CHAPTER XV
THE COURT OF MONTEZUMA
Now for a week I was so ill from my wounds that I was unable to bemoved, and then I must be carried in a litter till we came to withinthree days' journey of the city of Tenoctitlan or Mexico. After that,as the roads were now better made and cared for than any I have seen inEngland, I was able to take to my feet again. Of this I was glad, forI have no love of being borne on the shoulders of other men after thewomanish Indian fashion, and, moreover, as we had now come to a coldcountry, the road running through vast table-lands and across the topsof mountains, it was no longer necessary as it had been in the hotlands. Never did I see anything more dreary than these immense lengthsof desolate plains covered with aloes and other thorny and succulentshrubs of fantastic aspect, which alone could live on the sandy andwaterless soil. This is a strange land, that can boast three separateclimates within its borders, and is able to show all the glories of thetropics side by side with deserts of measureless expanse.
One night we camped in a rest house, of which there were many builtalong the roads for the use of travellers, that was placed almost onthe top of the sierra or mountain range which surrounds the valley ofTenoctitlan. Next morning we took the road again before dawn, for thecold was so sharp at this great height that we, who had travelled fromthe hot land, could sleep very little, and also Guatemoc desired if itwere possible to reach the city that night.
When we had gone a few hundred paces the path came to the crest of themountain range, and I halted suddenly in wonder and admiration. Belowme lay a vast bowl of land and water, of which, however, I could seenothing, for the shadows of the night still filled it. But before me,piercing the very clouds, towered the crests of two snow-clad mountains,and on these the light of the unrisen sun played, already changing theirwhiteness to the stain of blood. Popo, or the Hill that Smokes, is thename of the one, and Ixtac, or the Sleeping Woman, that of the other,and no grander sight was ever offered to the eyes of man than theyfurnished in that hour before the dawn. From the lofty summit of Popowent up great columns of smoke which, what with the fire in their heartand the crimson of the sunrise, looked like rolling pillars offlame. And for the glory of the glittering slopes below, that changedcontinually from the mystery of white to dull red, from red to crimson,and from crimson to every dazzling hue that the rainbow holds, who cantell it, who can even imagine it? None, indeed, except those that haveseen the sun rise over the volcans of Tenoctitlan.
When I had feasted my eyes on Popo I turned to Ixtac. She is not solofty as her 'husband,' for so the Aztecs name the volcan Popo, and whenfirst I looked I could see nothing but the gigantic shape of a womanfashioned in snow, and lying like a corpse upon her lofty bier, whosehair streamed down the mountain side. But now the sunbeams caught heralso, and she seemed to start out in majesty from a veil of rosy mist,a wonderful and thrilling sight. But beautiful as she was then, still Ilove the Sleeping Woman best at eve. Then she lies a shape of glory onthe blackness beneath, and is slowly swallowed up into the solemn nightas the dark draws its veil across her.
Now as I gazed the light began to creep down the sides of the volcans,revealing the forests on their flanks. But still the vast valley wasfilled with mist that lay in dense billows resembling those of the sea,through which hills and temple tops started up like islands. By slowdegrees as we passed upon our downward road the vapours cleared away,and the lakes of Tezcuco, Chalco, and Xochicalco shone in the sunlightlike giant mirrors. On their banks stood many cities, indeed thegreatest of these, Mexico, seemed to float upon the waters; beyond themand about them were green fields of corn and aloe, and groves of foresttrees, while far away towered the black wall of rock that hedges in thevalley.
All day we journeyed swiftly through this fairy land. We passed throughthe cities of Amaquem and Ajotzinco, which I will not stay to describe,and many a lovely village that nestled upon the borders of Lake Chalco.Then we entered on the great causeway of stone built like a road restingon the waters, and with the afternoon we came to the town of Cuitlahuac.Thence we passed on to Iztapalapan, and here Guatemoc would have restedfor the night in the royal house of his uncle Cuitlahua. But when wereached the town we found that Montezuma, who had been advised ofour approach by runners, had sent orders that we were to push on toTenoctitlan, and that palanquins had been made ready to bear us. So weentered the palanquins, and leaving that lovely city of gardens, wereborne swiftly along the southern causeway. On we went past towns builtupon piles fixed in the bottom of the lake, past gardens that were laidout on reeds and floated over the waters like a boat, past teocallis andglistening temples without number, through fleets of light canoes andthousands of Indians going to and fro about their business, till atlength towards sunset we reached the battlemented fort that is calledXoloc which stands upon the dyke. I say stands, but alas! it stands nomore. Cortes has destroyed it, and with it all those glorious citieswhich my eyes beheld that day.
