they once imagined was nearly achieved, might be as disastrous as it would be humiliating. To remain in their narrow quarters, surrounded with countless thousands of exasperated foes, on whom they must be dependent for their daily supplies of food, seemed little better than madness. To the proud spirit of the haughty Castilian, the alternative was scarcely less to be dreaded than martyrdom. It was manifestly, however, the only resource, and he resolved to evacuate the city.
Meanwhile, active hostilities had been temporarily suspended. The unhappy Montezuma, smitten even more severely in heart than in person, refused alike thecondolence of his friends and the skill of the Castilian surgeon. Tearing off the bandages from his wounds, “leave me alone,” he cried, “I have already outlived my honor and the affection and confidence of my people. Why should I look again upon the sun or the earth. The one has no light, the other no flowers for me. Let me die here. I feel indeed that the gods have smitten me, when I fall by the hand of one of my own people.”
In this disconsolate mood, the spirit of Montezuma took its flight. In vain did the Castilian general endeavor to suppress, for a time, the tidings of his death. The loud wailing of his attendants, would have published it far and wide among the thousands of affectionate hearts, that listened for every sound that issued from the palace, if they had not, unknown to the Spaniards, established a kind of telegraphic signal, by means of which they communicated to the priests on the great Teocalli, daily reports of the progress of his disease. When the sad signal was given, announcing the solemn fact, that the great Montezuma had laid down his honors and his troubles together, it was responded to by the mournful tones of the great drum of the temple, by ten measured muffled strokes, conveying the melancholy intelligence to every dwelling in Tenochtitlan.
The breathing of that populous city was now one universal wail, that seemed to penetrate the very heavens. Partly from a sincere regard for the fallen monarch, and partly from the hope that he might thus conciliate the good will of his afflicted subjects, Cortez directed his remains to be placed in a splendid coffin,and borne in solemn procession, by his own nobles, to his palace, that it might be interred with the customary regal honors. It was received by his people with every demonstration of affectionate joy and respect. Conveyed with great pomp to the castle of Chapoltepec, followed by an immense train of priests, nobles, and common people, it was interred amid all the imposing ceremonies of the Aztec religion. His wives and children, frantic with grief, gathered around those hallowed remains, and testified, by all those tender and delicate tokens which seem the natural expression of a refined feminine sorrow, their profound sense of the inestimable loss they had sustained.
By one of those singular coincidences, which tend so strongly to confirm the too easy credulity of the superstitious, and give an unnatural emphasis to the common accidents of life, it was the festival of the new moon, the very day on which Montezuma had promised Tecuichpo that he would join the household circle at Chapoltepec, that his lifeless remains were borne thither, in the solemn funereal procession.
“Alas! my father,” she cried, “is this the fulfilment of that only promise which sustained my sinking courage in the hour of separation?” She said no more. The more profound the sorrow, the fewer words it has to spare. “The shallow murmur, but the deep are dumb.”
BRIEF REIGN OF CUITLAHUA—EXPULSION OF THE SPANIARDS—GUATIMOZIN CHOSEN EMPEROR—HIS MARRIAGE WITH TECUICUPO.
The sacred dust restored to its native earth, and the last hallowed rites performed over the sepulchre of the departed, the thoughts of the people were immediately turned to the succession. All eyes were fixed on Cuitlahua, the noble brother of Montezuma, whose intrepid spirit, and deadly hatred of the intruding Spaniards, accorded with the now universal sentiment of the nation. He was elected, without a dissenting voice, by the grand council of the nobles. Accepting, with alacrity, the post of responsibility and danger, he was immediately inaugurated and crowned, with all thegorgeous rites, and imposing ceremonies which a pagan priesthood delight to throw around every important event, in which their holy influence is necessarily involved.
During the progress of these mournful and exciting events, the rigors of the siege had not been materially relaxed, though all active hostilities had been suspended. They were now to be renewed with tenfold energy, under the lead of their warlike monarch, who had often led the armies of Anahuac to victory, and who had never known defeat.
