CHAPTER XIX
THE FOUR GODDESSES
Some weary time went by, and at last came the day of the entry intoMexico of Cortes and his conquerors. Now of all the doings of theSpaniards after they occupied the city, I do not propose to speak atlength, for these are matters of history, and I have my own story totell. So I shall only write of those of them with which I was concernedmyself. I did not see the meeting between Montezuma and Cortes, thoughI saw the emperor set out to it clad like Solomon in his glory andsurrounded by his nobles. But I am sure of this, that no slave beingled to sacrifice carried a heavier heart in his breast than that ofMontezuma on this unlucky day. For now his folly had ruined him, and Ithink he knew that he was going to his doom.
Afterwards, towards evening, I saw the emperor come back in his goldenlitter, and pass over to the palace built by Axa his father, that stoodopposite to and some five hundred paces from his own, facing the westerngate of the temple. Presently I heard the sound of a multitude shouting,and amidst it the tramp of horses and armed soldiers, and from a seatin my chamber I saw the Spaniards advance down the great street, and myheart beat at the sight of Christian men. In front, clad in rich armour,rode their leader Cortes, a man of middle size but noble bearing,with thoughtful eyes that noted everything, and after him, some fewon horseback but the most of them on foot, marched his little army ofconquerors, staring about them with bold wondering eyes and jesting toeach other in Castilian. They were but a handful, bronzed with the sunand scarred by battle, some of them ill-armed and almost in rags, andlooking on them I could not but marvel at the indomitable couragethat had enabled them to pierce their way through hostile thousands,sickness, and war, even to the home of Montezuma's power.
By the side of Cortes, holding his stirrup in her hand, walked abeautiful Indian woman dressed in white robes and crowned with flowers.As she passed the palace she turned her face. I knew her at once; itwas my friend Marina, who now had attained to the greatness which shedesired, and who, notwithstanding all the evil that she had brought uponher country, looked most happy in it and in her master's love.
As the Spaniards went by I searched their faces one by one, with thevague hope of hate. For though it might well chance that death had putus out of each other's reach, I half thought to see de Garcia among thenumber of the conquerors. Such a quest as theirs, with its promise ofblood, and gold, and rapine, would certainly commend itself to his evilheart should it be in his power to join it, and a strange instinct toldme that he was NOT dead. But neither dead nor living was he among thosemen who entered Mexico that day.
That night I saw Guatemoc and asked him how things went.
'Well for the kite that roosts in the dove's nest,' he answered with abitter laugh, 'but very ill for the dove. Montezuma, my uncle, has beencooing yonder,' and he pointed to the palace of Axa, 'and the captain ofthe Teules has cooed in answer, but though he tried to hide it, I couldhear the hawk's shriek in his pigeon's note. Ere long there will bemerry doings in Tenoctitlan.'
He was right. Within a week Montezuma was treacherously seized by theSpaniards and kept a prisoner in their quarters, watched day and nightby their soldiers. Then came event upon event. Certain lords in thecoast lands having killed some Spaniards, were summoned to Mexico by theinstigation of Cortes. They came and were burned alive in the courtyardof the palace. Nor was this all, for Montezuma, their monarch, wasforced to witness the execution with fetters on his ankles. So low hadthe emperor of the Aztecs fallen, that he must bear chains like a commonfelon. After this insult he swore allegiance to the King of Spain, andeven contrived to capture Cacama, the lord of Tezcuco, by treachery andto deliver him into the hands of the Spaniards on whom he would havemade war. To them also he gave up all the hoarded gold and treasure ofthe empire, to the value of hundreds of thousands of English pounds. Allthis the nation bore, for it was stupefied and still obeyed the commandsof its captive king. But when he suffered the Spaniards to worship thetrue God in one of the sanctuaries of the great temple, a murmur ofdiscontent and sullen fury rose among the thousands of the Aztecs. Itfilled the air, it could be heard wherever men were gathered, and itssound was like that of a distant angry sea. The hour of the breaking ofthe tempest was at hand.