At Xoloc we began to enter the city of Tenoctitlan or Mexico, themightiest city that ever I had seen. The houses on the outskirts,indeed, were built of mud or adobe, but those in the richer parts wereconstructed of red stone. Each house surrounded a courtyard and wasin turn surrounded by a garden, while between them ran canals, havingfootpaths on either side. Then there were squares, and in the squarespyramids, palaces, and temples without end. I gazed on them till I wasbewildered, but all seemed as nothing when at length I saw the greattemple with its stone gateways opening to the north and the south,the east and the west, its wall carven everywhere with serpents, itspolished pavements, its teocallis decked with human skulls, thousandsupon thousands of them, and its vast surrounding tianquez, or marketplace. I caught but a glimpse of it then, for the darkness was falling,and afterwards we were borne on through the darkness, I did not knowwhither.
A while went by and I saw that we had left the city, and were passingup a steep hill beneath the shadow of mighty cedar trees. Presently wehalted in a courtyard and here I was bidden to alight. Then the princeGuatemoc led me into a wondrous house, of which all the rooms wereroofed with cedar wood, and its walls hung with richly-coloured cloths,and in that house gold seemed as plentiful as bricks and oak are withus in England. Led by domestics who bore cedar wands in their hands,we went through many passages and rooms, till at length we came toa chamber where other domestics were awaiting us, who washed us withscented waters and clothed us in gorgeous apparel. Thence they conductedus to a door where we were bidden to remove our shoes, and a coarsecoloured robe was given to each of us to hide our splendid dress. Therobes having been put on, we were suffered to pass the door, and foundourselves in a vast chamber in which were many noble men and some women,all standing and clad in coarse robes. At the far end of this chamberwas a gilded screen, and from behind it floated sounds of sweet music.
Now as we stood in the great chamber that was lighted withsweet-smelling torches, many men advanced and greeted Guatemoc theprince, and I noticed that all of them looked upon me curiously.Presently a woman came and I saw that her beauty was great. She wastall and stately, and beneath her rough outer robe splendidly attiredin worked and jewelled garments. Weary and bewildered as I was, herloveliness seized me as it were in a vice, never before had I seen suchloveliness. For her eye was proud and full like the eye of a buck, hercurling hair fell upon her shoulders, and her features were very noble,yet tender almost to sadness, though at times she could seem fierceenough. This lady was yet in her first youth, perchance she may haveseen some eighteen years, but her shape was that of a full-grown womanand most royal.
'Greeting, Guatemoc my cousin,' she said in a sweet voice; 'so you arecome at last. My royal father has awaited you for long and will askquestions as to your delay. My sister your wife has wondered also whyyou tarried.'
Now as she spoke I felt rather than saw that this lady was searching mewith her eyes.
'Greeting, Otomie my cousin,' answered the prince. 'I have been delayedby the accidents of travel. Tobasco is far away, also my charge andcompani
on, Teule,' and he nodded towards me, 'met with an accident onthe road.'
'What was the accident?' she asked.
'Only this, that he saved me from the jaws of a puma at the risk ofhis life when all the others fled from me, and was somewhat hurt in thedeed. He saved me thus--' and in few words he told the story.
She listened and I saw that her eyes sparkled at the tale. When it wasdone she spoke again, and this time to me.
'Welcome, Teule,' she said smiling. 'You are not of our people, yet myheart goes out to such a man.' And still smiling she left us.
'Who is that great lady?' I asked of Guatemoc.
'That is my cousin Otomie, the princess of the Otomie, my uncleMontezuma's favourite daughter,' he answered. 'She likes you, Teule, andthat is well for you for many reasons. Hush!'
As he spoke the screen at the far end of the chamber was drawn aside.Beyond it a man sat upon a broidered cushion, who was inhaling the fumesof the tobacco weed from a gilded pipe of wood after the Indian fashion.This man, who was no other than the monarch Montezuma, was of a tallbuild and melancholy countenance, having a very pale face for one ofhis nation, and thin black hair. He was dressed in a white robe of thepurest cotton, and wore a golden belt and sandals set with pearls, andon his head a plume of feathers of the royal green. Behind him were aband of beautiful girls somewhat slightly clothed, some of whom playedon lutes and other instruments of music, and on either side stood fourancient counsellors, all of them barefooted and clad in the coarsestgarments.
