the last time, put on his gorgeous robes of state, and, decked once more in all the trappings of royalty, proceeded, with his retinue, to the battlements.

In

"A change, as if by magic, came over the scene. The clang of instruments, the fierce cries of the assailants, were hushed, and a death like stillness pervaded the whole assembly, so fiercely agitated, but a few moments before, by the wild tumult of war. Many prostrated themselves on the ground; others bent the knee; and all turned with eager expectation toward the monarch whom they had been taught to reverence." a calm, royal, and affectionate manner, he addressed the people, assuring them that the Spaniards were his friends, and would depart as soon as a way was opened for them. "Return to your homes," he said, "lay down your arms. The white men shall return to their own land, and all shall be well again within the walls of Tenochtitlan." Four of the principal chiefs came forward, and replied, "lamenting the misfortunes of him, his children, and his family," and adding, says Diaz, "that they had promised to their gods never to desist but with the total destruction of the Spaniards; that they every day offered up prayers for his personal safety, and as soon as they had rescued him out of our hands, they would venerate him as before, and trusted that he would pardon them." Hardly was this touching and loyal reply concluded, when the fiercer spirits in the crowd, enraged at seeing their emperor side by side with the enemy, broke into a storm of reproaches. A shower of missiles followed. The Spaniards put up their bucklers, but it was too late. The hapless Montezuma had received three wounds, one of which, on the head, from a stone, laid him senseless on the ground. The Aztecs, horror-struck at the deed, dispersed, "with a dismal cry," and left the great square utterly deserted. The unhappy prince, borne to his apartment, was overwhelmed with anguish. He refused all medical aid, and tore from his wounds the bandages as often as they were applied, maintaining utter silence, and evidently determined not to survive his fall. * Prescott's Conquest of Mexico.

From the great teocalli, which almost overhung their quarters, the Spaniards were continually annoyed and endangered by a tempest of stones and arrows; and Cortes resolved on the desperate expedient of carrying it by storm. At the head of three hundred of his bravest cavaliers, and several thousand Tlascalans, he made a furious charge upon the entrance to the pathway, which, four times encircling the edifice, led to its summit. A shower of missiles, mingled with heavy stones and beams, was poured down upon them; but assisted by musketry from below, they made their way, and finally stood face to face with the foe upon the broad summit of the temple. A terrible engagement, hand to hand, lasting for three hours, here occurred in sight of the whole city. No quarter was given on either side, and many, hurled down the steep sides of the teocalli, found a terrible death on the rocky pavement below.

"Here," says old Diaz, "Cortes showed himself the man that he really was! what a desperate engagement we had there! every man of us covered with blood, and above forty dead upon the spot. It was God's will that we should at length reach the place where we had put up the image of our Lady, but when we came there it was not to be found." As some consolation, the Spaniards burned the pagan sanctuary, and, seizing the hideous and gigantic figure of the war-god. hurled him down the steep side of the teocalli. With the loss of forty-six of his men, and the rest badly wounded, Cortes finally succeeded in clearing the top of the edifice-every man of its many hundreds of defenders being slain or hurled from the unprotected verge. He led the remainder of his force back to their quarters, with great difficulty, amid a fresh and most furious attack of the enemy. That same night, as if wounds and weariness were unknown to him, he sallied out, and burned three hundred houses. Despite these brilliant exploits, the situation of the Spaniards, from their losses and privations, and from the overwhelming force of their enemies, was daily becoming more desperate. Cortes now offered peace to the Mexicans, on condition of their submission, adding the

haughty menace, "If you refuse, I will make your city a heap of ruins, and leave not a soul alive to mourn over it." The Aztecs replied, that if they could only kill one Spaniard for every thousand of their countrymen, they would be satisfied. "The bridges," they said, exultingly, "are broken down, and you cannot escape. There will be too few of you left to glut the vengeance of our gods."

A retreat, for which the soldiers of Narvaez had long been clamorous, now seemed inevitable; and the only question was, how to get out of the city? The shortest causeway was that of Tlacopan, or Tacuba, two miles in extent, and it was resolved to attempt to clear a way, through the principal street, to this precarious outlet. A huge mantelet or rolling tower was constructed, and moved down the avenue, but after doing considerable execution, was stopped by a canal. This was filled up, and so were six others, in the course of two days, a portion of the Spaniards and their allies being employed on the work, while others, with great difficulty, fought and kept off the enemy. The exploits of Cortes, and of the redoubted cavaliers, his companions, in this harassing species of warfare, are certainly among the most wonderful which men, in desperate circumstances, had ever performed.

