The Infidel; or, the Fall of Mexico. Vol. II.

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  THE INFIDEL;

  OR, THE FALL OF MEXICO.

  A ROMANCE.

  BY THE AUTHOR OF "CALAVAR."

  SECOND EDITION.

  IN TWO VOLUMES.

  VOL. II.

  Philadelphia: CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD. 1835.

  Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1835, by CAREY, LEA & BLANCHARD, in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

  PHILADELPHIA C. SHERMAN & CO. PRINTERS, NO. 19 ST. JAMES STREET.

  --Un esforcado soldado, que se dezia _Lerma_--Se fue entre los Indios como aburrido de temor del mismo Cortes, a quien avia ayudado a salvar la vida, por ciertas cosas de enojo que Cortes contra el tuvo, que aqui no declaro por su honor: nunca mas supimos del vivo, ni muerto, mala suspecha tuvimos.

  BERNAL DIAZ DEL CASTILLO--_Hist. Verd. de la Conqista_.

  No hay mal que por bien no venga, Dicen adagios vulgares.

  CALPERON--_La Dama Duende_.

  THE INFIDEL.

  CHAPTER I.

  Before sunrise on the following morning, many a feathered band of alliesfrom distant tribes was pouring into Tezcuco; for this was the day onwhich the Captain-General had appointed to review his whole force,assign the several divisions to the command of his favourite officers,and expound the system of warfare, by which he expected to reduce thedoomed Tenochtitlan. The multitudes that were collected by midday wouldbe beyond our belief, did we not know that the royal valley, and everyneighbouring nook of Anahuac capable of cultivation, were covered by apopulation almost as dense as that which makes an ant-heap of the'Celestial Empire,' at this day.

  While they were thus congregating together, marshalled under theirnative chiefs, emulously expressing their attachment to the Spaniard,and their enthusiasm in his cause, by the horrible clamour of drums andconches, Cortes was receiving, in the great Hall of Audience, thecompliments and reverence of those cavaliers, distinguished soldiers,and valiant infidel princes, whom he had invited to the feast, withwhich he marked the close of his mighty preparations and the beginningof his not less arduous campaign.

  A table crossed the room immediately in front of the platform, on whichthe noblest and most honoured guests had already taken their stations.Two others, running from pillar to pillar, extended the whole length ofthe apartment, leaving in the intermediate space, as well as betwixtthem and the walls, sufficient room for the passage of revellers andattendants, of which latter there were many present, bustling to andfro, in the persons of Indian boys and girls, all branded with thescarry badge of servitude. The walls, pillars, and ceiling, wereornamented with green branches of trees and viny festoons, among whichbreathed and glittered a multitude of the gayest and most odoriferousflowers; and besides these, there were deposited and suspended, in manyplaces, Indian banners and standards as well as spears, bucklers, andbattle-axes, the trophies of many a field of victory. The tables werecovered with brilliant cotton-cloths, and loaded not only with all thedainties of Mexico, but with some of the luxuries of Europe, among whichwere conspicuous divers flagons of wine, on which many a veteran gazedwith looks of anxious and affectionate expectation.

  The peculiarity of the scene, animated as it was by a densely movingthrong of guests in their most gallant attire, was greatly heightened bya circumstance, for which but few were able to account. Although fullnoon-day, the light of heaven was carefully excluded, and the apartmentilluminated only by torches and lamps. This, though it gavepicturesqueness to every object in view, was, to say the least,remarkable; and those who were most interested to watch the workings ofthe commander's mind, beheld in it a subject for many disturbingreflections. But, to such persons, there was another phenomenon stillmore unsatisfactory, in the spectacle of a line of veteran soldiers,original followers of Cortes, extending round the whole apartment, whostood against the walls, each with a spear in his hand and a_machete_,--a heavy, straight sword,--on his thigh, surveying therevellers more with the air of sentinels than companions in festivity.

  While the inferior guests stood or lounged about, speculating on thesecurious particulars, and expecting the signal to begin the feast, whichseemed to be delayed by the absence of some important guest, Cortesoccupied himself conversing with Alvarado, De Olid, Guzman, De Ircio,and other hidalgos, who stood with him on the platform, occasionallyextending his notice to the young king of Tezcuco, his brother Suchel,the Tlascalan chief Chichimecatl, and other noble barbarians, who madepart of the distinguished group. Many curious, and not a few anxious,eyes were turned upon them from different parts of the hall; and it wassoon observed, and remarked with whispers, that Sandoval, the valiantand beloved, and Xicotencal, the gloomy, were absent from the party.

  By and by, however, conjectures were put to rest by the suddenappearance of the cavalier in question, who entered with his garments insome disorder, his countenance heated and troubled, and his wholeappearance that of a man just released from some exciting and laboriousduty.