When the Castilian general was informed that the heroic Cuitlahua had been placed on the throne of Montezuma, and was about to take the field in person, he perceived the necessity of adopting prompt and decided measures. The retreat had already been resolved on. It was now to be put in execution, and that, without delay. As it was the custom of the Aztec, to suspend all hostilities during the night, Cortez determined to avail himself of that season to make his escape. Accordingly, every thing being made ready for the departure, and the city being hushed in a seemingly profound repose, the gates were thrown open, and the little army, with its long train of Indian allies, sallied stealthily forth, not to the stirring notes of drum or trumpet, but with hushed breath and a cautious tread, ill accordant with the haughty bearing, and vaunting air, with which they had hitherto attempted to lord it over the proud metropolis of Anahuac.
But, though quiet, the sagacious and determined Aztec was wide awake. He had anticipated this stealthy movement of his pent up foe, and resolved thathe should not thus escape the snare into which his own audacious insolence had drawn him. The last files of the retreating army had not yet passed out from their entrenchments, when a long loud blast from the horn of the great Teocalli, stirred the city to its utmost borders, calling out the mighty host, who had slept upon their arms, eager for the summons which should bring them once more to an engagement with their foe.
Confident as the Spaniard was in the overwhelming power of his cavalry and artillery, he preferred rather to make good his retreat, while he could, than to show his prowess in these perilous circumstances. The hoarse distant murmurs which fell upon their ears at every street as they passed, indicated too plainly the mustering of a mighty host, which soon came rushing in upon them from all quarters, like the swelling surges of a stormy sea, each higher and more terrible than that which preceded. They fell upon the flying foe with the ferocity of tigers, about to be disappointed of their prey. From every lane and alley, and from the roof of every house, they pelted them with ceaseless vollies of stones. They grappled with them, man to man, reckless of life or limb, so that they could maim or destroy an enemy.
Alvarado, with a portion of the cavalry, brought up the rear of the retreating army, in order to repel, with an occasional charge upon the enemy’s ranks, those furious onsets which might have overwhelmed the small body of Spanish infantry, or the unmailed and lightly armed Tlascalan allies. The cavalier and his horse, encased in armor of proof, could better cope with the weapons and missiles of their assailants, while theyoften turned upon them, with a fierce and irresistible charge, trampling hundreds in the dust, and mowing down whole ranks on this side and that, with their trenchant broadswords.
In this manner the fugitives defiled through the great southern avenue, and came out upon the grand causeway, by which they had twice entered the city. Here they were met by new and fresh squadrons of the enemy, thronging the sides of the dike in their light canoes, and showering down arrows thick as hail upon the advancing column. Sometimes keeping upon the causeway, they would grapple each with his man, and drag him off into the water, to be picked up by those in the canoes, and hurried off to a terrible and certain fate, on the great altar of their War-god. Their numbers increased every moment, till the lake was literally alive with them.
At length the advancing column was brought to stand; while a cry of despair from the van revealed the fearful position in which they stood in the midst of their implacable foes. The bridges which intersected the dike had been removed by order of the Emperor. They had now reached the first opening thus made in the causeway. A sudden shout from the myriads of Aztec warriors that hung about them on all sides, told at once their own wild triumph, and the awfully perilous position of their enemy. Crowded together on a narrow causeway, in ranks so close as to render their arms and their weapons almost entirely useless—arrested in front by a wide chasm which it was impossible to pass—their retreat cut off in the rear, by the living masses that blocked up every avenue, and pressedthem forward upon the crowded ranks of their comrades—assailed on both sides from the water, through the whole length of the closely compacted column—while all these dangers were enhanced a hundred-fold by the darkness of the night—there seemed no possibility of escape for one of that brave host.
Cortez was with the principal part of the cavalry in the centre of the column, so wedged in by the compacted mass of his own forces, as to be quite unable either to advance or retreat, without trampling them under his feet, or crowding them off the causeway. He comprehended in a moment the perilous position he was in. But such was the utter confusion and dismay of the whole army, and such the horrid din of clashing arms, and the yet more horrid yells of the savage foe, that he in vain attempted either to direct or encourage his men. His voice was drowned in the uproar.
