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Show H I S T 0 R Y 0 P M E X I C 0. BOOK VIII. they reached the city, Cortes was informed that the king of Mexico ,~ was coming to me t him; and a little afte1· he appeared, with a mofi !:';~J';,t~:iH~~~~ numerous and noble attend1ncc. Three nobles preceded, e1ch holding up in his hand a golden rod, as the inGgn ia of Ulajefl:y, by which the · people were advcrti(c l of the prefence of their fovereign. Montezuma came richly clad in a litter covered with plates of gold, which four nobles bore on their fhoulders, under the !hade of a p<lrafol of green feathers embroidered with fancy works of gold; he wore hanging fi·om his fhoul Jcra a mJntle adorned with the rit heil: j<~\i\'el s of gold and precious flon c~; , on his head a thin cr wn of the fctme metal, and upon his feet {hoes of gold tied with firings of leather worked with ·gold and gems; he w.ls accompanie:i by two hundred lords, dreil: in a fiyle fuperior to the other nobles, but all b<lrefooted, two by two, keeping clofe on each fide to the walls of the hou[es, to {h:;w the refpcCl: they bore to their fov ereign. As foon as the king and the Spani(]l general ftw ertch other, both alighted, Cortes from his hodi.:, and the king froo.1 his litter, who began to walk leaning on the armc; of the king of Tezcuco and the lord of I z tapale~pan. Cortes, after h~ving made a profound bow to the king, npproached him to put about h1s neck a iinall cord of gold, on which were firung glafs beads which appeared like gem·s·, and the king bowed his head to receive it (m); C?r~es was alfo gomg to cm~mtce him, but the two lords did not permtt 1t. The general exprcfled in a fhort fpeech, as the circumft;lnces required, his benevolence, his refpeCl:, and the pleafure he had in the knowledge of fo great a monarch. Monte:tuma an[ wered him in few words., ~nJ having performed the ufual ceremony of touching the e;\rth and k1~mg the hand, h in return for the prefent of the glals beads, ~ave h11n two necklaces of beautiful mother of p ... arl, from which hun 0 io.m. e lar,g e. cray-fif.h of gold in imitation of m•t urc ·. · he ch arged t 1lC rp:ulfn ce ·C uttlahuatzin to conduCl: Cortes to his dwelling , an j h e hu' n- .Le retlred \Vith the king of Tezcuco. (m) Solis, in his account of that meeting makes four mi lhkcs . H [; J'cnt made by Cortes was not a band or chair~ of g·lar• '1'1 , I . r •· c nys, that· the pre- . d M · ' • '"· 2 • I :It t 1<l1C two lords w h . me ontcl.uma du.l n 't per·mit Cortes to JlUt it nhnut h'ra ,,e ·k 1'1 I d'd .o ·l~compa-d'fd · · Th · · l • 3· Jat t 1cy r H w1th fi me ' ~~~ • 4· ut they were rcpnmandcd by the king. The whole of this is f: If · 0 c:nrr.cf' and contrnry to the account given by Cones himfclf. .t c, lnvcntrd at They H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. 6s The nobility as wc]1 as the populace, who, ftom the tops, doors, BOOK VIm and windows of the houfes, were obferving all that paifed, were equa1ly ' ... " furprized and ail:oniilied at the fight of fo many extraordinary objcCl:~ prefented to their eyes, and the unheard of complaifonce of the king, which contributed much to raife the charaCl:er of the Spaniards. The latter, full of wonder at feeing the grandeur of the city; the magnificence of the buildings, and the multitude of inhabitants, marched along that grand and fpacious way, which, without varying the lea11: from a right line, continued the road. of Iztapalapan, built upon the lake, to th~ fouthern gate of the greater temple, admiration alternately giving way to fear in their minds for their fate, feeing fo fmall a number of them in the center of a il:range and populous kingdom.· Thus they travelled on for near a mile and a half within the city, unto the palace defiined for their reception, which formerly belonged to king Axaja ... catl, not far diil:ant from the wefiern gate of the fame temple. Here Montezuma, who had gone before, waited for them. When Cortes ar-rived at the gate of that palace, Montezuma took him by the hand, led him into a large hall, made him fit down upon a foot-11:ool fimilar in form to thofe of the altars of the moderns, and covered with a fine tapeil:ry of cotton, and clofe to a wall alfo covered with a tapefiry embroidered with gold and gems; and, taking leave of him, faid to him " You and your companions are now in your own houfe, refrefb and " repofe youdelves; I will return iliortly." The king went to his palace, and Cortes immediately ordered a volley of all the artillery to be fired, in order to awe and intimidate the Mexicans by the found : in the mean while, he went to fee all the chambers of the palace where his people were to lodge. This edifice was fo large, that both the Spaniards and their allies, who, together with their women and fervants whom they brought with them, exceeded feven thouf~md in number, were accommodated in it; every where there was the greate11: cleanlinefs and neatnefs, almo11: all the chambers had beds of mats, of ruilies, and palrri, according to the cu11:om, and other mats in a round form for pillows, with coverlets of fine cotton, and . feats made of lingle pieces of wood; {orne chambers had the floor covered with mats, and the walls alfo covered with tapefiries of cotton .of various colours. The walls were moderately thick, and at certain VoL. II. K dlfiances |