CHAPTER X.
GOING TO THE COMBAT.
As the morning advanced, the city grew fully animate. A festal spiritwas abroad, seeking display in masks, mimes, and processions. Jugglersperformed on the street-corners; dancing-girls, with tambours, and longelf-locks dressed in flowers, possessed themselves of the smoothsidewalks. Very plainly, the evil omen of the morning affected the kingmore than his people.
The day advanced clear and beautiful. In the eastern sky the smoke ofthe volcano still lingered; but the sun rose above it, and smiled on thevalley, like a loving god.
At length the tambour in the great temple sounded the signal ofassemblage. Its deep tones, penetrating every recess of the town andrushing across the lake, were heard in the villages on the distantshores. Then, in steady currents, the multitudes set forward for the_tianguez_. The _chinampas_ were deserted; hovels and palaces gave uptheir tenantry; canoes, gay with garlands, were abandoned in thewaveless canals. The women and children came down from the roofs; fromall the temples--all but the old one with the solitary gray tower andecholess court--poured the priesthood in processions, headed by chantingchoirs, and interspersed with countless sacred symbols. Many were thepomps, but that of the warriors surpassed all others. Marching incolumns of thousands, they filled the streets with flashing arms andgorgeous regalia, roar of _attabals_ and peals of minstrelsy.
About the same time the royal palanquin stood at the palace portal,engoldened, jewelled, and surmounted with a _panache_ of green plumes.Cuitlahua, Cacama, Maxtla, and the lords of Tlacopan, Tepejaca, andCholula, with other nobles from the provinces far and near, werecollected about it in waiting, sporting on their persons the wealth ofprincipalities. When the monarch came out, they knelt, and every one ofthem placed his palm on the ground before him. On the last stone at theportal he stopped, and raised his eyes to the sky. A piece of _aguave_,fluttering like a leaf, fell so near him that he reached out his handand caught it.
"Read it, my lords," he said, after a moment's study.
The paper contained only the picture of an eagle attacked by an owl, andpassed from hand to hand. Intent on deciphering the writing, nonethought of inquiring whether its coming was of design or accident.
"What does it mean, my lord Cacama?" asked the monarch, gravely.
Cacama's eyes dropped as he replied,--
"When we write of you, O king, we paint an eagle; When we write of the'tzin Guatamo, we paint an owl."
"What!" said the lord Cuitlahua, "would the 'tzin attack his king?"
And the monarch looked from one to the other strangely, saying only,"The owl is the device on his shield."
Then he entered the palanquin; whereupon some of the nobles lifted it ontheir shoulders, and the company, in procession, set out for the_tianguez_. On the way they were joined by Iztlil', the Tezcucan; and itwas remarkable that, of them all, he was the only one silent about thepaper.
The Iztapalapan street, of great width, and on both sides lined withgardens, palaces, and temples, was not only the boast of Tenochtitlan;its beauty was told in song and story throughout the Empire. The signalof assemblage for the day's great pastime found Xoli and his provincialfriend lounging along the broad pave of the beautiful thoroughfare. Theyat once started for the _tianguez_. The broker was fat, and it wastroublesome for him to keep pace with the hunter; nevertheless, theyovertook a party of _tamanes_ going in the same direction, and bearing apalanquin richly caparisoned. The slaves, very sumptuously clad,proceeded slowly and with downcast eyes, and so steadily that thecarriage had the onward, gliding motion of a boat.
"Lower,--down, boy! See you not the green _panache_?" whispered Xoli,half frightened.
Too late. The Chalcan, even as he whispered, touched the pavement, butHualpa remained erect: not only that; he looked boldly into the eyes ofthe occupants of the palanquin,--two women, whose beauty shone upon himlike a sudden light. Then he bent his head, and his heart closed uponthe recollection of what he saw so that it never escaped. The picturewas of a girl, almost a woman, laughing; opposite her, and rather in theshade of the fringed curtain, one older, though young, and grave andstately; her hair black, her face oval, her eyes large and lustrous. Toher he made his involuntary obeisance. Afterwards she reminded many aSpaniard of the dark-eyed _hermosura_ with whom he had left love-tokensin his native land.
"They are the king's daughters, the princesses Tula and Nenetzin," saidXoli, when fairly past the carriage. "And as you have just come up fromthe country, listen. Green is the royal color, and belongs to the king'sfamily; and wherever met, in the city or on the lake, the people saluteit. Though what they meet be but a green feather in a slave's hand, theysalute. Remember the lesson. By the way, the gossips say that Guatamozinwill marry Tula, the eldest one."