Sandoval, one of his bravest and most trusty officers, who led the van, with a few other cavaliers as bold as himself, resolved to push forward at any personal hazard, rather than stand still to perish in one confused mass, dashed their steeds into the water, and made for the other side of the gap. Some succeeded in effecting a landing, while others, with their horses, perished in the attempt, or fell into the hands of the watchful boatmen. The first movement being thus made, an impetus was given to the moving column from behind, that drove the front ranks,nolens volens, into the breach. By far the greater part sank to rise no more, or were picked up by the Aztecs, and hurried away to a far more terrible death. At length the breach was filled up by the bodies of the dead, and the baggage and artillerywhich occupied the centre, so that the rear had a clear passage over the fatal chasm.
A second and a third breach was yet to be passed. It was accomplished as before, only by making a bridge of the bodies of one half, for the other half to walk upon. Meanwhile the enemy hung upon flank and rear, with unappeasable rage, striking down and picking up vast numbers of victims, until, when the last breach was cleared, and a footing gained upon terra-firma, there was scarce a remnant left of the gallant band that entered upon that fatal causeway. The iron-hearted Cortez was so overcome with the sight of his shattered band, and the absence of so many brave comrades, when the morning light appeared, that he sat down upon a rock that overlooked the scene of desolation, and gave vent to his emotions in a flood of tears.
Had the Mexicans followed up this success by falling upon the broken dispirited remnant of the Castilian army, they would probably have vanquished and destroyed them to a man. They were suffered, however, to proceed unmolested for several days, until their strength and spirits were somewhat recruited. Then, though attacked by immensely superior numbers, they succeeded in putting them to rout.
The new Emperor, Cuitlahua, having signalized his accession to the throne by the almost total destruction of the formidable foe, who had spread the terror of his arms far and wide through all the realms of Anahuac, proceeded to fortify his capital and kingdom against another invasion. The dikes and canals were thoroughly repaired, the walls were strengthened and extended, the army enlarged and improved in disciplineby some of the lessons which so able a general, was not slow to learn from the Spaniards. The immense treasures they had drawn from the munificent Montezuma, and which, in the disasters of that melancholy night, they had been compelled to leave behind, were all recovered and expended in these works of defence. Their arms, too, were gathered up, and served to improve and render more effective many of the more primitive weapons of the Aztecs. In the midst of these wise and patriotic efforts to guard against the probable return of the Spaniards, Cuitlahua was seized with a loathsome disease, which in a few days brought him to the grave, after a brief reign of four months.
This was a terrible blow to the nation. It was felt throughout all the borders of Anahuac, as the severest frown of their gods. But partially recovered from the shock occasioned by the death of Montezuma, they were now beginning to feel their hopes renewed, and their courage reviving, under the bold and decided measures, and the signal successes of their new Emperor. He was the idol of the army. His intrepid bravery, his high military talents, his unyielding patriotism, and deadly hatred of the white men, had secured for him the confidence of all the wisest and best men of the realm, so that, with one heart and one voice, they rallied around his standard, assured that, under his energetic sway, the ancient glory and pre-eminence of the Aztec crown would be not only ably asserted, but effectually re-established.
His fall, like a mighty earthquake, shook the empire to its centre. For a moment it seemed as if all was lost—hopelessly, irretrievably lost. The long funerealwail, that swelled up from every dwelling and every heart in that devoted land, seemed like the expiring groan of a world. But it was only for a moment. The first shock past, they found themselves still standing, though among ruins. Their land, their temples, their dwellings, still remained. Their wise and experienced counsellors were all in their midst. Their host of armed men were still at their post, unbroken, undivided, unappalled. The imperial mantle had not fallen to the earth.