  As soon as Cortes perceived him approaching, he commanded room to bemade for him on the platform, welcomed him with a smiling face and acordial grasp of hand, and then signed to the guests to take theirplaces at the tables.

  In the bustle of festivity that followed the command, the revellersforgot to wonder at the torchlight around them and the presence of thearmed guards. If a few still bent their eyes uneasily on thecommander-in-chief, striving to catch the low accents with which heconversed with his immediate friends, and particularly with Sandoval,their efforts were unnoticed by the others; and, in a short time, thehum of whispers waxed into murmurs of joyous hilarity, so that theconversation on the platform could only be guessed at by the expressivevisages and gestures of the cavaliers.

  By and by, the feast became still more unrestrained and noisy. Wine waspoured and drunk, jests were uttered, songs almost sung, and carebanished from all but a few, who still turned their looks to theplatform, exchanged glances occasionally with each other, and at everybustle attending the entrance of any one at the great door, cast theireyes in that direction with much meaning anxiety.

  Still, however, the feast went on, and enjoyment was becoming revelry,when the voice of Cortes was suddenly heard. The murmurs of all wereinstantly hushed, and all turning their eyes to the platform, theybeheld the Captain-General standing erect, and eyeing them with extremegravity of countenance, holding, at the same time, in his hand, a goldenbowl of wine.

  "My brothers and fellow-soldiers," he said, as soon as all werecomposed, "it becomes us, as true and loyal Castilians, to remember ourduty to the king our master, whom God preserve for a thousand years! Weare here afar from his sight, but not beyond the reach of his authority,nor the constraint of our true allegiance. Let it not be thought thatthe cavaliers of Madrid will drink his health with more zeal andhumility at the palace-door, than we, his true subjects, in the desertsof Mexico. A bowl, then, to his majesty our master, Don Carlos of Spain,Austria, and this New World!"

  As he spoke, he knelt upon one knee, and all present, even the barbaricking at his side, doing the same thing, allegiance was pledged in thecup,--which is undoubtedly the best way to make it agreeable.

  From this exhibition of humility, all rose up, shouting lusty _vivas_.

  "It gratifies me," said Cortes, when this customary ebullition ofl
oyalty was over, "to perceive that I have about me men so trulyfaithful to my very noble and loyal master. For in this, I perceive Ishall be no more afflicted with the painful necessity of exerting thosepowers with which his majesty has so bountifully endowed me, even to theshedding of blood and the taking of life."

  A sudden damper fell upon the spirits of many present, and all who werenot apprized of the secret of Villafana's fate, looked upon Cortes withsurprise.

  "Know, my truly faithful and loyal friends," he went on, speaking withan appearance of solemn indignation, "that we have had among us aTRAITOR,--a Christian man and a Spaniard, yet a traitor to the king ourmaster! Yet, in the band of the holy apostles, there was one Judas; andit does not become us to believe that we, sinful creatures as we are,and much more numerous, should be without _our_ Iscariot, who would havesold our lives for silver, and sunk into perdition the interest of hismajesty in this opulent kingdom. It rejoices me to know that we have hadbut _one_. The pain with which I have been filled to discover there wereother knaves for his accomplices, is assuaged by the knowledge that theywere not Castilians, but infidel Indians; to whom perfidy is so natural,that it is wholly superfluous to lament its occurrence. Know therefore,my friends, and grieve not to know it, for the evil is past, thatXicotencal, General-in-chief of the Tlascalan forces, besides secretlytreating with our foes, his own enemies, the men of Tenochtitlan, did,last night, traitorously abandon our standard, and set out, to throwhimself, as I doubt not, into the arms of the Mexicans."

  "A villain! a very vile traitor! death to the dog of an unbeliever!"were the expressions with which the revellers protested theirindignation.

  "Think not," said the Captain-General, in continuation, "that thevillain who doth seriously pursue a scheme of disloyalty, shall escape ajust retribution. The toils and sufferings which we have endured in thisland, in his majesty's service, are such that I can readily excuse themurmurs with which some have occasionally indulged a peevish discontent.I will never account it much against a brave soldier that he hassometimes grumbled a little; but he who meditates, or practises, atreason, shall die. I have said, that among us all there was but _one_villain. Perhaps there were two; but of that we will inquire hereafter.He of whom I speak, was one to whom I had forgiven much semblance ofdiscontent, and whom I had raised into no little favour. Yet did heconceive a foul conspiracy, having for its object no less a thing thanthe destruction of this enterprise against a rich pagan kingdom, and themurder of all those who would not become the enemies of Spain. The manof whom I speak you know. It was--"

  "Villafana!" muttered many, with eager, yet fearful voices; while thosewho had hitherto betrayed anxiety at the ominous lights and guards,turned pale in secret.