So soon as the screen was drawn all the company in the chamberprostrated themselves upon their knees, an example that I hastened tofollow, and thus they remained till the emperor made a sign with thegilded bowl of his pipe, when they rose to their feet again and stoodwith folded hands and eyes fixed abjectly upon the floor. PresentlyMontezuma made another signal, and three aged men whom I understood tobe ambassadors, advanced and asked some prayer of him. He answered themwith a nod of the head and they retreated from his presence, makingobeisance and stepping backward till they mingled with the crowd. Thenthe emperor spoke a word to one of the counsellors, who bowed and cameslowly down the hall looking to the right and to the left. Presently hiseye fell upon Guatemoc, and, indeed, he was easy to see, for he stood ahead taller than any there.
'Hail, prince,' he said. 'The royal Montezuma desires to speak with you,and with the Teule, your companion.'
'Do as I do, Teule,' said Guatemoc, and led the way up the chamber,till we reached the place where the wooden screen had been, which, as wepassed it, was drawn behind us, shutting us off from the hall.
Here we stood a while, with folded hands and downcast eyes, till asignal was made to us to advance.
'Your report, nephew,' said Montezuma in a low voice of command.
'I went to the city of Tobasco, O glorious Montezuma. I found the Teuleand brought him hither. Also I caused the high priest to be sacrificedaccording to the royal command, and now I hand back the imperialsignet,' and he gave the ring to a counsellor.
'Why did you delay so long upon the road, nephew?'
'Because of the chances of the journey; while saving my life, royalMontezuma, the Teule my prisoner was bitten by a puma. Its skin isbrought to you as an offering.'
Now Montezuma looked at me for the first time, then opened a picturescroll that one of the counsellors handed to him, and read in it,glancing at me from time to time.
'The description is good,' he said at length, 'in all save one thing--itdoes not say that this prisoner is the handsomest man in Anahuac. Say,Teule, why have your countrymen landed on my dominions and slain mypeople?'
'I know nothing of it, O king,' I answered as well as I might with thehelp of Guatemoc, 'and they are not my countrymen.'
'The report says that you confess to having the blood of these Teules inyour veins, and that you came to these shores, or near them, in one oftheir great canoes.'
'That is so, O king, yet I am not of their people, and I came to theshore floating on a barrel.'
'I hold that you lie,' answered Montezuma frowning, 'for the sharks andcrocodiles would devour one who swam thus.' Then he added anxiously,'Say, are you of the descendants of Quetzal?'
'I do not know, O king. I am of a white race, and our forefather wasnamed Adam.'
'Perchance that is another name for Quetzal,' he said. 'It has long beenprophesied that his children would return, and now it seems that thehour of their coming is at hand,' and he sighed heavily, then added: 'Gonow. To-morrow you shall tell me of these Teules, and the council of thepriests shall decide your fate.'
Now when I heard the name of the priests I trembled in all my bones andcried, clasping my hands in supplication:
'Slay me if you will, O king, but I beseech you deliver me not againinto the hands of the priests.'
'We are all in the hands of the priests, who are the mouth of God,' heanswered coldly. 'Besides, I hold that you have lied to me.'
Then I went foreboding evil, and Guatemoc also looked downcast. Bitterlydid I curse the hour when I had said that I was of the Spanish blood andyet no Spaniard. Had I known even what I knew that day, torture wouldnot have wrung those words from me. But now it was too late.
Now Guatemoc led me to certain apartments of this palace of Chapoltepec,where his wife, the royal princess Tecuichpo, was waiting him, a verylovely lady, and with her other ladies, among them the princess Otomie,Montezuma's daughter, and some nobles. Here a rich repast was served tous, and I was seated next to the princess Otomie, who spoke to me mostgraciously, asking me many things concerning my land and the people ofthe Teules. It was from her that I learned first that the emperor wasmuch disturbed at heart because of these Teules or Spaniards, for he wassuperstitious, and held them to be the children of the god Quetzal, whoaccording to ancient prophecy would come to take the land. Indeed, sogracious was she, and so royally lovely, that for the first time I feltmy heart stirred by any other woman than my betrothed whom I had leftfar away in England, and whom, as I thought, I should never see again.And as I learned in after days mine was not the only heart that wasstirred that night.
Near to us sat another royal lady, Papantzin, the sister of Montezuma,but she was neither young nor lovely, and yet most sweet faced and sadas though with the presage of death. Indeed she died not many weeksafter but could not rest quiet in her grave, as shall be told.