As by immediate direction from heaven, all eyes were turned to Guatimozin. He was nephew to the last two monarchs, and though only a young man, had distinguished himself both in the council and in the field. He had uniformly opposed the admission of the Spaniards to the capital. He had been prominent in all the recent attacks upon their quarters, and had especially signalized himself in the terrible overthrow of the disastrous night of their retreat. He had all the coolness and intrepidity of a veteran warrior, with all the fire and impetuosity of youth. He was about twenty-five years of age, of an elegant commanding figure, and so terrible in war that even his followers trembled in his presence.
The young prince felt the extreme difficulty of the crisis, but did not shrink from the arduous and perilous post assigned him. With a prudence and circumspection, only to have been expected from one long accustomed to the cares and perplexities of government, he set himself to fortify every assailable point, and to prepare for the worst that might arise, in the event of another invasion. The works commenced during thebrief reign of Cuitlahua were carried forward to their completion. By means of regular couriers and spies, a constant communication was kept up with all parts of the country. The movements of the Spaniards were narrowly watched, and their supposed designs frequently reported to the Emperor. Nothing was omitted which a sagacious and watchful monarch could do or devise, to make ready for a severe and protracted contest, in whatever form it might come.
Thus established on the throne, and strengthened against a sudden surprise, the ardent young monarch repaired to Chapoltepec, where the bereaved household of Montezuma still remained, in sad but peaceful seclusion, and claimed the hand of the fair Princess Tecuichpo. Her retiring disposition would have preferred a humbler and more quiet station. She had seen enough of the agitations and burdens of a crowned head; enough of the gaudy emptiness of life in a palace, and longed to hide herself in some sweet, sequestered spot, away from the noisy parade and anxious bustle of a court, where her own home would be all her world.
“Oh! that that crown had fallen on some other head,” she exclaimed. “Though there is not another in Anahuac so worthy to wear it, not one who would so well sustain its ancient glory, yet I would not thatyoushould bear the heavy burden, or be exposed to that desolating storm that is gathering over our devoted capital and throne.”
“Said I not, my beloved, that I would yet lead you back in triumph to the royal halls of your ancestors? I have come to redeem my pledge. Shrink not from astation which no other can so well adorn. Rather, far rather would I, if I could, retire with you to the quiet shades of private life, and find a home in some sweet glen among the mountains, than wear the crown and claim the homage of a world. But, my sweet cousin, the crownmustbe defended, the thronemustbe sustained against the insolent pretensions of these strangers. AndImust do my part in the defence. I dare not, either as monarch or as subject, withhold myself from this great work. If I perish, I fall in the service of my country and her altars. And the higher the station I hold, the greater the service I render—the heavier the burden I bear, the brighter the honors I shall win. As well perish on the throne, as fighting at its foot. I should be unworthy of the daughter of Montezuma, if I held any thing too dear to sacrifice on the shrine of my country.”
“Noble Guatimozin, my heart is yours—my life is devoted only to you. Lead me where you will, so that I can share your burdens, and lighten your cares, and not prove unworthy of such a father and such a lord. But you forget that mine is a doomed life, that oracles and omens, signs and presages, have all conspired against me from my birth.”
“Nay, my love, it is you that forget, not I. For the very oracles and omens that foreshadowed for you a clouded morning, promised with equal distinctness a bright and glorious evening. The tempestuous morning is passed. The glorious mid-day and the golden evening are yet to come.”
“You are quite too fast, I fear, my brave cousin, it was only the evening that was to have light. Thesunset hour of life was to be clear. But what, my dear Guatimozin, what do you suppose that light is to be? and whence shall it come?”
“Whatcanit be, but to restore, in your own person and family, the disputed pre-eminence of the Aztec dynasty, the tarnished glory of its crown. Rely upon it, my gentle cousin,thatis your destiny. The timid dove of Chapoltepec shall be transformed to the royal eagle of Tenochtitlan.”
“That cannot be. I rather fear that the deep cloud of my doom will overshadow and darken your life. Better far that I should suffer and perish alone.”
“Itmustbe, Tecuichpo, it shall be. Have not the gods given you to me? Have they not made me the defender of the Aztec throne? How then can you doubt that they callyouto share and adorn it?”