"She is very beautiful," said the hunter, as to himself, and slackeninghis steps.
"Are you mad?" cried the broker, seizing his arm. "Would you bring thepatrol upon us? They are not for such as you. Come on. It may be we canget seats to see the king and his whole household."
At the entrance to the arena there was a press which the police couldhardly control. In the midst of it, Xoli pulled his companion to oneside, saying, "The king comes! Let us under the staging here until hepasses."
They found themselves, then, close by the spears, which, planted in theground, upheld the shields of the combatants; and when the Tihuancanheard the people, as they streamed in, cheer the champions of the god,he grieved sorely that he was not one of them.
The heralds then came up, clearing the way; and all thereabout knelt,and so received the monarch. He stopped to inspect the shields; for inall his realm there was not one better versed in its heraldry. A diadem,not unlike the papal tiara, crowned his head; his tunic and cloak wereof the skins of green humming-birds brilliantly iridescent; a rope ofpearls large as grapes hung, many times doubled, from his neck down overhis breast; his sandals and sandal-thongs were embossed with gold, andbesides anklets of massive gold, _cuishes_ of the same metal guarded hislegs from knee to anklet. Save the transparent, lustrous gray of thepearls, his dress was of the two colors, green and yellow, and theeffect was indescribably royal; yet all the bravery of his trappingscould not hide from Hualpa, beholding him for the first time, that, likeany common soul, he was suffering from some trouble of mind.
"So, Cacama," he said, pleasantly, after a look at the gages, "yourbrother has a mind to make peace with the gods. It is well!"
And thereupon Iztlil' himself stepped out and knelt before him in battlearray, the javelin in his hand, and bow, quiver, and _maquahuitl_ at hisback; and in his homage the floating feathers of his helm brushed thedust from the royal feet.
"It is well!" repeated the king, smiling. "But, son of my friend, whereare your comrades?"
Tlahua, the Otompan, and the young Cholulan, equipped like Iztlil',rendered their homage also. Over their heads he extended his hands, andsaid, softly, "They who love the gods, the gods love. Put your trust inthem, O my children. And upon you be their blessing!"
And already he had passed the spears: one gage was forgotten, onecombatant unblessed. Suddenly he looked back.
"Whose shield is that, my lords?"
All eyes rested upon the plain gage, but no one replied.
"Who is he that thus mocks the holy cause of Quetzal'? Go, Maxtla, andbring him to me!"
Then outspake Iztlil'.
"The shield is Guatamozin's. Last night he challenged me to this combat,and he is not here. O king, the owl may be looking for the eagle."
A moment the sadly serene countenance of the monarch knit and flushed asfrom a passing pain; a moment he regarded the Tezcucan. Then he turnedto the shields of the Othmies and Tlascalans.
"They are a sturdy foe, and I warrant will fight hard," he said,quietly. "But such victims are the delight of the gods. Fail me not, Ochildren!"
When the Tihuancan and his chaperone climbed half-way to the upper rowof seats, in the quarter assi
gned to the people, the former was amazed.He looked down on a circular arena, strewn with white sand from thelake, and large enough for man[oe]uvring half a thousand men. It wasbounded by a rope, outside of which was a broad margin crowded withrank on rank of common soldiery, whose shields were arranged before themlike a wall impervious to a glancing arrow. Back from the arena extendedthe staging, rising gradually seat above seat, platform above platform,until the whole area of the _tianguez_ was occupied.
"Is the king a magician, that he can do this thing in a single night?"asked Hualpa.
Xoli laughed. "He has done many things much greater. The timbers you seewere wrought long ago, and have been lying in the temples; the _tamanes_had only to bring them out and put them together."
In the east there was a platform, carpeted, furnished with lounges, andprotected from the sun by a red canopy; broad passages of entranceseparated it from the ruder structure erected for the commonalty; it wasalso the highest of the platforms, so that its occupants could overlookthe whole amphitheatre. This lordlier preparation belonged to the king,his household and nobles. So, besides his wives and daughters, under thered canopy sat the three hundred women of his harem,--soft testimonythat Orientalism dwelt not alone in the sky and palm-trees of thevalley.
As remarked, the margin around the arena belonged to the soldiery; thecitizens had seats in the north and south; while the priesthood,superior to either of them in sanctity of character, sat aloof in thewest, also screened by a canopy. And, as the celebration was regarded inthe light of a religious exercise, not only did women crowd the place,but mothers brought their children, that, from the examples of thearena, they might learn to be warriors.