Now all this while my life went on as before, save that I was notallowed to go outside the walls of the palace, for it was feared lestI should find some means of intercourse with the Spaniards, who didnot know that a man of white blood was confined there and doomed tosacrifice. Also in these days I saw little of the princess Otomie,the chief of my destined brides, who since our strange love scene hadavoided me, and when we met at feasts or in the gardens spoke to me onlyon indifferent matters, or of the affairs of state. At length came theday of my marriage. It was, I remember, the night before the massacre ofthe six hundred Aztec nobles on the occasion of the festival of Huitzel.
On this my wedding day I was treated with great circumstance andworshipped like a god by the highest in the city, who came in to do mereverence and burned incense before me, till I was weary of the smell ofit, for though such sorrow was on the land, the priests would abate nojot of their ceremonies or cruelties, and great hopes were held that Ibeing of the race of Teules, my sacrifice would avert the anger of thegods. At sunset I was entertained with a splendid feast that lasted twohours or more, and at its end all the company rose and shouted as withone voice:
'Glory to thee, O Tezcat! Happy art thou here on earth, happy mayst thoube in the Houses of the Sun. When thou comest thither, remember that wedealt well by thee, giving thee of our best, and intercede for us thatour sins may be forgiven. Glory to thee, O Tezcat!'
Then two of the chief nobles came forward, and taking torches led me toa magnificent chamber that I had never seen before. Here they changed myapparel, investing me in robes which were still more splendid than anythat I had worn hitherto, being made of the finest embroidered cottonand of the glittering feathers of the humming bird. On my head they setwreaths of flowers, and about my neck and wrists emeralds of vast sizeand value, and a sorry popinjay I looked in this attire, that seemedmore suited to a woman's beauty than to me.
When I was arrayed, suddenly the torches were extinguished and for awhile there was silence. Then in the distance I heard women's voicessinging a bridal song that was beautiful enough after its fashion,though I forbear to write it down. The singing ceased and there came asound of rustling robes and of low whispering. Then a man's voice spoke,saying:
'Are ye there, ye chosen of heaven?'
And a woman's voice, I thought it was that of Otomie, answered:
'We are here.'
'O maidens of Anahuac,' said the man speaking from the darkness, 'andyou, O Tezcat, god among the gods, listen to my words. Maidens, a greathonour has been done to you, for by the very choice of heaven, you havebeen endowed with the names, the lovelinesses, and the virtues of thefour great goddesses, and chosen to abide a while at the side of thisgod, your maker and your master, who has been pleased to visit us for aspace before he seeks his home in the habitations of the Sun. See thatyou show yourselves worthy of this honour. Comfort him and cherish him,that he may forget his glory in your kindness, and when he returns tohis own place may take with him grateful memories and a good report ofyour people. You have but a little while to live at his side in thislife, for already, like those of a caged bird, the wings of his spiritbeat against the bars of the flesh, and soon he will shake himselffree from us and you. Yet if you will, it is allowed to one of you toaccompany him to his home, sharing his flight to the Houses of the Sun.But to all of you, whether you go also, or whether you stay to mourn himduring your life days, I say love and cherish him, be tender and gentletowards him, for otherwise ruin shall overtake you here and hereafter,and you and all of us will be ill spoken of in heaven. And you, OTezcat, we pray of you to accept these maidens, who bear the names andwear the charms of your celestial consorts, for there are none morebeautiful or better born in the realms of Anahuac, and among them isnumbered the daughter of our k
ing. They are not perfect indeed, forperfection is known to you in the heavenly kingdoms only, since theseladies are but shadows and symbols of the divine goddesses your truewives, and here there are no perfect women. Alas, we have none better tooffer you, and it is our hope that when it pleases you to pass hence youwill think kindly of the women of this land, and from on high bless themwith your blessing, because your memory of these who were called yourwives on earth is pleasant.'
The voice paused, then spoke again:
'Women, in your own divine names of Xochi, Xilo, Atla, and Clixto,and in the name of all the gods, I wed you to Tezcat, the creator, tosojourn with him during his stay on earth. The god incarnate takes youin marriage whom he himself created, that the symbol may be perfect andthe mystery fulfilled. Yet lest your joy should be too full--look now onthat which shall be.'