“Oh! my lord! those terrible omens—they are but half fulfilled, and the promised light is yet far in the distance. Could I be sure that you would share that light with me——.”
“Come then with me to the palace. It will be all light formewhenyouare there, and sure I am that time will re-interpret those sad omens for you, and turn them all to sunshine.”
Suddenly the palace of Chapoltepec was changed from a house of mourning to a house of feasting. The nuptial rites of the youthful Emperor with the beautiful princess, were celebrated with great pomp. The festivities continued through several days, and were honored by the presence of all the nobility of the empire. The most costly entertainment was provided for the numerous guests. The most munificent royal largesseswere bestowed upon the priests, and upon those who took a prominent part in the grand ceremonies, and gifts of great value lavishly distributed among all the inferior attendants. The brilliant and odoriferous treasures of the royal gardens, and of the chinampas of the great lake were exhausted in adorning the halls and chambers of the palace. The refined taste, and exquisite invention of Karee was every where apparent. The place, on the day of the nuptials, might have been taken for the realm and palace of Flora. The very air was redolent of the incense of flowers, which brightened the day with their bloom, and of the odoriferous gums, whose blaze extended the reign of day far into the realms of night.
It was a national festival, a season of universal rejoicing. The people now believed that their days of darkness and temporary depression were passed, and that all the power and glory of the days of Montezuma would be restored, under those happy auspices which made his favorite daughter a sharer of his throne. The priests sanctioned and confirmed this belief, to the utmost of their power and influence, giving it out, with that oracular force and dignity, which they so well knew how to assume, that such was the true interpretation of all the singular predictions and presages, which intimated that the life of the princess would close with unusual splendor. In this manner, they encouraged the hopes of the nation, confirmed its allegiance to its new Emperor, and united all its forces in a solid phalanx of resistance to every foreign encroachment.
When these ceremonies were concluded, and the imperial pageant passed from Chapoltepec to the capital,there was a new and still more imposing display of the reverence and loyalty of this singular people, and of the more than oriental magnificence with which they sustained the splendors of royalty. The road, through the entire distance, was swept, sprinkled, and strewed with flowers. The elite of the army, and the nobility in the gayest costumes, formed a brilliant and numerous escort, accompanied with flaunting banners, and every species of spirit-stirring music then known to Aztecs. The imperial cortege, consisting of a long array of magnificent palanquins, with their gorgeous canopies of feather-work, all a-blaze with gold and jewels, borne on the shoulders of princes and nobles, occupied the centre of the grand procession. Those of the Emperor and Empress, which moved side by side, were distinguished by the exceeding costliness and beauty of their decorations, and by the superior height of their canopies, whose sides and ends curved gracefully to a point in the centre, about three feet above the cornice, which was surmounted by the imperial diadem of Mexico. These were followed by the queen mother, and other members of the royal household, conveyed in a style but little inferior to the first. This cortege was immediately preceded and followed by all the priests and prophets of the nation, in their splendid pontificals, and bearing the showy insignia of their various orders. An immense train of the most respectable citizens, merchants, mechanics, artizans, husbandmen, and men of every honorable profession brought up the rear. They were scarcely less gay and brilliant in their costume than the escort and immediate attendants of the monarch, though somewhat less uniform in the style oftheir decorations. The road, through its entire length, was flanked by women and children, young men and maidens, in their gala dresses, with baskets and chaplets of flowers, which they continually showered upon the path, in front of the royal palanquins, thus renewing, at every step of its progress, the floral carpet, whose freshness and beauty the long escort had trampled out. Ever and anon a shout would go up from that vast multitude, so loud and long, that its echoes, reverberated along the mountain walls that shut in that beautiful valley from the great world, would be heard for many a league around. Then, from some little group of trained chanters, a song of right loyal welcome would burst forth, accompanied with showers of roses, and followed by a chorus from thousands of sweet voices—
FESTIVITIES AT THE COURT OF GUATIMOZIN—HYMENEAL VOW.
