CHAPTER XII.
MUALOX AND HIS WORLD.
Mualox, after the departure of the king and 'tzin, ascended the tower ofthe old Cu, and remained there all night, stooped beside the sacredfire, sorrowing and dreaming, hearkening to the voices of the city, orwatching the mild-eyed stars. So the morning found him. He, too, beheldthe coming of the sun, and trembled when the Smoking Hill sent up itscloud. Then he heaped fresh fagots on the dying fire, and went down tothe court-yard. It was the hour when in all the other templesworshippers came to pray.
He took a lighted lamp from a table in his cell, and followed a passageon deeper into the building. The way, like that to the golden chamber,was intricate and bewildering. Before a door at the foot of a flight ofsteps he stopped. A number of earthen jars and ovens stood near; whilefrom the room to which the door gave entrance there came a strong,savory perfume, very grateful to the sense of a hungry man. Here was thekitchen of the ancient house. The paba went in.
This was on a level with the water of the canal at the south base; andwhen the good man came out, and descended another stairway, he was in ahall, which, though below the canal, was dusty and perfectly dry. Downthe hall further he came to a doorway in the floor, or rather anaperture, which had at one time been covered and hidden by a ponderousflag-stone yet lying close by. A rope ladder was coiled up on the stone.Flinging the ladder through the door, he heard it rattle on the floorbeneath; then he stooped, and called,--
"Tecetl, Tecetl!"
No one replied. He repeated the call.
"Poor child! She is asleep," he said, in a low voice. "I will go downwithout her."
Leaving the lamp above, he committed himself to the unsteady rope, likeone accustomed to it. Below all was darkness; but, pushing boldly on, hesuddenly flung aside a curtain which had small silver bells in thefringing; and, ushered by the tiny ringing, he stepped into a chamberlighted and full of beauty,--a grotto carven with infinite labor fromthe bed-rock of the lake.
And here, in the day mourned by the paba, when the temple was honored,and its god had worshippers, and the name of Quetzal' was second to noother, not even Huitzil's, must have been held the secret conclaves ofthe priesthood,--so great were the dimensions of the chamber, and so farwas it below the roll of waters. But now it might be a place fordwelling, or for thought and dreaming, or for pleasure, or in which theeaters of the African lotus might spend their hours and days ofsemi-consciousness sounding of a life earthly yet purely spiritual.There were long aisles for walking, and couches for rest; there werepictures, flowers, and a fountain; the walls and ceiling glowed withfrescoing; and wherever the eye turned it rested upon some cunningdevice intended to instruct, gladden, comfort, and content. Lamplightstreamed into every corner, ill supplying the perfect sunshine, yetserving its grand purpose. The effect was more than beautiful. The worldabove was counterfeited, so that one ignorant of the original anddwelling in the counterfeit could have been happy all his life long.Scarcely is it too much to say of the master who designed and finishedthe grotto, that, could he have borrowed the materials of nature, he hadthe taste and genius to set a star with the variety and harmony thatmark the setting of the earth's surface, and of themselves prove itsCreator divine.
THE FORTUNATE HERO, STANDING SO CALMLY BEFORE THEM]
In the enchantment of the place there was a peculiarity indicative of apurpose higher than mere enjoyment, and that was the total absence ofhumanity in the host of things visible. Painted on the ceiling and wallswere animals of almost every kind common to the clime; birds of wondrousplumage darted hither and thither, twittering and singing; there, also,were flowers the fairest and most fragrant, and orange and laurelshrubs, and pines and cedars and oaks, and other trees of the forest,dwarfed, and arranged for convenient carriage to the _azoteas_; in thepictures, moreover, were the objects most remarkable in the face ofnature,--rivers, woods, plains, mountains, oceans, the heavens in stormand calm; but nowhere was the picture of man, woman, or child. In thefrescoing were houses and temples, grouped as in hamlets and cities, orstanding alone on a river's bank, or in the shadow of great trees; butof their habitants and builders there was not a trace. In fine, theknowledge there taught was that of a singular book. A mind receivingimpressions, like a child's, would be carried by it far enough in theprogressive education of life to form vivid ideas of the world, and yetbe left in a dream of unintelligence to people it with fairies, angels,or gods. Almost everything had there a representation but humanity, thebrightest fallen nature.
