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Show S £CT. XVI. onquetl of Tl:ltelol o, .and 4cath of .king Moquihuix. H I S T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. · · T was the city where the Mexican language was culnvatlOn. czcuco . d £i .n.· h the befi: arti{l:s ii oken in the ,.reate!l: punty an per e~..-LlOn, w ere p c d a11d 0 where poets orators, and hifl:orians moll: abounded (I)· were IOUn , ' · c.1 • f The Mexicans and other n~\tions adopted many of the1r laws ; an 1 we may be allowed the application, Tezcuco was the Athens, and Ne-zahualeojotl the Solon of Anahuac. . . . In his lafl: illnefs, having called all h1s fons mto hts prefence, he de-clared Nezahualpilli his heir and fuccdfor in the king~om of Acolhuacan who though the vounge{l of them all, was preferred to the refl:, 0~ ~ccou~t of his having been born of the queen Matlalci~uatzin, as well as of his fi ngular rectitude and great talents. l-Ie enjoincd.htsfidl: born fon Acapipioltzin to affift the new king with his counfel, unt1l he G:ould learn the difEcult art of gover nment. He warmly recommended to N c~ah~alpilli the love of his brothers, the c~re of his fubjctl:s, ~nd a zeal ~~ r JUfiJ .<:: . At laft, to prevent any diforder whtch the news of hts ~eath tmght occ.tfion, he commanded them to conceal it as much as pofhble from the people untit Nezahualpilli fhould be fixed in q.uiet poife~on of the crown. The princes received with tears the laft advt e of thetr father, a~? having left him; and come into the hall of audien~e where the nobthty ex · p~Ct:cd them, Nezahualpilli was procl~imcd km.g of Acolhuacan,' ~C!l~ pipioltzin declaring it to be the laft w1ll ?f thet~· father, who hav1ng_ .t long journey to make, chafe firft to nommate h1s fucceifor. All ~atd obedience to the new king, and in the morning after, Nezahualcojotl died, in the forty-fourth year of his reign, and about the eightieth ~ear of his age. His fons concealed his death, and hid his body, burnmg it fecretly, as is probable; and inftead of rendering ftmeral honours to ,it, they c lebrated the coronation of the new king with uncommon f~il:ivity and rejoicing. But in fpitc of their cautious fecrecy the news of his death fpread fuddenly through all the land, and many lords c;ame to the court to condole with the princes. N everthelt[s the vulgar remained pcrfuaded that their great king was tranflated to the comp:my of the gods in reward of his virtues. Some little time after the cxa] tation of N ezahual pilli to the throne, t.lw memorable war happened between the Mexicans and their neigh- (I) In the Jill which we h.1vc gi'Yen of the hillorians of that kingdom, it nppears many were of tl.e royal fumily of Tczcuco, bours . ' <· /: . ·. H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. bours and rivals, the Tlatelolcos. Moquihuix king of Tlatelolco, being unabl~ to endure the dazzling glory of the Mexican monarch, ufed all his arts t(} darken it, He had married, as we have already mentioned, a fifl:cr of king Axayacatl, given him by Montezuma in reward for the famous viCtory he obtained over the Cotaftefe. On this unfortunate queen he frequently vented his malice againfl: his coufin; nor contented with that he clandefl:inely formed leagues with other fiates, which like himfelf bore unwillingly the Mexican yoke. Thefe were Chalco, Xilotepec, Toltitlan, Tenajucan, Mexicaltzinco, Huitzilopochc.o, Xochimilco, Cuitlahuac, and Mizquic, which ~gr~ed to attack the Mexicans in their rear, after the Tlatelolcos {hould begin battle with them. The ~au panchefe alio, the H uexotzincas, and Matlatzincas, w hofe aid had been rcqucil:ed, were to join their troops with thofe of Tlatelolco in dt:fence of the city. The queen knew of thefe negociations, .and either fi·om the hatred fhe bore to her hufband, or ft'Om her love to l1er brother and her native country, ihe revealed them to Axayaca.tl, that he might ward off a blow which would have ikaken his throne. Moquihuix being aill.tred of the aid of his confederates affembled the nobles. of his court to encourage them to the undertaking. An old and venerable prieft raifed his voice in the aifembly, and in the name of them all declared himfelf willing to fight to the laft againft the epemies of his country; then to .animate them ftill more he wailied the altar of the facrifices, and prefented the water purple with human blood to the king to drink, and afterwards to all his officers; by which they imagined their .courage would be increa(t:d, and doubtlefs it hardened them to the cxerci[e of cruelty upon their foes. In the mean while the queen grew impatient of the ill treatment {he fufrercd, and being alarmed at the dangers of war, forfook her huiliand and came to Mexico with four fons, to th.row herfelf under the proteCtion of her brother. This it was cafy for her to do from the very clofe neighbourhood of the two cities. Aa. incident of this uncommon nature incJ·eafed the mutual enmity and difguft of .the M~xicans and Tbtelolcos to fuch a degree, that whenever they met, they abufed, fought, and murdetcd each other. The time of commencing the war dmwing near, Moquihuix with his officers and many of his confederates, made a (olemn f..1crific.e on the mountain which was the nearcft to the city, to obtain the proteCtion V O,L. J. C C (>f 1 93 BOOK I V. "--v--1 |