OCR Text |
Show H ·I S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. lain dormant from the want of ideas, in ftimes. of a favage life, be.?an to awa k en m· t h eu·. mm· d s • Xolotl • who ' dunng the greateft petlOd of his reign, had ex·ercifed great clemency in his government, had fo_und himfelf, in the laO: years of his life, confirained to ufe fevere mea.{u.res . to check the reftlefs difpofition of fome rebels, o~ca~onally. depnvmg them of their offices, or punilhing the moO: cr1mmal w1th death. Thefe juft chafi:ifements, inftead of intimidating, e~afperated. t~e~ fo much, that they formed the atrocious defign of takmg .the kmg s ~tfe, for the execution of which an occafion fpeedily prefen~ed 1tfe~f. A httle tu· ne prev1·o us t o th1's the king had expreifed a wt!h to mcreafe . the waters of his gardens where he was accuftomed . to take recreat1?n, and frequently alfo relieved his burden of yeal"i wtth fleep, to. whtch he was invited by the coolnefs and charms of the place. Bemg acquainted w1th this, the rebels dammed up the little river which croifed the city, and 6pened a ditch to conduCt the waters to 'the gardens; waited the time at which the king was accufiomed to go to fleep, then raifing the dam let all the water at once into the gardens, and fuddenly overflowed them. They flattered themfelves that. their. vi- , cious aim would never be deteCted; as the 'difafier of the ~mg ~1ght be imputed to an accident, or,to ill conducted meafures by h1s fubjeCts, who fincerely deiired to ferve their fovereig~ :J but .th~y dec~ived the~nfdves, and their attempt proved abortive; as -the kmg' had fecret Intelligence of their confpiracy; but dilfembling his knowledge of it, he retired at his ufual time into 'the garden, and went to fieep on an ele'vated fpot, where he was expofed to no danger. When he afterwards faw. the .water enter, although the treafon was now apparent, he continued his diffimulation to ridicule his enemies :' " 1 1,"1 he ~ then faid, " was perfuaded that my fubjetl:s loved me, but now l fee 1they love " me fiill more than' I believed. I was defirous of ·incre'afing 1the water "of my garden, and behold my· fubje'Cts ' have done it without ·any " expence : it is proper lthel"efore to rejoice at my 'happin'efs." ' He then ordered there fhould be rejoicings in ·the court, and· when· they were concluded, he departed full of angtillh -and1 difdain for Teflayuca, refolved to infliCt exemplary punilhment on the confpirators ; · but .there he was feized wlth a morlal • difie~per. whith modemted• ~i~ paffion. Being • H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. Being now fenfible of an approaching delth, he called prince Nopaltzin to him, his daughters, and Acolhnatzin his fon-in-law, the other princes being now dead, and recommended to them concord among themfelves, the care of the people committed to their charge, the proteCtion of the nobility, and clemency to all their fubjeCts ; after which, a few hours, in the midfi of the tears and plaints of his children, he ended his life in a very advanced age, having reigned in that country, as appears, more than forty years. He was a robufl: and courageous man, but of a mofi affetl:ionate heart to his children, and mild to his people. His reign would have been more happy had its duration been more fhort ( q). The news of the death of the king immediately fpreld over the whole kingdom, and fpeedy advice of it was given to the principal lords, that they might attend at the funeral, They adorned the royal corpfe with various little figures of gold and :filver, which the Chechemecas, having been inftruCted by the Toltecas, had b~gun now to work, and placed it in a chair made of gum cop:1l and other aromatic fnbfiances ; and thns it remained five days, while the lords fummoned to the funeral arrive::d. After they were all affembled, tht: corpf~ was burnt, according to the cufi:om of the Chechemecas, and the fl{hel) gathered in an urn of the hard~{( fionc. This urn was kept expofed for forty days in .a hall of the royal rnanfion, where daily the nobil:ty thronged to pay their homage of tqars t9 ~heir deceafed fovereign, and the urn was afterwards arricd to a cave in the 11eighpourhood qf ~h~ city with fimilar demon!l:riltions of grief. · As foon as the fun ~ral of Xolotl was concludeJ, they celebrated the afcenfion of pr1n ~e 1\' opaltzin to the throne with acclamations and rejokings for other forty days. When the lords too\ leave of their new king to retum to th ir n.:fpc:."tiv it ttes, Olle of them I't)ad ... this Jhort harangue: " Great king amllord, ~s your fubj ects a!ld fervants, " we go in obedience to yonr commands, to govern .the pcc.>p1c you " have committed to our barge, Lcaring in our hearts the pleafu rc of " having feen you on the throne, not lcfs due to your virtue than your ·"birth. We ackaowle.se the gooJ fortnne unequalleq which we ('}) Torqucmad:\ giv es .Xolntl one hund red :,l,nd thirt een r ars of 1' ·ia·n, :mJ ll\OI'C thnn two h undred years of life. On th is rtc ou r Ditl (· rrn tion. Yot. J. 0 have .. 97 nooK Ir. ~ SFCT . VIII. Death and fune ral of Xolotl • S:c r. IX. N op:tl t7. in I!. king of th Chr.:~:he · mccas. |