Mualox entered as one habituated to the chamber. The air was soft,balmy, and pleasant, and the illumination mellowed, as if the morningwere shut out by curtains of gossamer tinted with roses and gold. Nearthe centre of the room he came to a fountain of water crystal clear andin full play, the jet shooting from a sculptured stone up almost to theceiling. Around it were tables, ottomans, couches, and things of_vertu_, such as would have adorned the palace; there, also, were vasesof flowers, culled and growing, and of such color and perfume as wouldhave been estimable in Cholula, and musical instrument, and pencils andpaints.
It was hardly possible that this conception, so like the Restful Worldof Brahma, should be without its angel; for the atmosphere and all werefor a spirit of earth or heaven softer than man's. And by the fountainit was,--a soul fresh and pure as the laughing water.
The girl of whom I speak was asleep. Her head lay upon a cushion; overthe face, clear and almost white, shone a lambent transparency, whichmight have been the reflection of the sparkling water. The garmentsgathered close about her did not conceal the delicacy and childlikegrace of her form. One foot was exposed, and it was bare, small, andnearly lost in the tufted mattress of her couch. Under a profusion ofdark hair, covering the cushion like the floss of silk, lay an arm; ahand, dimpled and soft, rested lightly on her breast. The slumber wasvery deep, giving the face the expression of dreamless repose, with thepromise of health and happiness upon waking.
The paba approached her tenderly, and knelt down. His face was full ofholy affection. He bent his cheek close to her parted lips, listening toher breathing. He brought the straying locks back, and laid them acrossher neck. Now and then a bird came and lighted on the table, and hewaved his mantle to scare it away. And when the voice of the fountainseemed, under an increased pulsation of the water, to grow louder, helooked around, frowning lest it might disturb her. She slept on, hislove about her like a silent prayer that has found its consummation inperfect peace.
And as he knelt, he became sad and thoughtful. The events that were tocome, and his faith in their coming, were as actual sorrows. Hisreflections were like a plea addressed to his conscience.
"God pardon me, if, after all, I should be mistaken! The wrong would beso very great as to bar me from the Sun. Is any vanity like that whichmakes sorrows for our fellows? And such is not only the vanity of thewarrior, and that of the ruler of tribes; sometimes it is of the priestswho go into the temples thinking of things that do not pertain to thegods. What if mine were such?
"The holy Quetzal' knows that I intended to be kind to the child. Ithought my knowledge greater than that of ordinary mortals; I thought itmoved in fields where only the gods walk, sowing wisdom. The samevanity, taking words, told me, 'Look up! There is no abyss between youand the gods; they cannot make themselves of the dust, but you canreach their summit almost a god.' And I labored, seeking the principlesthat would accomplish my dream, if such it were. Heaven forgive me, butI once thought I had found them! Other men looking out on creation couldsee nothing but Wisdom--Wisdom everywhere; but I looked with a strongervision, and wherever there was a trace of infinite WISDOM, there wasalso for me an infinite WILL.
"Here were the principles, but they were not enough. Something said tome, 'What were the Wisdom and Will of the gods without subjects?' It wasa great idea: I thought I stood almost upon the summit!
"And I set about building me a world, I took the treasure of Quetzal',and collected the
se marvels, and bought me the labor of art. Weavers,florists, painters, masons,--all toiled for me. Gold, labor, and timeare here,--there is little beauty without them. Here is my world," hesaid aloud, glancing around the great hall.
"I had my world; next I wanted a subject for my will. But where to go?Not among men,--alas, they are their own slaves! One day I stood in the_tianguez_ where a woman was being sold. A baby in her arms smiled, itmight have been at the sunshine, it might have been at me. The mothersaid, 'Buy.' A light flashed upon me--I bought you, my poor child. Mensay of the bud, It will be a rose, and of the plant, It will be a tree;you were so young then that I said, 'It will be a mind.' And into myworld I brought you, thinking, as I had made it, so I would make asubject. This, I told you, was your birthplace; and here passed yourinfancy and childhood; here you have dwelt. Your cheeks are pale, mylittle one, but full and fresh; your breath is sweet as the air above agarden; and you have grown in beauty, knowing nothing living but thebirds and me. My will has a subject, O Tecetl, and my heart a child.And judge me, holy Quetzal', if I have not tried to make her happy! Ihave given her knowledge of everything but humanity, and ignorance ofthat is happiness. My world has thus far been a heaven to her; herdreams have been of it; I am its god!"
And yet unwilling to disturb her slumber, Mualox arose, and walked away.