  "It was indeed the Alguazil, Villafana," said Cortes, sternly; "and youshall know his villany. First, the Mexican ambassadors, last nightcommitted to his charge, he permitted to escape, that they might be nohinderance to the ambushed infidels, then lying on the lake, ready toburn my brigantines. Secondly, being the captain of the prison, hepermitted the same to be approached and sacked by other infidels,whereby a prisoner, convicted of a heavy crime and condemned to die, wassnatched out of our hands, and given into those of the enemy, whom hewill doubtless aid and abet in all the sanguinary resistance which theyare inclined to make. Thirdly, by his persuasions, Xicotencal wasinduced to throw off his allegiance, at the very moment when the fleetand the prison were beset, and desert from the post. And fourthly, theconsummation of the whole villany was to be effected at this very hour,and on this very floor, in the blood of myself, my officers, and as Imay say of yourselves also; since none were to be spared who were nothis sworn colleagues; and, certainly, there are none here so base andcriminal?"

  The answer to this address mingled a thousand protestations of loyaltywith as many fierce calls for punishment on the traitor. In the midst ofthe tumult, Cortes gave a sign to two Indian slaves, who stood behindthe platform; and the heavy curtain being rapidly pulled aside, thelustre of the noontide sun streamed through the pellucid wall, untillamp and torch seemed to smoulder into darkness, under the diviner ray;and the revellers looking up, beheld the ghastly spectacle ofVillafana's body, hanging motionless and stiff in the midst of thelight.

  At this unexpected sight, the guests, inflamed as they were with wine,anger, and enthusiasm, were struck with horror; and if traitors wereamong them, as none but Cortes and themselves could say, it was notpossible to detect them by their countenances, all being equally paleand affrighted.

  "Thus perish all who plot treason against the king and the king'sofficers!" cried the Captain-General, with a loud voice. "The rebelXicotencal swings upon an oak-tree, on the wayside as you go to Chalco;the mutineer Lerma hath fled to the pagans, to become a renegade andperhaps apostate; and Villafana, the traitor, hangs as you see, upon thewindow of our banqueting-room, to teach all who may have meditated alike villany, the fate that shall most certainly await them.--Hide thecarrion!" he exclaimed to the slaves, and in an instant the frightfulspectacle was excluded, along with the cheerful light of day. The returnto that of the torches was like a lapse into darkness, and for a fewmoments, it was scarce possible for the guests to distinguish thefeatures of those nearest to them. In the gloom, however, the voice ofthe Captain-General was heard, concluding his oration:

  "Let no one of this true and loyal company be in fear," he said, withhis accustomed craft. "The paper, on which the villain had recorded thenames of such madmen as would have joined him in his crime, he wasartful enough to destroy. But let the disaffected tremble. There hasbeen one dog among us, and there may others prove so, hereafter. But Iam now awake; and the treason that may be planted, shall be discovered,and nipped before it come to the budding.--God save his majesty! Anotherbowl to his greatness! And let all fall to feasting again; for, by andby, the signal gun will be fired for the review, and this is the lastfeast ye must think of sharing together, till ye can spread it again inthe halls of Montezuma."

  Whatever relief might have been carried by these words to the bosoms ofthe guilty, the spectacle of their murdered associate had sunk toodeeply in their spirits, to allow any festive exertions. The innocentwere equally shocked, and gloom and uneasiness oppressed the hearts ofall.

  It was felt therefore as a relief, when the signal for breaking up thefeast was given by the sound of a gun from the temple-top; and allrushed out, to forget in the bustle of parade, the sickening event whichhad marred their enjoyment.

  On this day, the whole army of Cortes, of which the thousand Christiansmade scarcely the three-hundredth part, was marched out upon the meadowsof Tezcuco, and there, with ceremonies of great state and ostentation,was reviewed, divided, and each division appointed to its respectiveduties.

  The first division was assigned to the command of Sandoval, and wasordered to march southward to the city of Iztapalapan, which commandedthe principal causeway, or approach to Mexico. The second was given tothe ferocious De Olid, whose destination was to Cojohuacan, a citysouthwest of Mexico, the dike from which led to that betwixt themetropolis and Iztapalapan. The third was appointed to the Capitan delSalto, or Alvarado, who was to take possession of Tacuba, whichcommanded the shortest of the causeways. The two last divisions wereordered to proceed in company, around the northern borders of the lake,destroying the towns on the route, and separating at Tacuba.

  The fleet Cortes reserved in his own hands, intending, besidescommanding the whole lake, so to act with it, as to give assistance toeach division, as it might be needed. The royal city of Tezcuco was tobe entrusted to the government of the young king Ixtlilxochitl, thecavalier Don Francisco de Guzman remaining, though somewhat reluctantly,to guide and control his actions, under the appearance of adding to hisstate and security.

  These preliminaries arranged, the remainder of the day was devoted tofestivities. The great work of conquest was to begin on the morrow.