CHAPTER XVII
THE ARISING OF PAPANTZIN
On the morrow Papantzin died, and was buried with great pomp thatsame evening in the burial-ground at Chapoltepec, by the side of theemperor's royal ancestors. But, as will be seen, she was not contentwith their company. On that day also, I learned that to be a god is notall pleasure, since it was expected of me that I must master variousarts, and chiefly the horrid art of music, to which I never had anydesire. Still my own wishes were not allowed to weigh in the matter,for there came to me tutors, aged men who might have found betteremployment, to instruct me in the use of the lute, and on thisinstrument I must learn to strum. Others there were also, who taught meletters, poetry, and art, as they were understood among the Aztecs, andall this knowledge I was glad of. Still I remembered the words of thepreacher which tell us that he who increaseth knowledge increasethsorrow, and moreover I could see little use in acquiring learning thatwas to be lost shortly on the stone of sacrifice.
As to this matter of my sacrifice I was at first desperate. Butreflection told me that I had already passed many dangers and come outunscathed, and therefore it was possible that I might escape this onealso. At least death was still a long way off, and for the present Iwas a god. So I determined that whether I died or lived, while I lived Iwould live like a god and take such pleasures as came to my hand, andI acted on this resolve. No man ever had greater or more strangeopportunities, and no man can have used them better. Indeed, had it notbeen for the sorrowful thoughts of my lost love and home which wouldforce themselves upon me, I should have been almost happy, because ofthe power that I wielded and the strangeness of all around me. But Imust to my tale.
During the days that followed the death of Papantzin the palace andthe city also were plunged in ferment. The minds of men were shakenstrangely because of the rumours that filled the air. Every night thefiery portent blazed in the east, every day a new wonder or omen wasreported, and with it some wild tale of the doings of the Spaniards, whoby most were held to be white gods, the children of Quetzal, come backto take the land which their forefather ruled.
But of all that were troubled, none were in such bad case as the emperorhimself, who, during these weeks scarcely ate or drank or slept, soheavy were his fears upon him. In this strait he sent messengers to hisancient rival, that wise and severe man Neza, the king of the alliedstate of Tezcuco, begging that he would visit him. This king came,an old man with a fierce and gleaming eye, and I was witness to theinterview that followed, for in my quality of god I had full liberty ofthe palace, and even to be present at the councils of the emperor andhis nobles. When the two monarchs had feasted together, Montezuma spoketo Neza of the matter of the omens and of the coming of the Teules,asking him to lighten the darkness by his wisdom. Then Neza pulled hislong grey beard and answered that heavy as the heart of Montezuma mightbe, it must grow still heavier before the end.
'See, Lord,' he said, 'I am so sure that the days of our empire arenumbered, that I will play you at dice for my kingdoms which you andyour forefathers have ever desired to win.'
'For what wager?' asked Montezuma.
'I will play you thus,' answered Neza. 'You shall stake three fightingcocks, of which, should I win, I ask the spurs only. I set against themall the wide empire of Tezcuco.'
'A small stake,' said Montezuma; 'cocks are many and kingdoms few.'
'Still, it shall serve our turn,' answered the aged king, 'for know thatwe play against fate. As the game goes, so shall the issue be. If youwin my kingdoms all is well; if I win the cocks, then good-bye tothe glory of Anahuac, for its people will cease to be a people, andstrangers shall possess the land.'
'Let us play and see,' said Montezuma, and they went down to the placethat is called tlachco, where the games are set. Here they began thematch with dice and at first all went well for Montezuma, so that hecalled aloud that already he was lord of Tezcuco.
'May it be so!' answered the aged Neza, and from that moment the chancechanged. For strive as he would, Montezuma could not win another point,and presently the set was finished, and Neza had won the cocks. Now themusic played, and courtiers came forward to give the king homage on hissuccess. But he rose sighing, and said:
'I had far sooner lose my kingdoms than have won these fowls, for if Ihad lost my kingdoms they would still have passed into the hands of oneof my own race. Now alas! my possessions and his must come under thehand of strangers, who shall cast down our gods and bring our names tonothing.'
And having spoken thus, he rose, and taking farewell of the emperor, hedeparted for his own land, where, as it chanced, he died very shortly,without living to see the fulfilment of his fears.