As the voice spoke these words, many torches sprang into flame at thefar end of the great chamber, revealing a dreadful sight. For there,stretched upon a stone of sacrifice, was the body of a man, but whetherthe man lived or was modelled in wax I do not know to this hour, thoughunless he was painted, I think that he must have been fashioned in wax,since his skin shone white like mine. At the least his limbs and headwere held by five priests, and a sixth stood over him clasping a knifeof obsidian in his two hands. It flashed on high, and as it gleamed thetorches were extinguished. Then came the dull echo of a blow and a soundof groans, and all was still, till once more the brides broke out intotheir marriage song, a strange chant and a wild and sweet, though afterwhat I had seen and heard it had little power to move me.
They sang on in the darkness ever more loudly, till presently a singletorch was lit at the end of the chamber, then another and another,though I could not see who lit them, and the room was a flare of light.Now the altar, the victim, and the priests were all gone, there was noone left in the place except myself and the four brides. They were talland lovely women all of them, clad in white bridal robes starred overwith gems and flowers, and wearing on their brows the emblems of thefour goddesses, but Otomie was the stateliest and most beautiful of thefour, and seemed in truth a goddess. One by one they drew near to me,smiling and sighing, and kneeling before me kissed my hand, saying:
'I have been chosen to be your wife for a space, Tezcat, happy maid thatI am. May the good gods grant that I become pleasing to your sight, sothat you may love me as I worship you.'
Then she who had spoken would draw back again out of earshot, and thenext would take her place.
Last of all came Otomie. She knelt and said the words, then added in alow voice,
'Having spoken to you as the bride and goddess to the husband and thegod Tezcat, now, O Teule, I speak as the woman to the man. You do notlove me, Teule, therefore, if it is your will, let us be divorced of ourown act who were wed by the command of others, for so I shall be sparedsome shame. These are friends to me and will not betray us;' and shenodded towards her companion brides.
'As you will, Otomie,' I answered briefly.
'I thank you for your kindness, Teule,' she said smiling sadly, andwithdrew making obeisance, looking so stately and so sweet as she went,that again my heart was shaken as though with love. Now from that nighttill the dreadful hour of sacrifice, no kiss or tender word passedbetween me and the princess of the Otomie. And yet our friendship andaffection grew daily, for we talked much together, and I sought to turnher heart to the true King of Heaven. But this was not easy, for likeher father Montezuma, Otomie clung to the gods of her people, thoughshe hated the priests, and save when the victims were the foes of hercountry, shrank from the rites of human sacrifice, which she said wereinstituted by the pabas, since in the early days there were no menoffered on the altars of the gods, but flowers only. Daily it grew andripened till, although I scarcely knew it, at length in my heart, afterLily, I loved her better than anyone on earth. As for the other women,though they were gentle and beautiful, I soon learned to hate them.Still I feasted and revelled with them, partly since I must, or bringthem to a miserable death because they failed to please me, and partlythat I might drown my terrors in drink and pleasure, for let it beremembered that the days left to me on earth were few, and the awful enddrew near.
The day following the celebration of my marriage was that of theshameless massacre of six hundred of the Aztec nobles by the order ofthe hidalgo Alvarado, whom Cortes had left in command of the Spaniards.For at this time Cortes was absent in the coast lands, whither he hadgone to make war on Narvaez, who had been sent to subdue him by hisenemy Velasquez, the governor of Cuba.
On this day was celebrated the feast of Huitzel, that was held withsacrifice, songs, and dances in the great court of the temple, thatcourt which was surrounded by a wall carved over with the writhingshapes of snakes. It chanced that on this morning before he went tojoin in the festival, Guatemoc, the prince, came to see me on a visit ofceremony.
I asked him if he intended to take part in the feast, as the splendourof his apparel brought me to believe.
'Yes,' he answered, 'but why do you ask?'
'Because, were I you, Guatemoc, I would not go. Say now, will thedancers be armed?'
'No, it is not usual.'
'They will be unarmed, Guatemoc, and they are the flower of the land.Unarmed they will dance in yonder enclosed space, and the Teules willwatch them armed. Now, how would it be if these chanced to pick aquarrel with the nobles?'
'I do not know why you should speak thus, Teule, for surely these whitemen are not cowardly murderers, still I take your words as an omen, andthough the feast must be held, for see already the nobles gather, I willnot share in it.'
'You are wise, Guatemoc,' I said. 'I am sure that you are wise.'
