CHAPTER XLII.
The cannoniers, moved by this new feeling, discharged their last volleywith good will, and, at the same moment, the crossbowmen and musketeersshot off their pieces from the wall and the terraces. The four sides ofthe palace were thus, at the same instant, sheeted with flame; and theeffect of the combined discharge was incalculably great and fatal amongthe dense bodies of besiegers. As they staggered, and fell back alittle, to recover from their confusion, the mounted men, who had placedthemselves in readiness for the final charge, rushed at once, spear inhand, on the disordered multitude, dealing death at every thrust, andalmost at every tramp of their chargers.
It was precisely at this moment, that the Indian emperor, arrayed in thepompous and jewelled robes, in which he was wont to preside at thegreater festivals of the gods, with the _Copilli_ on his head, and thegolden buskins on his feet, preceded by a noble bearing the three rodsof authority, and attended by half a dozen valiant cavaliers, (of whomthe neophyte was one,) holding their bucklers in readiness to protecthim from any ill-directed missile,--stepped upon the terrace andadvanced towards the battlements. The spectacle that presented itself inthe dawning light, was, to him at least, grievous and horrid. The earthof the square, and the dwellings that surrounded it, were torn by thecannon-shots, and many of the houses had tumbled into ruins. From thisheight, also, could be seen the blackened wrecks, which marked the pathof the army, returning, the previous day, from the temple. But a moresorrowful sight was presented to the unfortunate monarch, in theprospect of his people, great numbers already lying dead on the furrowedsquare, while the survivors were falling fast under the lances of thehorsemen.
Don Hernan enjoyed for a moment, with malicious satisfaction, theexclamations of grief, with which his prisoner beheld this sight; for itwas his pleasure to believe, that Montezuma was himself the planner ofthe insurrection. Then, giving a sign to a trumpeter, who was with theparty, to wind a retreat, the horsemen instantly reined round theirsteeds, and galloped back to the court-yard. With a loud yell oftriumph, the Mexicans, thinking their pursuers fled from fear, preparedto follow them, and poised their weapons as a prelude to the assault. Atthat critical period, the cavaliers moved aside from their prisoner, andhe stood confronted with his people. The great cry with which thebarbarians beheld their monarch, had something in it that was touching,for it expressed a childish joy; but there was something still moreaffecting in the result, to those whose hearts were not utterly steeled,when they beheld the universal multitude, as with one accord, flingthemselves upon their knees, and, dropping their weapons and pronouncingthe name of the king, extend their hands towards him, as to a father.
"Is it possible then," muttered, or rather thought, Don Amador de Leste,smothering a sudden pang of remorse, "that these blood-thirstybarbarians are only seeking our lives, to liberate their king? Surely,we do a great sin, to slay them for their love.--I would that my knight,my people, and myself, were fighting the Turks again."
The sudden change from the furious tumult of war to such stillness asbelongs to midnight, was impressive and even awful; and solemn looks,both from his subjects and his foes, from those who fought in thecourt-yard, and those who manned the roof and the turrets, were bent onthe royal captive, as he stepped upon the battlement, and addressedhimself to his people.
"My children!" said Montezuma, for so his words were rapidly interpretedby De Morla,--"if ye are shedding your blood, to convince me of youraffection, know that I feel its constancy, without approving itsrashness. Though I be a prisoner----" He paused, for the word stuck inhis throat, and groans and lamentations showed how unpalatable it was tohis subjects. "Though I be a prisoner with the Teuctli, yet have you toknow, it is, in a great measure, with mine own consent; and, at thismoment, I remain not by enforcement, but by choice."
The unhappy monarch, by so expressing his address as to steer clear ofoffence to the Spaniards, (for well he knew they dreaded lest hisconfessions should still more inflame the citizens,) committed the morefatal error of displeasing his people. A murmur of indignation ranthrough the mass, when Montezuma, with his own lips, confirmed hisabasement. Several rose, frowning, to their feet, and a young man,parting quickly from the crowd, advanced so near to the palace, that hisfeatures could be plainly distinguished. He was of noble stature,countenance, and mien, evidently of the highest order of nobility, andenjoyed the distinction of a principality in the House of Darts, as wasshown by the red fillet in his hair, suspending the tufts of honour. Histrunk and shoulders were invested in a coat of armour, either of scalesof copper or of leather, richly gilt, bordered at the bottom withlambrequins of green and red feathers. His limbs were naked, saving onlythe bright sandals on his feet, and the glittering bracelets on hisarms. His left arm supported a light buckler, doubtless of wicker-work,though painted with many bright and fantastic colours; and, from thebottom of it, waved a broad penacho, as well as a bulky maquahuitl,which he held in his left hand, while balancing a copper javelin in hisright. A tall plume of the most splendid hues nodded majestically on hishead.