On the morrow of his departure came further accounts of the doings ofthe Spaniards that plunged Montezuma into still greater alarm. In histerror he sent for an astronomer, noted throughout the land for thetruth of his divinations. The astronomer came, and was received by theemperor privately. What he told him I do not know, but at least it wasnothing pleasant, for that very night men were commanded to pull downthe house of this sage, who was buried in its ruins.
Two days after the death of the astronomer, Montezuma bethoughthim that, as he believed, I also was a Teule, and could give himinformation. So at the hour of sunset he sent for me, bidding me walkwith him in the gardens. I went thither, followed by my musicians andattendants, who would never leave me in peace, but he commanded that allshould stand aside, as he wished to speak with me alone. Then he beganto walk beneath the mighty cedar trees, and I with him, but keeping onepace behind.
'Teule,' he said at length, 'tell me of your countrymen, and why theyhave come to these shores. See that you speak truth.'
'They are no countrymen of mine, O Montezuma,' I answered, 'though mymother was one of them.'
'Did I not bid you speak the truth, Teule? If your mother was one ofthem, must you not also be of them; for are you not of your mother'sbone and blood?'
'As the king pleases,' I answered bowing. Then I began and told himof the Spaniards--of their country, their greatness, their cruelty andtheir greed of gold, and he listened eagerly, though I think thathe believed little of what I said, for his fear had made him verysuspicious. When I had done, he spoke and said:
'Why do they come here to Anahuac?'
'I fear, O king, that they come to take the land, or at the least to robit of all its treasure, and to destroy its faiths.'
'What then is your counsel, Teule? How can I defend myself against thesemighty men, who are clothed in metal, and ride upon fierce wild beasts,who have instruments that make a noise like thunder, at the sound ofwhich their adversaries fall dead by hundreds, and who bear weapons ofshining silver in their hands? Alas! there is no defence possible, forthey are the children of Quetzal come back to take the land. From mychildhood I have known that this evil overshadowed me, and now it is atmy door.'
'If I, who am only a god, may venture to speak to the lord of theearth,' I answered, 'I say that the reply is easy. Meet force by force.The Teules are few and you can muster a thousand soldiers for everyone of theirs. Fall on them at once, do not hesitate till their prowessfinds them friends, but crush them.'
'Such is the counsel of one whose mother was a Teule;' the emperoranswered, with sarcasm and bitter meaning. 'Tell me now, counsellor,how am I to know that in fighting against them I shall not be fightingagainst the gods; how even am I to learn the true wishes and purposes ofmen or gods who cannot speak my tongue and whose tongue I cannot speak?'
'It is easy, O Montezuma,' I answered. 'I can speak their tongue; sendme to discover for you.'
Now as I spoke thus my heart bounded with hope, for if once I could comeamong the Spaniards, perhaps I might escape the altar of sacrifice. Alsothey seemed a link between me and home. They had sailed hither in ships,and ships can retrace their path. For though at present my lot was notall sorrow, it will be guessed that I should have been glad indeed tofind myself once more among Christian men.
Montezuma looked at me a
while and answered:
'You must think me very foolish, Teule. What! shall I send you to tellmy fears and weakness to your countrymen, and to show them the joints inmy harness? Do you then suppose that I do not know you for a spy sent tothis land by these same Teules to gather knowledge of the land? Fool,I knew it from the first, and by Huitzel! were you not vowed to Tezcat,your heart should smoke to-morrow on the altar of Huitzel. Be warned,and give me no more false counsels lest your end prove swifter than youthink. Learn that I have asked these questions of you to a purpose, andby the command of the gods, as it was written on the hearts of thosesacrificed this day. This was the purpose and this was the command,that I might discover your secret mind, and that I should shun whateveradvice you chanced to give. You counsel me to fight the Teules,therefore I will not fight them, but meet them with gifts and fairwords, for I know well that you would have me to do that which shouldbring me to my doom.'
Thus he spoke very fiercely and in a low voice, his head held low andhis arms crossed upon his breast, and I saw that he shook with passion.Even then, though I was very much afraid, for god as I was, a nod fromthis mighty king would have sent me to death by torment, I wondered atthe folly of one who in everything else was so wise. Why should he doubtme thus and allow superstition to drag him down to ruin? To-day I seethe answer. Montezuma did not these things of himself, but because thehand of destiny worked with his hand, and the voice of destiny spoke inhis voice. The gods of the Aztecs were false gods indeed, but I for onebelieve that they had life and intelligence, for those hideous shapes ofstone were the habitations of devils, and the priests spoke truth whenthey said that the sacrifice of men was pleasing to their gods.
