The Fair God; or, The Last of the 'Tzins: A Tale of the Conquest of Mexico

by Lew Wallace

  CHAPTER II.

  THE KING AND THE 'TZIN.

  The visit was unexpected to Guatamozin, and its object a mystery; but hethought only of paying the guest meet honor and respect, for he wasstill the great king. And so, bareheaded and unarmed, he went forth, andmeeting him in the garden, knelt, and saluted him after the manner ofthe court.

  "I am glad to say the word of welcome to my father's brother. Know, Oking, that my house, my garden, and all you behold are yours."

  Hualpa left them; then Montezuma replied, the sadness of his voicesoftening the austerity of his manner,--

  "I have loved you well, Guatamozin. Very good it was to mark you come upfrom boyhood, and day by day grow in strength and thought. I never knewone so rich in promise. Ours is a proud race, and you seemed to have allits genius. From the beginning you were thoughtful and provident; in thefield there was always a victory for you, and in council your words werethe soul of policy. O, ill was the day evil came between us, andsuspicion shattered the love I bore you! Arise! I have not crossed thelake for explanations; there is that to speak of more important to usboth."

  The 'tzin arose, and looked into the monarch's face, his own suffusedwith grief.

  "Is not a king punished for the wrong he does?"

  Montezuma's brows lowered, chilling the fixed look which was his onlyanswer; and the 'tzin spoke on.

  "I cannot accuse you directly; but this I will say, O king: a just man,and a brave, never condemns another upon suspicion."

  The monarch's eyes blazed with sudden fire, and from his _maxtlatl_ hedrew a knife. The 'tzin moved not; the armed hand stopped; an instanteach met the other's gaze, then the weapon was flung away.

  "I am a child," said the king, vexed and ashamed. "When I came here Idid not think of the past, I thought only of the Empire; but trouble hasdevoured my strength of purpose, until my power mocks me, and, mostmiserable of men, I yearn to fly from myself, without knowing where tofind relief. A vague impulse--whence derived, except from intolerablesuffering of mind, I know not--brought me to you. O 'tzin, silent be thedifferences that separate us. Yours I know to be a tongue of undefiledtruth; and if not for me now, for our country, and the renown of ourfathers, I believe you will speak."

  The shame, the grief, and the self-accusation moved the 'tzin more thanthe deadly menace.

  "Set my feet, O king! set my feet in the way to serve or save mycountry, and I will tread it, though every step be sown with the terrorsof Mictlan."

  "I did not misjudge you, my son," the king said, when he had againperfectly mastered his feelings.

  And Guatamozin, yet more softened, would have given him all the oldlove, but that Tula, contracted to the Tezcucan, rose to memory.Checking the impulse, he regarded the unhappy monarch sorrowfully.

  And the latter, glancing up at the sun, said,--

  "It is getting late. I left the train going to the hunting-grounds. Bynoon they will return, and I wish to be at the city before them. Mycanoe lies at the landing; walk there with me, and on the way I willspeak of the purpose of my visit."

  Their steps as they went were slow, and their faces downcast and solemn.The king was first to speak.

  "As the time requires, I have held many councils, and taken the voice ofpriest, warrior, and merchant; and they agree in nothing but theirconfusion and fear."

  "The king forgets,--I have been barred his councils, and know not whatthey considered."

  "True, true; yet there is but one topic in all Anahuac,--in the Empire.Of that, the _tamanes_ talk gravely as their masters; only one classasks, 'Who are the white men making all this trouble?' while the otherargues, 'They are here; they are gods. What are we to do?'"

  "And what say the councils, O king?"

  "It could not be that all would speak as one man. Of different castes,they are differently moved. The pabas believe the Sun has sent us somegodly warriors, whom nothing earthly can subdue. They advise patience,friendship, and peace. 'The eye of Huitzil' is on them, numbering theirmarches. In the shade of the great temple he awaits, and there he willconsume them with a breath,'--so say the pabas. The warriors are dumb,or else borrow and reassert the opinions of the holy men. 'Give themgold, if they will depart; if not that, give them peace, and leave theissue to the gods,'--so they say. Cuitlahua says war; so does Cacama.The merchants and the people have no opinion,--nothing but fear. Formyself, yesterday I was for war, to-day I am for peace. So far I havechosen to act upon the advice of the pabas. I have sent the strangersmany presents and friendly messages, and kept ambassadors in their camp;but while preserving such relations, I have continually forbade theircoming to Tenochtitlan. They seem bolder than men. Who but they wouldhave undertaken the march from Cempoalla? What tribes or people couldhave conquered Tlascala, as they have? You have heard of their battles.Did they not in a day what we have failed to do in a hundred years? WithTlascala for ally, they have set my word at naught, and, whether they beof the sun or the earth, they are now marching upon Cholula, most sacredcity of the gods. And from Cholula there is but one more march. Alreadyfrom the mountains they have looked wistfully down on our valley ofgardens, upon Tenochtitlan. O 'tzin, 'tzin, can we forget the prophecy?"

