by Lew Wallace
CHAPTER VI.
THE CU OF QUETZAL', AND MUALOX, THE PABA.
Over the city from temple to temple passed the wail of the watchers, anda quarter of the night was gone. Few heard the cry without pleasure; forto-morrow was Quetzal's day, which would bring feasting, music, combat,crowd, and flowers.
Among others the proclamation of the passing time was made from a templein the neighborhood of the Tlateloco _tianguez_, or market-place, whichhad been built by one of the first kings of Tenochtitlan, and, like alledifices of that date properly called Cus, was of but one story, and hadbut one tower. At the south its base was washed by a canal; on all theother sides it was enclosed by stone walls high, probably, as a man'shead. The three sides so walled were bounded by streets, and faced byhouses, some of which were higher than the Cu itself, and adorned withbeautiful porticos. The canal on the south ran parallel with theTlacopan causeway, and intersected the Iztapalapan street at a pointnearly half a mile above the great pyramid.
The antique pile thus formed a square of vast extent. According to thebelief that there were blessings in the orient rays of the sun, thefront was to the east, where a flight of steps, wide as the wholebuilding, led from the ground to the _azoteas_, a paved areaconstituting the roof, crowned in the centre by a round tower of woodmost quaintly carved with religious symbols. Entering the door of thetower, the devotee might at once kneel before the sacred image ofQuetzal'.
A circuitous stairway outside the tower conducted to its summit, whereblazed the fire. Another flight of steps about midway the tower and thewestern verge of the _azoteas_ descended into a court-yard, aroundwhich, in the shade of a colonnade, were doors and windows of habitableapartments and passages leading far into the interior. And there,shrouded in a perpetual twilight and darkness, once slept, ate, prayed,and studied or dreamed the members of a fraternity powerful as theTemplars and gloomy as the Fratres Minores.
The interior was cut into rooms, and long, winding halls, and countlesscellular dens.
Such was the Cu of Quetzal',--stern, sombre, and massive as in its firstdays; unchanged in all save the prosperity of its priesthood and thepopularity of its shrine. Time was when every cell contained itsvotaries, and kings, returning from battle, bowed before the altar. ButMontezuma had built a new edifice, and set up there a new idol; and asif a king could better make a god than custom, the people abandoned theold ones to desuetude. Up in the ancient cupola, however, sat the imagesaid to have been carved by Quetzal's own hand. Still the fair facelooked out benignly on its realm of air; carelessly the winds waved "theplumes of fire" that decked its awful head; and one stony hand yetgrasped a golden sceptre, while the other held aloft the paintedshield,--symbols of its dominion.[16] But the servitors and surplicedmystics were gone; the cells were very solitudes; the last paba lingeredto protect the image and its mansion, all unwitting how, in hisfaithfulness of love, he himself had assumed the highest prerogative ofa god.
The fire from the urn on the tower flashed a red glow down over the_azoteas_, near a corner of which Mualox stood, his beard white andflowing as his surplice. Thought of days palmier for himself and moreglorious for his temple and god struggled to his lips.
"Children of Azatlan, ye have strayed from his shrine, and dust is onhis shield. The temple is of his handiwork, but its chambers arevoiceless; the morning comes and falls asleep on its steps, and no footdisturbs it, no one seeks its blessings. Where is the hymn of the choir?Where the prayer? Where the holiness that rested, like a spell, aroundthe altar? Is the valley fruitless, and are the gardens without flowers,that he should be without offering or sacrifice?... Ah! well ye knowthat the day is not distant when he will glister again in the valley;when he will come, not as of old he departed, the full harvest quickripening in his footsteps, but with the power of Mictlan,[17] the owl onhis skirt, and death in his hand. Return, O children, and Tenochtitlanmay yet live!"