The imperial court of Tenochtitlan was now again the radiant centre of attraction to the confederated and tributary nations of Anahuac. The terror of Guatimozin’s arm was even more dreaded than that of Montezuma. He was a mighty man of valor, of that impetuous courage, and that bold directness of action, which executes at a blow the purposes and plans, which, with common minds, would require time and deliberation. He was at the same time of a generous magnanimous disposition, open, frank, unsuspecting, and won the affectionate regard, as well as the prompt unquestioning obedience of his people. He had too much good sense, and too wise a regard to the dignity of those who should attend upon the person of majesty, to require of his nobles, the officers of his court and household, those humiliating attentions which wereexacted by Montezuma. He saw that the only effect of such exactions was to weaken and effeminate the character of some of his greatest chieftains, reducing them from proud and powerful friends to fawning cringing slaves. They were no longer shrouded in the sombrenequen, as they entered the royal presence, nor did they go barefoot, with their eyes cast down to the earth, when they bore the monarch in his luxurious palanquin. Arrayed in all their costly finery, with golden or silver sandals, and with a bold, manly, cheerful bearing, as if they gloried in the precious treasure which it was their privilege, more than their duty, to protect and to care for, the imperial palanquin seemed rather their trophy than their burden, which they were far more ready to bear, than their master was to occupy. He was too active and stirring a spirit, to submit often to such a luxurious conveyance. He was ever in the midst of his chiefs, consulting and acting for the public good. He freely discussed with them the great measures of defence, which he put in progress, and evinced the remarkable and rare good sense, to adopt wise and politic suggestions, however humble the source from which they emanated, and to change his opinion at once when it was shown to be wrong. He superintended, in person, the repairing and enlarging of the fortifications, and the improvement of the tactics and discipline of the army. By a frugal expenditure of the vast revenues of the crown, and a careful preservation of the treasures left by his predecessors, he accumulated an amount more than equal to the exigencies of a long and wasting struggle with all the combined foes of the realm.
Meanwhile, the gay saloons of the palace of Montezuma were gayer than they had ever been. For a brief season, the clouds that had so long hung over the fate of the lovely Tecuichpo seemed to be dissipated. The skies were all bright above her, and every thing around her wore a cheerful and promising aspect. Attracted by her resplendent beauty, the unaffected ease and graciousness of her manners, and the queenly magnificence of her court, the youth, beauty, wit, talent and chivalry of the nation, gathered about her, and made her life a perpetual gala-day, rivalling in brilliancy and effect the best days of the gayest courts in Europe.
Conspicuous among the gay multitude that flitted about the court, was Nahuitla, Prince of Tlacopan, a young chief of the Tepanecs. He was just ripening into manhood, of an uncommonly lithe and agile frame, exceedingly fair and graceful, and gifted with unusual powers of intellect. He was one of the rarest geniuses of the age, and astonished and amused the court with the variety and beauty of his poems, and other works of taste. Nor did his intellectual accomplishments exceed his heroism and loyalty. Guatimozin had not an abler or more devoted chieftain in all his realm. It was he who fought side by side with the Emperor in all his after conflicts, endured with him the horrors of the wasting siege and painful captivity which followed, and finally shared his cruel and shameful martyrdom, at the hands of the then terror-stricken and cowardly Cortez, declaring with his last breath, that he desired no better or more glorious lot, than to die by the side of his lord.
Nahuitla, like all good knights and brave soldiers, to say nothing of true poets, had a heart warmly susceptible of tender impressions, and could not resist the bright eyes and witching smiles, that illuminated the saloons and gardens of the imperial palace. Promiscuous flirtation was less hazardous in Tenochtitlan than in most of the capitals of Christendom. The wealthy nobles being allowed to marry as many wives as they could support, the young prince could win the affections of all the bright daughters of the valley, without at all apprehending a suit for breach of promise, or a conspiracy against his own life, or that of his favorite, by some disappointed rival. How many conquests he made in one brief campaign, does not appear in the chronicles of the day. Atlacan, a princess of Tezcuco, was his first trophy. She was very fair and highly gifted, resembling in many points of person and character, the guardian genius of the young Empress, the talented Karee.