  "Shall I say what I think? Will the king hear me?" asked Guatamozin.

  "For that I came. Speak!"

  "I obey gladly. The opportunity is dearer to me than any honor. And,speaking, I will remember of what race I am."

  "Speak as if you were king."

  "Then--I condemn your policy."

  The monarch's face remained placid. If the bluff words wounded him, hedissembled consummately.

  "It was not well to go so often to the temple," Guatamozin continued."Huitzil' is not there; the pabas have only his name, his image andaltar; your breast is his true temple; there ought you to find him.Yesterday, you say, you were for war; the god was with you then: to-dayyou are for peace; the god has abandoned you. I know not in what wordsthe lords Cuitlahua and Cacama urged their counsel, nor on what grounds.By the Sun! theirs is the only policy that comports with the fame of aruler of Aztecs. Why speak of any other? For me, I would seek thestrangers in battle and die, sooner than a minstrel should sing, ortradition tell, how Guatamozin, overcome by fear, dwelt in their camppraying peace as the beggar prays for bread."

  Literally, Guatamozin was speaking like a king.

  "I have heard your pearl-divers say," he continued, "that they neverventure into a strange sea without dread. Like the new sea to them, thissubject has been to your people; but however the declaration may strikeyour ears, O king, I have sounded all its depths. While your priestswere asking questions of speechless hearts; while your lords werenursing their love of ease in the shade and perfume of your palace;while your warriors, forgetful of their glory, indulged the fancy thatthe new enemy were gods; while Montezuma was watching stars, andstudying omens, and listening to oracles which the gods know not, hopingfor wisdom to be found nowhere as certainly as in his own royalinstincts,--face to face with the strangers, in their very camp, Istudied them, their customs, language, and nature. Take heart, O king!Gods, indeed! Why, like men, I have seen them hunger and thirst; likemen, heard them complain; on the other hand, like men, I have seen themfeed and drink to surfeit, and heard them sing from gladness. What meanstheir love of gold? If they come from the Sun, where the dwellings ofthe gods, and the hills they are built on, are all of gold, why shouldthey be seeking it here? Nor is that all. I listened to the interpreter,through whom their leader explained his religion, and they areworshippers, like us, only they adore a woman, instead of a great,heroic god--"

  "A woman!" exclaimed the king.

  "Nay, the argument is that they worship at all. Gods do not adore eachother!"

  They had now walked some distance, and so absorbed had Montezuma beenthat he had not observed the direction they were pursuing. Emergingsuddenly from a cypress-grove, he was surprised to find the pathterminate in a small lake, which, at any other time, wou
ld have excitedhis admiration. Tall trees, draped to their topmost boughs in luxuriantvines, encircled the little expanse of water, and in its midst there wasan island, crowned with a kiosk or summer-house, and covered with orangeshrubs and tapering palms.

  "Bear with me, O king," said Guatamozin, observing his wonder. "Ibrought you here that you may be absolutely convinced of the nature ofour enemies. On that island I have an argument stronger than thevagaries of pabas or the fancies of warriors,--a visible argument."

  He stepped into a canoe lying at the foot of the path, and, with a sweepof the paddle, drove across to the island. Remaining there, he pushedthe vessel back.

  "Come over, O king, come over, and see."

  Montezuma followed boldly, and was led to the kiosk. The retreat was notone of frequent resort. Several times they were stopped by vines grownacross the path. Inside the house, the visitor had no leisure forobservation; he was at once arrested by an object that filled him withhorror. On a table was a human head. Squarely severed from the body, itstood upright on the base of the neck, looking, with its ghastly, whiteface, directly toward the entrance. The features were swollen andferocious; the black brows locked in a frown, with which, as was plainlyto be seen, nature had as much to do as death; the hair was short, andon the crown almost worn away; heavy, matted beard covered the cheeksand chin; finally, other means of identification being wanted, thecoarse, upturned mustache would have betrayed the Spaniard. Montezumasurveyed the head for some time; at length, mastering his deep loathing,he advanced to the table.

  "A _teule_!" he said, in a low voice.

