CHAPTER XXXVI.
The neophyte had been informed by his friend De Morla, as a proof of thedegree of civilization reached by the Mexicans, that their armies wereformed with method, and as regularly divided and commanded as those ofChristendom,--each tribe displaying under a peculiar banner,representing the arms, or, as we should say of our Northern bands, the_totem_, of the race, and each tribe separated into squadrons andcompanies, led by subalterns of precisely ascertained rank and power. Heperceived none of these marks of discipline among the assailants; and,while properly appreciating their devoted courage, was obliged toconsider them no better than a furious and confused mob. He was right:the _warriors_ of Mexico had not yet appeared, and these wild creatures,who came ungeneralled and unadvised to the attack, were no more than thecommon citizens, fired by the distresses of their king, and rushing tohis aid, without any bond of connexion or government, save the unanimityof their fury. The violence with which they leaped to the attack,carried them to the gates of the court, and to the mouths of theartillery, where they fell under the spears of the Spaniards, or werescattered like chaff at each murderous discharge of the cannon. Added tothis, the Tlascalans, animated by their ancient hatred, and the presenceof him whom they esteemed almost a god, clambered upon the wall, andwith their clubs and lances did bloody execution on the multitudesbelow. The Tlascalans were, indeed, almost the only persons of thegarrison who suffered much loss; for the Spaniards, cased in iron andescaupil, and fenced behind the wall, or the battlements of the terrace,discharged their cross-bows and muskets, and handled their long spears,in comparative safety.
The din of yells and screams, mingled with the crash of arquebuses andthe sharp clang of steel cross-bows, was, in itself, infernal; while thepeals of artillery, served with such skill and constancy, that, everyhalf-minute, there was one or other discharged from some quarter of thepalace, leaving, at each discharge, a long avenue of death among thecrowds, converted what might have seemed a scene of elysium into aspectacle of hell. No man could reckon, no man could imagine, theslaughter made by the besieged army, among their foes, in the shortspace of half an hour. But the sun rose, and still found the infatuatedbarbarians rushing,--now with shouts of defiance, and now with mournfulcries, as if calling upon their imprisoned king,--to add yet another andanother layer to the bloody ridges growing in the paths of thecannon-shot.
All this time, the captive monarch, unseen by his people, though quicklydetected by the sharp eye of Cortes, sat in one of the turrets,witnessing the devoted love of his people, and feeling, with sharppangs, that he had not deserved it. And now too (for the suddenness ofthe punishment had convinced him of the impolicy of the fault,) did DonHernan himself feel a touch of compunction for the wanton injury he haddone his prisoner; and, fearing lest the work of this day should be butthe prelude of a storm it might not be in his power to allay, he sent tohim De Morla, a cavalier whom more than others he seemed to favour, topersuade him, if indeed he might be persuaded, to exercise hisauthority, and by commanding his people to disperse, preserve them fromthat destruction, which, the general avowed, he was loath to bring uponthem.
No smile lit the countenance of Montezuma, at the appearance of hisfavourite; and to the demand of Don Hernan, he replied, with dignity,yet with a bitter sorrow,--
"The _Teuctli_," (so they called Don Hernan, not because they esteemedhim a divinity, but a great prince, this being the title of one of theclasses of nobility,) "has made me a slave: my subjects are his. Letthe king govern his people."
So saying, and immediately descending from the roof, he shut himself inhis apartments, and resolutely refused to admit another messenger to hispresence.
"And the dog denies me, then!" cried Cortes, when this answer wasrepeated to him. "He says the truth: he _is_ my slave; his people aremine; and I will straightway convince them of their subjection. Tohorse, to horse, brave cavaliers!" he shouted aloud. "Let it not besaid, we wasted powder on miserable naked Indians, when we have swordsto strike them on the neck, and horses' hoofs to tread them to theearth!"
No one was more ready to obey this call, than Don Amador de Leste. Hehad stood upon the wall, occasionally striking down some furiousassailant with his spear, but oftener cheering others with his voice,and yet remaining more as a spectator than a combatant, disdaining tostrike, except when personally attacked, until his blood was heated bythe spectacle.
"Mount, now, my knave Lazaro! and perhaps we shall find my poor Jacinto,among these outrageous infidels. Get thee to horse, Fabueno; for to-daythou shalt see what it is to be a soldier!"
Fogoso stood, in his mail, like the steed of a true knight, champing thebit and whinnying, for he longed to be in the midst of the combat; andloud was the sound of his neighing, when he felt the weight of hismaster, and turned his fierce eyes towards the gate.
Before the cavaliers, forming three abreast, (as many as could at oncepass through the gates,) loosing their sabres in the scabbards, andcouching their spears, had yet received the signal to dash upon theopposing herds, there came from the great pyramid, which was seenrearing its mountainous mass above the houses of the square, the soundas of a horn, sad and solemn, but of so mighty a tone, that it swelleddistinctly over all the din of the battle, and sent a boding fear to theheart of the Christians. They knew, or they thought it the sacred bugleof Mexitli, sounded only during the festivals of that ferocious deity,or on the occasion of a great battle, when, it was supposed, thatMexitli himself spoke to his children, and bade them die bravely. Therewas not a Spaniard present, who had not heard that the effect of thisconsecrated trumpet, so sparingly used, was to nerve even the vanquishedwith new spirit, and those fighting with additional rage; and that themeanest Mexican, however overpowered, thought not of retreat, when thuscheered by his god. The surprise of all was therefore great, when, atthe first blast, the Mexicans ceased their cries, and stood as if turnedinto statues; and they were still more amazed, when, as the brazeninstrument again poured its lugubrious roar over the city, thebarbarians, responding with a mournful shriek, turned their backs uponthe besieged, and instantly began to fly. A third blast was sounded, andnothing was seen upon the great square, or the four streets, save heapsof carcasses, and piles of human beings, writhing in the death-agony.
"Here is diabolical magic!" cried Cortes, joyfully. "There are moresignals made by that accursed horn than we have heard of; and it seemsto me, Huitzilopochtli may be sometimes a coward! Nevertheless, we willlook a little into the mystery; for I perceive shining cloaks, as wellas priestly gowns, on the temple, which we will make claim to; fordoubtless the traitor Cuitlahuatzin is under one of them.--Take thou thyparty, Sandoval, and scour me the streets that lie eastward. We meet atthe temple!--For ourselves, my masters! we are fifty horse, and threehundred foot, all good Christian men; for in this work we shall need noTlascalans. Let us go, in the name of God, and God will be withus.--Only, 'tis my counsel and command, that we keep together, with oureyes wide open, lest we should have company not so much to our liking."
The cavaliers cheered, as they rode from the gates,--and, with a savagedelight, urged their horses over the piles of dead, or smote some dyingstruggler with the spear,--an amusement in which they were occasionallyimitated by the foot-soldiers, who followed at their heels.