At his first encounter with the Tezcucan princess, Nahuitla was deeply impressed with a peculiar expression of thoughtfulness, shading a brilliantly beautiful countenance, and imposing a kind of constrained awe upon the stranger. This shadow gradually disappeared upon a further acquaintance, till the whole face and person were so lighted up with the fire of her genius and wit, that it seemed as if invested with a supernatural halo. Their intercourse was a perfect tournament of wit, and their brilliant sallies and sparkling repartees, were the theme of universal admiration.
The princess Atlacan was always attended by a very prudent, watchful, anxious chaperone, of a fairexterior, and pleasing manners, who had passed the meridian of life, and begun to wane into the cool of its evening. She had also a brother, Maxtli, considerably older than herself, who, from a two-fold motive, seemed to delight in disappointing her expectations, and thwarting her plans. He was a cold, mercenary, selfish man, who sought only his own aggrandizement. The princess was a special favorite of her father, who was a prince of the highest rank, and nearly related to the reigning king of Tezcuco. She had already received many substantial proofs of parental partiality, which her avaricious brother would fain have claimed for himself. Her brilliant qualities and growing influence made her an object of jealousy, as seeming to stand in the way of his own preferment. He had used every exertion to dispose of her in marriage to some of her numerous suitors, and had particularly advocated the cause of a wealthy young merchant of Cholula, who rejoiced in the euphonous name of Xitentlóxiltlitl, from whom Maxtli had received large presents of gold and jewels.
Atlacan despised the merchant, who fondly imagined that his gold could purchase any jewel in the realm. She would not listen to his proposals. It was not pride of family, for in Anahuac, under the Aztec dynasty, the merchant was a man of note, scarcely inferior to the proudest noble. But the merchant wasonlya merchant, a man of one idea, and that was gold, without refinement, without sentiment, without heart, like the majority of the same class of mere money mongers all the world over.
Maxtli was enraged by his sister’s refusal of this alliance,which, if it had been consummated, he would have made subservient to his own interests. He determined, from mere revenge, to throw obstacles in the way of her alliance with the gifted prince of Tlacopan. The annoyances he invented, and the frequent prudential interposition of her cautious chaperone, who was in the pay of Maxtli, made her position rather a difficult one, and often put her disposition to the severest test. It chanced, one lovely evening, that the lovers had stolen a march upon both their tormentors, and found, in the royal gardens, a few moments of that unwatched uninterrupted conference, which only those in the same delicate relation, at the same period of life, know how to appreciate. Their absence from the saloons was soon noticed. The duenna was severely censured, and sent in pursuit of the fugitive. Karee, who was in the secret of the escape, led her a long and wearisome chase, through the numberless halls and corridors of that immense pile, and finally left her, at the furthest extremity of the building, to find her way back as she could. Then, returning to Maxtli, who could scarce restrain his rage that they had so long eluded him—
“My lord,” said she, “can you tell me where I shall find your sister? I have a message for her, which I can only deliver to her personally.”
“I know not,” he replied angrily, “but she is probably flirting somewhere with that fool fop, the royal bard of Tlacopan. But from whom does your message come?”
“That can only be made known to herself. I saw her some time since, in the garden, leaning upon the arm of this same royal bard, the only young prince in Anahuac worthy of such a jewel.”
The prince bit his lip with vexation, and Karee ran off toward the garden. In a few moments, the poor old chaperone came blustering along, out of breath and out of humor.
“Fie upon the giddy girls of this generation,” she exclaimed, “they know nothing of propriety. I wonder what would have been thought of such actions whenIwas young!”
“Hasten to the garden,” said Maxtli, impatiently, “your hopeful pupil is there, and that rhyming fop is with her.”