When the feast was done and we had drunk of the cocoa or chocolate,and smoked tobacco in pipes, a strange but most soothing custom that Ilearned in Tobasco and of which I have never been able to break myself,though the weed is still hard to come by here in England, I was led tomy sleeping place, a small chamber panelled with cedar boards. For awhile I could not sleep, for I was overcome by the memory of all thestrange sights that I had seen in this wonderful new land which was socivilised and yet so barbarous. I thought of that sad-faced king, theabsolute lord of millions, surrounded by all that the heart of man candesire, by vast wealth, by hundreds of lovely wives, by loving children,by countless armies, by all the glory of the arts, ruling over thefairest empire on the earth, with every pleasure to his hand, a god inall things save his mortality, and worshipped as a god, and yet a victimto fear and superstition, and more heavy hearted than the meanest slaveabout his palaces. Here was a lesson such as Solomon would have loved toshow, for with Solomon this Montezuma might cry:
'I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kingsand of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and thedelights of the sons of men, and musical instruments, and that of allsorts. And whatsoever my eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheldnot my heart from any joy. And behold, all was vanity and vexation ofspirit, and there was no profit under the sun.'
So he might have cried, so, indeed, he did cry in other words, for, asthe painting of the skeletons and the three monarchs that is upon thenorth wall of the aisle of Ditchingham Church shows forth so aptly,kings have their fates and happiness is not to them more than to anyother of the sons of men. Indeed
, it is not at all, as my benefactorFonseca once said to me; true happiness is but a dream from which weawake continually to the sorrows of our short laborious day.
Then my thoughts flew to the vision of that most lovely maid, theprincess Otomie, who, as I believed, had looked on me so kindly, and Ifound that vision sweet, for I was young, and the English Lily, my ownlove, was far away and lost to me for ever. Was it then wonderful thatI should find this Indian poppy fair? Indeed, where is the man who wouldnot have been overcome by her sweetness, her beauty, and that stampof royal grace which comes with kingly blood and the daily exercise ofpower? Like the rich wonders of the robe she wore, her very barbarism,of which now I saw but the better side, drew and dazzled my mind's eye,giving her woman's tenderness some new quality, sombre and strange, aneastern richness which is lacking in our well schooled English women,that at one and the same stroke touched both the imagination and thesenses, and through them enthralled the heart.
For Otomie seemed such woman as men dream of but very rarely win, seeingthat the world has few such natures and fewer nurseries where they canbe reared. At once pure and passionate, of royal blood and heart, richnatured and most womanly, yet brave as a man and beautiful as the night,with a mind athirst for knowledge and a spirit that no sorrows couldavail to quell, ever changing in her outer moods, and yet most faithfuland with the honour of a man, such was Otomie, Montezuma's daughter,princess of the Otomie. Was it wonderful then that I found her fair, or,when fate gave me her love, that at last I loved her in turn? And yetthere was that in her nature which should have held me back had I butknown of it, for with all her charm, her beauty and her virtues, atheart she was still a savage, and strive as she would to hide it, attimes her blood would master her.
But as I lay in the chamber of the palace of Chapoltepec, the tramp ofthe guards without my door reminded me that I had little now to do withlove and other delights, I whose life hung from day to day upon a hair.To-morrow the priests would decide my fate, and when the priests werejudges, the prisoner might know the sentence before it was spoken. I wasa stranger and a white man, surely such a one would prove an offeringmore acceptable to the gods than that furnished by a thousand Indianhearts. I had been snatched from the altars of Tobasco that I mightgrace the higher altars of Tenoctitlan, and that was all. My fate wouldbe to perish miserably far from my home, and in this world never to beheard of more.
Musing thus sadly at last I slept. When I woke the sun was up. Risingfrom my mat I went to the wood-barred window place and looked through.The palace whence I gazed was placed on the crest of a rocky hill. Onone side this hill was bathed by the blue waters of Tezcuco, on theother, a mile or more away, rose the temple towers of Mexico. Along theslopes of the hill, and in some directions for a mile from itsbase, grew huge cedar trees from the boughs of which hung a grey andghostly-looking moss. These trees are so large that the smallest of themis bigger than the best oak in this parish of Ditchingham, while thegreatest measures twenty-two paces round the base. Beyond and betweenthese marvellous and ancient trees were the gardens of Montezuma, thatwith their strange and gorgeous flowers, their marble baths, theiraviaries and wild beast dens, were, as I believe, the most wonderful inthe whole world.*
'At the least,' I thought to myself, 'even if I must die, it issomething to have seen this country of Anahuac, its king, its customs,and its people.'
* The gardens of Montezuma have been long destroyed, but some of the cedars still flourish at Chapoltepec, though the Spaniards cut down many. One of them, which tradition says was a favourite tree of the great emperor's, measures (according to a rough calculation the author of this book made upon the spot) about sixty feet round the bole. It is strange to think that a few ancient conifers should alone survive of all the glories of Montezuma's wealth and state. --AUTHOR.