In the midst of his pleadings there was a clang of sandalled feet on thepavement, and two men came near him, and stopped. One of them wore thehood and long black gown of a priest; the other the full militarygarb,--burnished casque crested with plumes, a fur-trimmed _tilmatli_,_escaupil_, and _maxtlatl_, and sandals the thongs of which wereembossed with silver. He also carried a javelin, and a shield with anowl painted on its face. Indeed, one will travel far before finding,among Christians or unbelievers, his peer. He was then not more thantwenty-five years old, tall and nobly proportioned, and with a bearingtruly royal. In Spain I have seen eyes as large and lustrous, but noneof such power and variety of expression. His complexion was merely thebrown of the sun. Though very masculine, his features, especially whenthe spirit was in repose, were softened by an expression unusuallygentle and attractive. Such was the 'tzin Guatamo', or, as he is morecommonly known in history, Guatamozin,--the highest, noblest type of hisrace, blending in one its genius and heroism, with but few of itsdebasements.
"Mualox," said the priestly stranger.
The paba turned, and knelt, and kissed the pavement.
"O king, pardon your slave! He was dreaming of his country."
"No slave of mine, but Quetzal's. Up, Mualox!" said Montezuma, throwingback the hood that covered his head. "Holy should be the dust thatmingles in your beard!"
And the light from the tower shone full on the face of him,--the priestof lore profound, and monarch wise of thought, for whom Heaven waspreparing a destiny most memorable among the melancholy episodes ofhistory.
A slight mustache shaded his upper lip, and thin, dark beard covered hischin and throat; his nose was straight; his brows curved archly; hisforehead was broad and full, while he seemed possessed of height andstrength. His neck was round, muscular, and encircled by a collar ofgolden wires. His manner was winsome, and he spoke to the kneeling manin a voice clear, distinct, and sufficiently emphatic for the king hewas.[18]
Mualox arose, and stood with downcast eyes, and hands crossed over hisbreast.
"Many a coming of stars it has been," he said, "since the old shrine hasknown the favor of gift from Montezuma. Gloom of clouds in a vale offirs is not darker than the mood of Quetzal'; but to the poor paba, yourvoice, O king, is welcome as the song of the river in the ear of thethirsty."
The king looked up at the fire on the tower.
"Why should the mood of Quetzal' be dark? A new _teocallis_ holds hisimage. His priests are proud; and they say he is happy, and that when hecomes from the golden land his canoe will be full of blessings."
Mualox sighed, and when he ventured to raise his eyes to the king's,they were wet with tears.
"O king, have you forgotten that chapter of the _teoamoxtli_,[19] inwhich is written how this Cu was built, and its first fires lighted, byQuetzal' himself? The new pyramid may be grand; its towers may benumberless, and its fires far reaching as the sun itself; but hope notthat will satisfy the god, while his own house is desolate. In the nameof Quetzal', I, his true servant, tell you, never again look for smilefrom Tlapallan."
The paba's speech was bold, and the king frowned; but in the eyes of thevenerable man there was the unaccountable fascination mentioned byIztlil'.
"I remember the Mualox of my father's day; surely he was not as youare!" Then, laying his hand on the 'tzin's arm, the monarch added, "Didyou not say the holy man had something to tell me?"
Mualox answered, "Even so, O king! Few are the friends left the paba,now that his religion and god are mocked; but the 'tzin is faithful. Atmy bidding he went to the palace. Will Montezuma go with his servant?"
"Where?"
"Only into the Cu."
The monarch faltered.
"Dread be from you!" said Mualox. "Think you it is as hard to befaithful to a king as to a god whom even he has abandoned?"
Montezuma was touched. "Let us go," he said to the 'tzin.
FOOTNOTES:
[16] Sahagun, Hist. de Nueva Esp.
[17] The Mexican Hell. The owl was the symbol of the Devil, whose name signi
fies "the rational owl."
[18] Bernal Diaz, Hist. de la Conquista.
[19] The Divine Book, or Bible. Ixtlil's Relaciones M.S.