Afterwards Otomie, Guatemoc, and I went into the garden of the palaceand sat upon the crest of a small pyramid, a teocalli in miniature thatMontezuma had built for a place of outlook on the market and the courtsof the temple. From this spot we saw the dancing of the Aztec nobles,and heard the song of the musicians. It was a gay sight, for in thebright sunlight their feather dresses flashed like coats of gems, andnone would have guessed how it was to end. Mingling with the dancerswere groups of Spaniards clad in mail and armed with swords andmatchlocks, but I noted that, as the time went on, these men separatedthemselves from the Indians and began to cluster like bees about thegates and at various points under the shadow of the Wall of Serpents.
'Now what may this mean?' I said to Guatemoc, and as I spoke, I saw aSpaniard wave a white cloth in the air. Then, in an instant, before thecloth had ceased to flutter, a smoke arose from every side, and with itcame the sound of the firing of matchlocks. Everywhere among the dancersmen fell dead or wounded, but the mass of them, unharmed as yet,huddled themselves together like frightened sheep, and stood silent andterror-stricken. Then the Spaniards, shouting the name of their patronsaint, as it is their custom to do when they have some such wickednessin hand, drew their swords, and rushing on the unarmed Aztec noblesbegan to kill them. Now some shrieked and fled, and some stood stilltill they were cut down, but whether they stayed or ran the end was thesame, for the gates were guarded and the wall was too high to climb.There they were slaughtered every man of them, and may God, who seesall, reward their murderers! It was soon over; within ten minutes ofthe waving of the cloth, those six hundred men were stretched upon thepavement dead or dying, and with shouts of victory the Spaniards weredespoiling their corpses of the rich ornaments they had worn.
Then I turned to Guatemoc and said, 'It seems that you did well not tojoin in yonder revel.'
But Guatemoc made no answer. He stared at the dead and those who hadmurdered them, and said nothing. Only Otomie spoke: 'You Christians area gentle people,' she said with a bitter laugh; 'it is thus that yourepay our hospitality. Now I trust that Montezuma, my father, is pleasedwith his guests. Ah! were I he, every man of them should lie on thestone of sacrifice. If our gods are devils as you say, what are thosewho worship yours?'
Then at length Guatemoc said, 'Only one thing remain
s to us, and that isvengeance. Montezuma has become a woman, and I heed him no more, nay,if it were needful, I would kill him with my own hand. But two men arestill left in the land, Cuitlahua, my uncle, and myself. Now I go tosummon our armies.' And he went.
All that night the city murmured like a swarm of wasps, and next day atdawn, so far as the eye could reach, the streets and market place werefilled with tens of thousands of armed warriors. They threw themselveslike a wave upon the walls of the palace of Axa, and like a wave froma rock they were driven back again by the fire of the guns. Thrice theyattacked, and thrice they were repulsed. Then Montezuma, the woman king,appeared upon the walls, praying them to desist because, forsooth, didthey succeed, he himself might perish. Even then they obeyed him,so great was their reverence for his sacred royalty, and for a whileattacked the Spaniards no more. But further than this they would notgo. If Montezuma forbade them to kill the Spaniards, at least theydetermined to starve them out, and from that hour a strait blockadewas kept up against the palace. Hundreds of the Aztec soldiers had beenslain already, but the loss was not all upon their side, for some of theSpaniards and many of the Tlascalans had fallen into their hands. Asfor these unlucky prisoners, their end was swift, for they were taken atonce to the temples of the great teocalli, and sacrificed there to thegods in the sight of their comrades.
Now it was that Cortes returned with many more men, for he had conqueredNarvaez, whose followers joined the standard of Cortes, and with themothers, one of whom I had good reason to know. Cortes was suffered torejoin his comrades in the palace of Axa without attack, I do not knowwhy, and on the following day Cuitlahua, Montezuma's brother, kingof Palapan, was released by him that he might soothe the people. ButCuitlahua was no coward. Once safe outside his prison walls, he calledthe council together, of whom the chief was Guatemoc.
There they resolved on war to the end, giving it out that Montezuma hadforfeited his kingdom by his cowardice, and on that resolve they acted.Had it been taken but two short months before, by this date no Spaniardwould have been left alive in Tenoctitlan. For after Marina, the love ofCortes, whose subtle wit brought about his triumph, it was Montezumawho was the chief cause of his own fall, and of that of the kingdom ofAnahuac.