Upon the appearance of the monarch there was a perfect calm. Standingawhile by his couch, he looked over the scene; and not often has royalvision been better filled with all that constitutes royalty. Oppositehim he saw the servitors of his religion; at his feet were his warriorsand people almost innumerable. When, at last, the minstrels of thesoldiery poured their wild music over the theatre, he thrilled with theecstasy of power.
The champions for the god then came in; and as they strode across to thewestern side of the arena the air was filled with plaudits and flyinggarlands; but hardly was the welcome ended before there was a great humand stir, as the spectators asked each other why the fourth combatantcame not with the others.
"The one with the bright _panache_, asked you? That is Iztlil', theTezcucan," said Xoli.
"Is he not too fine?"
"No. Only think of the friends the glitter has made him among the womenand children."
The Chalcan laughed heartily at the cynicism.
"And the broad-shouldered fellow now fixing the thong of his shield?"
"The Otompan,--a good warrior. They say he goes to battle with the willa girl goes to a feast. The other is the Cholulan; he has his renown towin, and is too young."
"But he may have other qualities," suggested Hualpa. "I have heard itsaid that, in a battle of arrows, a quick eye is better than a strongarm."
The broker yawned. "Well, I like not those Cholulans. They are proud;they scorn the other nations, even the Aztecs. Probably it is well theyare better priests than soldiers. Under the red canopy yonder I see hisfather."
"Listen, good Xoli. I hear the people talking about the 'tzin? Where canhe be?"
Just then within the wall of shields there came a warrior, who strodeswiftly toward the solitary gage. His array was less splendid than hiscomrades'; his helm was of plain leather without ornament; his_escaupil_ was secured by a simple loop: yet the people knew him, andshouted; and when he took down the plain shield and fixed it to hisarm, the approbation of the common soldiery arose like a storm. As theybore such shields to battle, he became, as it were, their peculiarrepresentative. It was Guatamozin.
And under the royal canopy there was rapid exchange of whispers andlooks; every mind reverted to the paper dropped so mysteriously into theking's hand at the palace door; and some there were, acuter than therest, who saw corroboration of the meaning given the writing in the factthat the shield the 'tzin now chose was without the owl, his usualdevice. Whether the monarch himself was one of them might not be said;his face was as impassive as bronze.
Next, the Othmies and Tlascalans, dignified into common challengers ofthe proudest chiefs of Tenochtitlan, were conducted into the arena.
The Tlascalans were strong men used to battle; and though, like theircompanions in danger, at first bewildered by the sudden introduction toso vast a multitude, they became quickly inured to the situation. Of theOthmies, a more promising pair of gladiators never exhibited before aRoman audience. The father was past the prime of life, but erect,broad-shouldered, and of unusual dignity; the son was slighter, and notso tall, but his limbs were round and beautiful, and he looked as if hemight outleap an antelope. The people were delighted, and cheered thechallengers with scarcely less heartiness than their own champions.Still, the younger Othmi appeared hesitant, and, when the clamorsomewhat abated, the sire touched him, and said,--
"Does my boy dream? What voice is in his ear that his heart is somelted? Awake! the shield is on the arm of the foe."
The young man aroused. "I saw the sun on the green hills of Othmi. Butsee!" he said, proudly, and with flashing eyes, "there is no weakness inthe dreamer's arm." And with the words, he seized a bow at his feet,fitted an arrow upon the cord, and, drawing full to the head, sent itcleaving the sunshine far above them. Every eye followed its flight buthis own. "The arm, O chief, is not stronger than the heart," he added,carelessly dropping the bow.
The old warrior gazed at him tenderly; but as that was no time for theindulgence of affection, he turned to the Tlascalans, and said, "We mustbe ready: let us arm."
Each donned a leathern helm, and wrapped himself in a quilted_escaupil_; each buckled the shield on his arm, and tightened the thongsof his sandals. Their arms lay at hand.
Such were the preparations for the combat, such the combatants. And asthe foemen faced each other, awaiting the signal for the mortal strife,I fancy no Christian has seen anything more beautiful than the theatre.Among the faces the gaze swam as in a sea; the gleaming of arms andornaments was bewildering; while the diversity of colors in the costumesof the vast audience was without comparison. With the exception of thearena, the royal platform was the cynosure. Behind the king, with ashield faced with silver, stood Maxtla, vigilant against treachery ordespair. The array of nobles about the couch was imperial; and what withthem, and the dark-eyed beauties of his household, and the canopytingeing the air and softly undulating above him, and the mightycongregation of subjects at his feet, it was with Montezuma like arevival of the glory of the Hystaspes. Yet the presence of his power butincreased his gloom; in a short time he heard no music and saw nosplendor; everything reminded him of the last picture on the westernwall of the golden chamber.