Meanwhile, their unfortunate captive, keeping a determined silence, and firmly rejecting all food or medical aid, was rapidly sinking to the grave. All the exertions of the Reverend Fray Olmedo and others, solicitous for his soul, could not induce him to embrace Christianity. He waved aside the crucifix, saying, coldly, "I have but a few moments to live; and will not at this hour desert the faith of my fathers." He sent for Cortes, and entreated him to protect his children, and to intercede with the Spanish sovereign, that he might allow them some portion of their inheritance. "Your lord,” he said, "will do this, if it were only for the friendly offices I have rendered to the Spaniards, and for the love I have shown them -though it has brought me to this condition! But for this I bear them no ill-will." Having said these words, he expired,

on the 30th of June, 1520, supported by a few chiefs, who had remained faithfully attached to his person. He was fortyone years of age, and had reigned eighteen. Of all

"Sad stories of the death of kings,"

none, perhaps, is more strange and affecting than that of this ill-fated sovereign of a half-civilized empire, in the midst of a universal reverence, hardly short of adoration, so suddenly struck down by the hand of a mysterious Destiny, and doomed, after drinking the dregs of humiliation at the hands of his oppressors, to perish at those of his own distracted people.

Fierce and rude as were the old "Conquistadors," they appear to have felt some natural compunction at the melancholy fate of one whose generous and hospitable spirit they had so often experienced, and whose utter ruin their own violence had occasioned. "Cortes and our captains wept for him," says Diaz, "and he was lamented by them and all the soldiers who had known him, as if he had been their father; nor is it to be wondered at, seeing how good he was." His remains, royally attired, were delivered to his people, and borne away. A distant sound of wailing and lamentation was heard, but, to this day, the resting-place of the Last of the Montezumas is forgotten and unknown.

CHAPTER XI.

THE SPANIARDS RETREAT FROM THE CITY-THE "NOCHE TRISTE," OR

MISERABLE NIGHT-TERRIBLE LOSS ON THE CAUSEWAY

RETREAT TO TLASCALA-BATTLE OF OTUMBA-FIDELITY

OF THE TLASCALANS.

IN a council of the officers, an immediate retreat on Tlascala was now resolved on; the only question being whether the attempt to leave the city should be made by day or night. A singular superstition led to the choice of the latter. "There

was with us," says our old author, "a soldier named Botello,* of respectable demeanor, who spoke Latin, had been at Rome, and was said to be a necromancer; some said he had a familiar, and others called him an astrologer. This Botello had discovered, by his figures and astrologies, and had predicted four days before, that if we did not quit Mexico this night, not one of us should ever go out of it alive." That himself would perish in it, he also averred to be certain.

Immediate preparation for departure was made; and Cortes loaded eighty Tlascalans and eight wounded horses with as much treasure as they could carry. A vast quantity remained on the floor of the palace. He then said, in presence of the notaries, "Bear witness that I can no longer be responsible for this gold. Here is to the value of six hundred thousand crowns (of gold). I can secure no more than what is already packed; let every soldier take what he will; better so than that it should remain for these dogs of Mexicans." The rapacious soldiery, especially those of Narvaez, rushed in, and loaded their persons heavily with the glittering spoil; the veterans, more cautious, were slow to embarrass themselves with the precious encumbrance.

Mass was said, and at the dead of night, (July 1st, 1520,) the Spaniards and their allies, as quietly as possible, marched forth from their fortress into the rain and darkness. The streets were deserted, and the van of the army finally emerged upon the open causeway. But hardly had they begun to congratulate each other on the prospect of escape, when the alarm was given. "The Teules are going!" was yelled by a hundred sentinels. Cries and whoops resounded on all sides; and the great drum on the teocalli sent forth its melancholy tones over the city. As if by magic, the Aztecs almost instantly were

* De Solis avers that he was an ignorant Fellow, without Learning or Principles, who mightily valued himself on penetrating into future Events:" and that he "made Use of some Characters, Numbers, Words, or Charms, such as contain within themselves an abominable Affinity and Stipulation with the Devil, the Inventor thereof." "A pernicious Sort of People,” he concludes.