  "A man,--only a man!" exclaimed Guatamozin, so sternly that the monarchshrank as if the blue lips of the dead had spoken to him. "Ask yourself,O king, Do the gods die?"

  Montezuma smiled, either at his own alarm or at the ghastly argument.

  "Whence came the trophy?" he asked.

  "Have you not heard of the battle of Nauhtlan?"

  "Surely; but tell it again."

  "When the strangers marched to Tlascala," the 'tzin began, "their chiefleft a garrison behind him in the town he founded. I was then on thecoast. To convince the people, and particularly the army, that they weremen, I determined to attack them. An opportunity soon occurred. Yourtax-gatherers happening to visit Nauhtlan, the township revolted, andclaimed protection of the garrison, who marched to their relief. At myinstance, the caciques drew their bands together, and we set upon theenemy. The Totonaques fled at our first war-cry; but the strangerswelcomed us with a new kind of war. They were few in number, but thethunder seemed theirs, and they hailed great stones upon us, and after awhile came against us upon their fierce animals. When my warriors sawthem come leaping on, they fled. All was lost. I had but one thoughtmore,--a captive taken might save the Empire. I ran where the strangersclove their bloody way. This"--and he pointed to the head--"was thechief, and I met him in the rout, raging like a tiger in a herd of deer.He was bold and strong, and, shouting his battle-cry, he rushed upon me.His spear went through my shield. I wrenched it from him, and slew thebeast; then I dragged him away, intending to bring him alive toTenochtitlan; but he slew himself. So look again! What likeness is therein that to a god? O king, I ask you, did ever its sightless eyes see theglories of the Sun, or its rotting lips sing a song in heaven? IsHuitzil' or Tezca' made of such stuff?"

  The monarch, turning away, laid his hand familiarly on the 'tzin's arm,and said,--

  "Come, I am content. Let us go."

  And they started for the landing.

  "The strangers, as I have said, my son, are marching to Cholula. AndMalinche--so their chief is called--now says he is coming toTenochtitlan."

  "To Tenochtitlan! In its honored name, in the name of its kings andgods, I protest against his coming!"

  "Too late, too late!" replied Montezuma, his face working as though apang were at his heart. "I have invited him to come."

  "Alas, alas!" cried Guatamozin, solemnly. "The day he enters the capitalwill be the commencement of the woe, if it has not already commenced.The many victories will have been in vain. The provinces will drop away,like threaded pearls when the string is broken. O king, better had youburied your crown,--better for your people, better for your own glory!"

  "Your words are bitter," said the monarch, gloomily.

  "I speak from the fulness of a heart darkened by a vision of Anahuacblasted, and her glory gone," returned the 'tzin. Then in a lament,vivid with poetic coloring, he set forth a picture of the nationalruin,--the armies overthrown, the city wasted, the old religionsupplanted by a new. At the shore where the canoe was waiting, Montezumastopped, and said,--

  "You have spoken boldly, and I have listened patiently. One thing more:What does Guatamozin say the king should do?"

  "It is not enough for the servant to know his own place; he should knowhis master's also. I say not what the king should do, but I will saywhat I would do if I were king."

  Rising from the obeisance with which he accompanied the words, he said,boldly,--

  "Cholula should be the grave of the invaders. The whole populationshould strike them in the narrow streets where they can be bestassailed. Shut up in some square or temple, hunger will fight them forus, and win. But I would not trust the citizens alone. In sight of thetemples, so close that a conch could summon them to the attack, I wouldencamp a hundred thousand warriors. Better the desolation of Cholulathan Tenochtitlan. If all things else failed, I would take to the lastresort; I would call in the waters of Tezcuco and drown the city to thehighest _azoteas_. So would I, O king, if the crown and signet weremine."

  Montezuma looked from the speaker to the lake.

  "The project is bold," he said, musingly; "but if it failed, my son?"

  "The failure should be but the beginning of the war."

  "What would the nations say?"

  "They would say, 'Montezuma is still the great king.' If they do notthat--"

  "What then?"

  "Call on the _teotuctli_. The gods can be made speak whatever yourpolicy demands."

  "Does my son blaspheme?" said Montezuma, angrily.

  "Nay, I but spoke of what has happened. Long rule the good god of ourfathers!"

  Yet the monarch was not satisfied. Never before had discourse beenaddressed to him in strain so bold.

  "They see all things, even our hearts," he said, turning coldly away."Farewell. A courier will come for you when your presence is wanted inthe city."

  And so they separated, conscious that no healing had been brought totheir broken friendship. As the canoe moved off, the 'tzin knelt, butthe king looked not that way again.