To these devils the king went for counsel through the priests, and nowthis doom was on them, that they must give false counsel to their owndestruction, and to the destruction of those who worshipped them, as wasdecreed by One more powerful than they.
Now while we were talking the sun had sunk swiftly, so that all theworld was dark. But the light still lingered on the snowy crests of thevolcans Popo and Ixtac, staining them an awful red. Never before to mysight had the shape of the dead woman whose everlasting bier is Ixtac'sbulk, seemed so clear and wonderful as on that night, for either it wasso or my fancy gave it the very shape and colour of a woman's corpsesteeped in blood and laid out for burial. Nor was it my phantasy alone,for when Montezuma had finished upbraiding me he chanced to look up, andhis eyes falling on the mountain remained fixed there.
'Look now, Teule!' he said, presently, with a solemn laugh; 'yonder liesthe corpse of the nations of Anahuac washed in a water of blood and madeready for burial. Is she not terrible in death?'
As he spoke the words and turned to go, a sound of doleful wailing camefrom the direction of the mountain, a very wild and unearthly sound thatcaused the blood in my veins to stand still. Now Montezuma caught my armin his fear, and we gazed together on Ixtac, and it seemed to us thatthis wonder happened. For in that red and fearful light the red figureof the sleeping woman arose, or appeared to rise, from its bier ofstone. It arose slowly like one who awakes from sleep, and presentlyit stood upright upon the mountain's brow, towering high into the air.There it stood a giant and awakened corpse, its white wrappings stainedwith blood, and we trembled to see it.
For a while the wraith remained thus gazing towards the city ofTenoctitlan, then suddenly it threw its vast arms upward as though ingrief, and at that moment the night rushed in upon it and covered it,while the sound of wailing died slowly away.
'Say, Teule,' gasped the emperor, 'do I not well to be afraid when suchportents as these meet my eyes day by day? Hearken to the lamentationsin the city; we have not seen this sight alone. Listen how the peoplecry aloud with fear and the priests beat their drums to avert the omen.Weep on, ye people, and ye priests pray and do sacrifice; it is veryfitting, for the day of your doom is upon you. O Tenoctitlan, queen ofcities, I see you ruined and desolate, your palaces blackened with fire,your temples desecrated, your pleasant gardens a wilderness. I see yourhighborn women the wantons of stranger lords, and your princes theirservants; the canals run red with the blood of your children, yourgateways are blocked with their bones. Death is about you everywhere,dishonour is your daily bread, desolation is your portion. Farewellto you, queen of the cities, cradle of my forefathers in which I wasnursed!'
Thus Montezuma lamented in the darkness, and as he cried aloud the greatmoon rose over the edge of the world and poured its level light throughthe boughs of the cedars clothed in their ghostly robe of moss. Itstruck upon Montezuma's tall shape, on his distraught countenance andthin hands as he waved them to and fro in his prophetic agony, on myglittering garments, and the terror-stricken band of courtiers, and themusicians who had ceased from their music. A little wind sprang upalso, moaning sadly in the mighty trees above and against the rocks ofChapoltepec. Never did I witness a scene more strange or more pregnantwith mystery and the promise of unborn horror, than that of this greatmonarch mourning over the downfall of his race and power. As yet nomisfortune had befallen the one or the other, and still he knew thatboth were doomed, and these words of lamentation burst from a heartbroken by a grief of which the shadow only lay upon it.
But the wonders of that night were not yet done with.
When Montezuma had made an end of crying his prophecies, I asked himhumbly if I should summon to him the lords who were in attendance onhim, but who stood at some distance.
'Nay,' he answered, 'I will not have them see me thus with grief andterror upon my face. Whoever fears, at least I must seem brave. Walkwith me a while, Teule, and if it is in your mind to murder me I shallnot grieve.'