He might as well have sent her to the labyrinth of Lemnos or Crete. Covering an immense area, and traversed in every direction by serpentine walks, shaded lanes, and magnificent avenues, one might have wandered up and down there a week, without finding one who wished to elude pursuit. She obeyed his directions, however, and was soon lost in mazes more intricate and perplexing than those of the palace.
Presently the truants returned, by a different path from that which their pursuer had taken. The princess wore in her bosom a significant flower, which she had received and accepted from her admirer. With a light and joyous step, he led her through the crowded saloon, and presented her to the queen, craving her sanction to the vows they had just plighted to each other. Gracefully placing a chaplet of white roses and amaranths on their heads, the Empress gave them her blessing. Guatimozin, approaching at the same instant, confirmed it with hearty good will, and requested that the nuptials might be celebrated at an early day, and in his own palace.
So distinguished a favor could not be refused. In the course of the next week the solemn ceremonies were performed; with all the imposing pomp of the Aztec ritual. A royal banquet was prepared, and the palace resounded with joyous revelry and music.
When the officiating priest had uttered the last solemn words which sealed the indissoluble bond, Nahuitla stood forth, and publicly avowed his belief, that the gods designed only one woman for each man, solemnly renounced the old doctrine of polygamy, and pledged to his young bride, in the presence of his royal master, and the brilliant throng that had witnessed his vows of love and constancy, an undivided heart, and an undivided house.
Struck with surprise and admiration at this unexpected scene, and impressed with the truth and purity of the sentiments, and the soundness of the conclusions, which the brave prince had proclaimed, the Emperor rose from his throne, and, with a bland but dignified and solemn air, addressed him:—
“You are right, Nahuitla, my brave prince; I feel it in my heart, you are right. I feel it in the claim whichyourEmpress andmine, (looking affectionately at Tecuichpo,) has in the undivided empire of my heart, and in that sacred bond of union which is so close, that it cannot be shared by another without being broken. In the presence of these holy men, and of these my witnessing people, I solemnly subscribe to the same pure vow which you have uttered, pledging my whole self, in the marriage covenant to this my chosen and beloved queen, even as she has pledged her whole self to me. And I ordain the same, as the law ofthis my realm, and binding on all my loyal subjects for ever.”[D]
If the noble Guatimozin had been permitted to sway the Aztec sceptre in peace, his name would be embalmed in the hearts of all the women of Anahuac, and the anniversary of the nuptials of Nahuitla and Atlacan would be celebrated, to this day, as the household jubilee of the nation.
The conclusion of this festival—the last of the kind that was ever celebrated in the halls of Montezuma—was a unique and magnificent specimen of Aztec taste and luxury. At a signal from the master of ceremonies, the royal garden was suddenly illuminated by a thousand torches, borne by as many well trained servants in white livery. They were so stationed as to represent, from different points of view, groups of bright figures whirling in the mazy evolutions of a wild Indian dance. The harmony of their movements, and the picturesque effect of their frequent changes of position, was truly wonderful. It seemed more like magic than any thing belonging to the ordinary denizens of earth. By continually passing and re-passing each other,approaching and receding, raising and depressing their torches, the bearers were enabled to describe a great variety of fantastic figures. So well did they perform their parts, that, to the crowd of spectators from the palace, it was a perfect pantomime of light.
At length the dance ended, and the figures of the various groups in light, gathering around a high altar, all of fire, seemed waiting for some sacred rite to be performed. Presently a tall princely figure was seen, approaching with slow and solemn pace, leading a lovely female to the altar. The high priest joined their hands in the indissoluble bond, and waved his wand of fire over their heads, in token of the divine blessing; upon which the dance of the torches was instantly renewed, accompanied with strains of the most joyous music, each group breathing out its peculiar airs and melodies, while the whole were beautifully blended and harmonized by the master spirit of the fête. It seemed like the bridal of two angels of light, witnessed and celebrated by all the stars and constellations of the celestial spheres.
The sudden extinguishment of these pantomimic stars, revealed to the surprised revellers the presence of the dawn, before whose coming the stars of every sphere go out, and revelry gives place to the sober realities of life.