As this bold and noble-looking youth stepped up to the very mouths ofthe cannon, and raised his fiery eyes to the king, Don Amador de Lestethought that he recognized in him the princely ambassador ofCholula,--the young fugitive, who had been so ready to dispute the pathwith him, under the walls of the holy city.
"Dost _thou_ say this, thou that wert once their lord, to the people ofMexitli?" said the young prince, (for, as has been recorded by otherhistorians, it was the valiant Quauhtimotzin, the nephew of the king,who now so sharply rebuked him.) "Dost _thou_ indeed confess, son ofAxajacatl! that thou art, by thine own consent, the friend of aperfidious stranger? by thine own choice, O conqueror of many nations!the serf and slave of him who is the brother of Tlascala? Then art thou,indeed, what we have called thee,--the slayer of thy people,--for thisblood has flown at thy bidding; a traitor to thy throne,--for thou hastsurrendered it to a master; an apostate to thy gods,--for thou hast shutthine ears, when they called upon thee for vengeance. Miserableking!--and yet a king no more! When thy people wept to see theedegraded, thou gavest them up to slaughter; and while they come torestore thee to thy rights, thou confessest, that thou lovest these lessthan the shame of captivity! Know then, that, for thy baseness, the godshave pronounced thee unworthy to be their viceroy, and thy people haveconfirmed the decree. We break the rods of authority; we trample uponthe robes of state: and Montezuma is no longer a king in Tenochtitlan!"
The unhappy monarch trembled, while he listened to this insultingdenunciation, for he felt that he had deserved it. But his people stilllay prostrate on the earth; and, hoping that they shared not theindignation of his kinsman, he elevated his voice again, and spokesternly:--
"Why doth Quauhtimotzin forget that he is the son of my brother, and myslave? Is the young man that smiles in jewels, wiser than he that hathgray hairs? and the people that delve in canals and build up thetemples, have they more cunning than the king who councils with thespirits at the altar? Know that what has been done, has been donewisely, for it was according to the will of heaven; and heaven, whichhas tried our fidelity, is about to reward it with happiness and peace.The strangers have promised to depart from us: throw down your arms, andlet them be gone."
"And wilt thou," said the prince, elevating his voice to a still angrierpitch, "who hast been so many times deluded, counsel us to listen totheir lies? O fallen Montezuma! thou leaguest with them against us. Wiltthou suffer them to escape, when we have them enclosed in nets, as thebirds that sing in thy gardens? O degraded chief! thou hast not thecourage to desire the blood of them that have dethroned thee! Thou artnot he that was Montezuma; thy words are the words of a Christian; thouspeakest with the lips of a slave, and the heart of a woman; thou art aSpaniard, and thy fate shall be the fate of a Spaniard! Cuitlahuatzin isour king; and we strike thee as a foeman!"
As the prince concluded his indignant oration, he swung round his headthe javelin, which, all this time, he had balanced in his ha
nd, andlaunched it, with all his force, full at the breast of Montezuma. Theshield of the novice, quickly interposed before the body of the king,arrested the sharp weapon, and it fell, innocuous, on the terrace. Atthe same moment, the Mexicans all sprang to their feet, with loud cries,as if giving way to repressed fury, and brandished their arms. Thebucklers of the cavaliers were instantly extended before the monarch, toprotect him from the dreaded missiles. But, as if desperation had robbedhim of his fears, and restored to him, for his last hour, some share ofthat native spirit which had elevated him to the throne, he pushed themimmediately aside, and raising himself to his full height, and spreadingforth his arms, gazed majestically, though with a ghastly countenance,on his people. The words of mingled intreaty and command were already onhis lips, but they were lost even to the Spaniards who stood by, in thethunder of shouts coming from twenty thousand voices; and the warningcry of Cortes was equally unheard, bidding the Spaniards to "Save theking!" The shields were interposed, however, without command, and caughtmany of the missiles,--stones, arrows, and darts,--which fell like ashower on the group,--but not all. An arrow pierced the right arm, astone maimed the right leg, and another, striking upon the left templeof the abandoned monarch, crushed the bone in upon the brain; and hefell into the arms of the cavaliers, like a dead man.
The cannoniers, at that moment, seeing the returning rage of thebarbarians, shot off their pieces. But the battle was done. No soonerhad the Mexicans beheld their monarch fall under the blows of their ownweapons, than they changed their cries of fury to lamentations; andthrowing down their arms, as if seized with a panic, they fled from thesquare, leaving it to the Christians and the dead.