Sketches of Aboriginal Life

hat th

-

halls resound

dance lead on

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his fathers in

its marble re

f the trained charger, under the three fold discipline of bit and spur, and cheering shout. They rushed upon each other in the mock warfare of the tournament, with clashing sword and glancing spear, and then, discharging their carbines in the air, separated amid clouds of dust and smoke, as if driven asunder by the bolts of heaven in their own hands. The astonished natives, accustomed only to the simple weapons of primitive warfare, looked on with undisguised admiration, not unmixed with fear. The strange beings before them, wielding such unwonted powers, seemed indeed to have descended upon

whom we know not, whose mode of warfare we do not understand, whose weapons defy alike our powers of imitation and resistance. Let us aban

pted Guatimozin,-"Let no Aztec harbor so base a thought.

rangers? Are not the millions of Anahuac a match for a few hundred of their enemies, in whatever form they come? Be they gods, or be they demons, they belong not to

instant, "be that our vow in life and in death, and wo to the base Aztec, that aba

not the material, if well directed, to annihilate, at a blow, the hopes of the daring invaders. The arm of the nation was st

eagle fainti

d them as gods, whose passions, appetites and vices proved them to be men, and whose di

at spacious and magnificent pile blazed with the light of odoriferous torches, which sent up their clouds of incense from hundreds of gold and silver stands, elaborately carved and embossed in every form that fancy could suggest, or ingenuity invent. Flowers of every hue and name were profusely distributed through the rooms, clustered in beautiful vases, or hung in gorgeous festoons and luxurious chaplets from the walls. The costume of the monarch and hi

ar in eclipse, for her soul was oppressed with those mysterious shadows that hung over her destiny and that of her father, as connected with the coming of these white men. Karee was there in attendance upon her mistress, as she still delighted to call her; but her attention was more absorbed by the strangers than by Tecuichpo. She wat

res of the gaudily apparelled Aztecs, was as strong as could possibly be presented in a scene like this. The costumes and customs of each were matter of wonder and admiration to the other. The Aztec trembled at the mysterious power, the incomprehensible weapons, of the white man. The Cas

ch abandoning himself to the festivities of the occasion, as if each, unannoyed by the presence of a stranger,

mpassable barrier between the Aztec noble and his monarch, and made them appear to belong to distinct races of being. To the chivalrous, impassioned Castilian, accustomed to worship woman, and pay an almost divine homage to beauty, in the courtly halls and sunny bowers of Spain, the scene presented a perfect constellation of grace and loveliness. The flashing eye of the Aztec maiden, as lust

s resolved, that, where bright eyes were to be gazed on, and sweet smiles won from the ranks of youth and beauty, they would make a way for themselves. The first ceremonies of presentation over, each knight addressed himself to some chosen fair one, and by sign and gesture, and speaking look, and smile of eloquent flattery, c

orgot alike their schemes of ambition and aggrandisement, and the peculiar perils which surrounded them; while the Aztec revellers dismissed,

e gracefully twined with a sprig of amaranth, he first pressed it to his own heart and lips, and then placed it among the glittering gems upon her bosom. With queenly courtesy and grace, the fair princess received this gallant

put forth his best endeavor to win from her a smile. But it was so coldly given, and accompanied with a

icy reserve of the maiden, and opened the way for a long and animated parley. It was full of sparkles a

ceiving gifts from the strangers, or, in any way, acknowledging their claims as friends. The showy trinket, which Cacam

nd let them stay in peace, while he permits and requires it,-but let us not weaken our hands, by touching their gifts, or accepting their tokens. When they

much of so small a matter. They are but common courtesies,

eak side of the heart-they blind our eyes to our true rela

as if more than half persuaded that Gu

r, "I would fling it at his feet, or trample it under my own, bef

ly presented by Sandoval. A dozen princes and cavaliers sprang, at the same instant, to replace the precious toy. Pedro Orteguilla, the beautiful young page of Cortez, was so fortunate as to re

on, which was growing too warm for the occasion

an illuminated arbor, in one of the open courts of the palace. With hand, and eye, and lip, now appealing in emphatic gesture to the stars above, and now, with ready tact and admirable sagacity distributing the flowers among the gay naiads of the fountain, he soon ingratiated himself into their favor, and engaged them in a brilliant and animated pantomime, which, if it wanted the eloquence of words, f

d eclipsed the gilded star upon his breastplate; while every joint in his armor, and every loop and button of his doublet, was set with its appropriate garden gem. Long wreaths of a blossoming vine were dexterously intertwined with flowers of every brilliant hue, and hung like a gorgeous sash over his right shoulder, its gay streamers waving in the

under a continually increasing escort of bright girls and fair dames, where, with due reverence to her majesty, and with the gallantry becomi

here the luxuries of all the climes of earth seemed to be spread out in endless profusion, and where, the native song