I made no answer, but followed him as he led the way down the darkest ofthe winding paths that run between the cedar trees, where it would havebeen easy for me to kill him if I wished, but I could not see how Ishould be advantaged by the deed; also though I knew that Montezuma wasmy enemy, my heart shrank from the thought of murder. For a mile or morehe walked on without speaking, now beneath the shadow of the trees, andnow through open spaces of garden planted with lovely flowers, till atlast we came to the gates of the place where the royal dead are laid torest. Now in front of these gates was an open space of turf on which themoonlight shone brightly, and in the centre of this space lay somethingwhite, shaped like a woman. Here Montezuma halted and looked at thegates, then said:
'These gates opened four days since for Papantzin, my sister; how long,I wonder, will pass before they open for me?'
As he spoke, the white shape upon the grass which I had seen and he hadnot seen, stirred like an awakening sleeper. As the snow shape upon themountain had stirred, so this shape stirred; as it had arisen, so thisone arose; as it threw its arms upwards, so this one threw up her arms.Now Montezuma saw and stood still trembling, and I trembled also.
Then the woman--for it was a woman--advanced slowly towards us, andas she came we saw that she was draped in graveclothes. Presently shelifted her head and the moonlight fell full upon her face. Now Montezumagroaned aloud and I groaned, for we saw that the face was the thin paleface of the princess Papantzin--Papantzin who had lain four days in thegrave. On she came toward us, gliding like one who walks in her sleep,till she stopped before the bush in the shadow of which we stood. NowPapantzin, or the ghost of Papantzin, looked at us with blind eyes, thatis with eyes that were open and yet did not seem to see.
'Are you there, Montezuma, my brother?' she said in the voice ofPapantzin; 'surely I feel your presence though I cannot see you.'
Now Montezuma stepped from the shadow and stood face to face with thedead.
'Who are you?' he said, 'who wear the shape of one dead and are dressedin the garments of the dead?'
'I am Papantzin,' she answered, 'and I am risen out of death to bringyou a message, Montezuma, my brother.'
'What message do you bring me?' he asked hoarsely.
'I bring you a message of doom, my brother. Your empire shall fall andsoon you shall be accompanied to death b
y tens of thousands of yourpeople. For four days I have lived among the dead, and there I have seenyour false gods which are devils. There also I have seen the prieststhat served them, and many of those who worshipped them plunged intotorment unutterable. Because of the worship of these demon gods thepeople of Anahuac is destined to destruction.'
'Have you no word of comfort for me, Papantzin, my sister?' he asked.
'None,' she answered. 'Perchance if you abandon the worship of the falsegods you may save your soul; your life you cannot save, nor the lives ofyour people.'
Then she turned and passed away into the shadow of the trees; I heardher graveclothes sweep upon the grass.
Now a fury seized Montezuma and he raved aloud, saying:
'Curses on you, Papantzin, my sister! Why then do you come back from thedead to bring me such evil tidings? Had you brought hope with you, hadyou shown a way of escape, then I would have welcomed you. May you goback into darkness and may the earth lie heavy on your heart for ever.As for my gods, my fathers worshipped them and I will worship them tillthe end; ay, if they desert me, at least I will never desert them.The gods are angry because the sacrifices are few upon their altars,henceforth they shall be doubled; ay, the priests of the gods shallthemselves be sacrificed because they neglect their worship.'
Thus he raved on, after the fashion of a weak man maddened with terror,while his nobles and attendants who had followed him at a distance,clustered about him, fearful and wondering. At length there came an end,for tearing with his thin hands at his royal robes and at his hair andbeard, Montezuma fell and writhed in a fit upon the ground.
Then they carried him into the palace and none saw him for three daysand nights. But he made no idle threat as to the sacrifices, for fromthat night forward they were doubled throughout the land. Already theshadow of the Cross lay deep upon the altars of Anahuac, but still thesmoke of their offerings went up to heaven and the cry of the captivesrang round the teocallis. The hour of the demon gods was upon themindeed, but now they reaped their last red harvest, and it was rich.
Now I, Thomas Wingfield, saw these portents with my own eyes, butI cannot say whether they were indeed warnings sent from heavenor illusions springing from the accidents of nature. The land wasterror-struck, and it may happen that the minds of men thus smitten canfind a dismal meaning in omens which otherwise had passed unnoticed.That Papantzin rose from the dead is true, though perhaps she onlyswooned and never really died. At the least she did not go back therefor a while, for though I never saw her again, it is said that she livedto become a Christian and told strange tales of what she had seen in theland of Death.*
* For the history of the resurrection of Papantzin, see note to Jourdanet's translation of Sahagun, page 870.--AUTHOR.