, burdened with the weight of their treasures, and deeply impressed with the more than regal munificence of their h

aively remarked, as they took their leave, "you have surely paid

Aztec, who scorns to receive a favor that does not pledge his heart in return. The Spaniard's heart has n

course he could safely adopt in the present crisis of his affairs. In vain did his paternal heart second the suggestion, and his ki

up in the heart of an immense and powerful empire, teeming with millions of warriors, who were deemed terrible and invincible by those whom he had found so formidable, and

that it was not an idle curiosity that had drawn him to encounter the perils, and undergo the toils, of the adventure that had brought him to the capital. He came, as the accredited ambassador of the mighty monarch of Castile, to whom many kings and many broad lands were tribu

s over which he reigned belonged to a race of white men, who had removed to other lands beyond the rising sun, but would return, in process of time, invested with more than mortal power, to claim their original inheritance. For his part, he was fully

wily Castilian, "as his accredite

arch as

tomed to unqualified and unquestioning submission to the word of the king. They accordingly, at his command, gave a full assent to all that he had said, and agreed to recognize

the ground he had already secured be left to him in undisturbed possession. To secure this, he conceived and executed a bolder and more audacious measure than that which we have just related. Soliciting another and a private interview with the Emperor, and directing his best and bravest cavaliers, with some

d alleging, in support of the charge, some of the incidents already related, and others of more recent occurrence, in which some of the vassals of Montezuma had surprised and slain a party of Spania

foiled thus. He knew that he had now gone too far to retract, and that the change of feeling now produced would ensure his speedy destruction, if he failed of securing the object of the present interview. He, therefore, repeated the charge, assuring the monarch that such was the belief of all his men, and that nothing would convince

prisoner in the camp of a foreign nation. If I should consent to such indignity, my own subjects would every where cry out against it, and a storm woul

yal palaces to another, a thing of frequent occurrence, and therefore not likely to excite remark among your people. You can bring all your household and your court with you, and have the same royal attendance, as you n

irection of strangers, as it was a daring presumption and impiety, on their part, to suggest it. He therefore, peremptorily declined the pro

he was not at liberty to dispense with. If he would not remove peaceably and quietly to the Spanish quarters, he must be carried ther

estiny, to do as he was required. Signifying his assent to the haughty demand of the stranger, he ordered his nobles to make ready his pa

h. As they passed the threshold of the imperial palace, which their once proud but now humbled lord was never to recross, they heaved a deep sigh, as if the dark shadows of the future already hung frowningly over their heads. It was responded to by a deep, mysterious, sepulchral groan, which seemed to issue from the very heart of the earth, while, at the s

hich they were accustomed to regard him. To his own immediate household, he had represented this removal as a voluntary act of courtesy, on his part, designed to compliment the strangers, by becoming, for a time, their guest, and to inspire them, by his personal presence among them, with confidence in his professions of regard, a

his life, was in danger, in thus separating himself from the strong arms and devoted hearts of his own people, his natural protectors, and throwing himself, unarmed, into the garrison of the fearful strangers. What security could she have that

her in darkness and in trouble than at any other time, would we stand at your side, to admi

ss hosts of my warrior bands. Why then should I fear for myself. But for you, and your mother, and your sisters, the camp of the strangers is not a fitting place for you. They have customs of their own, and are slow to recognize the propriety of ours, deeming us, as they do, an inferior race of beings. They are bold and free in their manners, quite too much so for the refined delicacy

come to us then, my de

as they should be. I believe I am right in what I am now doing, and I cannot be diver

brace, and returned to his own apartme

palace or castle, where he lived in all the pseudo-regal state and magnificence of a feudal baron, or a petty sovereign. Here he opened a correspondence with a large number of the principal nobles of the realm, who, like him, felt that the time had come to prepare for a terrible crisis

d the shade of the tall cypresses that overhang and almost bury that mountain retreat. Her raven hair had escaped from its pearl-studded band, and was flying loosely in the breeze; the wonted bloom was gone from her cheek, and the brilliant lustre of her dark flashing eye had given way to a sad and subdued expression, which was more in keeping with the uniform mildness and gentleness of her spirit. Separated from her adored parent, and banished from the city of her love and her pride, she began to fe

our heads, all is not lost. Know you not, my love, that ten thousand times ten thousand brave hearts and strong arms are pledged, by every bond of loyalty an

will be the direst vengeance your arms can wreak on the strangers, after the violence is done

of impending danger only that has induced them to invite the Emperor to their quarters, and so to urge their suit, that he could not, as their professed friend, deny it. While he is there, they will feel safe, for his hand alone can stay the pent up fires, that they break not forth a

t can Ca

with his life. With Cacama, with Cuitlahua, with a thousand more like them-chiefs

Castilian strangers regard their own safet

racle, my love, and from

hat omens? I pr

s pending, and the guarded watchfulness, with which they now protect their guest, and prevent

mport of those terrible words? Is my fath

cannot come forth, if he would, and w

pan. I release you from your pledge. Sound the alarm throughout t

r the precious head we would rescue. His life is safe at present; let u

m further outrage. May it not be their policy to take away the head, hoping thus to di

ast drop, to avenge the foul sacrilege, nor rest in their work of vengeance, till every altar in the land was d

hought they had all been silent, not deigning, since the adve

ilent, where the welfare o

ar

th the strangers, she has gathered the meaning of not a few of the words of their strange tongue. What she has once heard she never forgets. Presuming that no one could understand them, they have talked freely and boldly in her p

then he is indeed a prisoner. But these whi

below, or gods from above, they are not the gods of Anahuac, nor shall they claim a foot of its soil, till it is drenched