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Show 86 H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. BOOK IJC. nrd::~ were gaining in Mexico, an'd afhamod to fee the miferab!c fit~t:l- .. tion of his uncle Montezuma, fent to tell him,-that he fi1ould 1\ .. - mcmber that he was a king, and not himfelf the fiave of thofe fl:rangcrs: but finding that Montez rna refufed to attend to hi f; counfcl, rcfolvcd himfelf to make war upon the Spaniards. ThGir rllin would have been inevitable, if the efl:cem of Cacamatzin with the Mexican and Tezcucan fubjeB:s lud been equal to his intrepidity and refolution ; but the Mexicans fufpeB:cd, that under f.mB:ion of zeal for the honour of his uncle he difgui[ed fome lurking ambition and deJign to ufurp the crown of Mexico; among his own fubj eB:s of Tezcuco he was not very popular, on account of his pride and the injury he dad done his brother the prince Cuicuitzatztn, who, to £hun being pcrfecuted, had taken !helter in Mex ico, and was more acce1)t able to the people on account of his more affable difpofition. Cacamatzin therefore went to Tezcuco, and having called together his counfellors and the mofl: refpetl:able perfons of his court, reprefented to them the deplorable fiate of Mexico, owi"ng to the unequalled audacity of the Spaniards, and pufillanimity of the king his uncle ; the authority which thofe firangers were acquiring, the outrages offered to the king by the imprifonment of his perfon as if he had been a !lave, and the infult rendered to their gods by the introduCtion of the wor!hip of a firange deity into that kingdom; he exagger.1ted the evils which might refult from fu ch beginnings to the court and kingdom of Acolhuacan: " It is time now," he [aid, " to fight for our " religion, for our country, for our liberty, and for our honour, be" fore the power of thofe men is increafcd by reinforcements from " their own country or new alli:mces in this." At lafl: he enjoined them all to fpeak tht!ir opinions · freely. The majority of his counfellors declared for war, either in complaifance to their king or becaufe they were ~]) of t.he fame opinion, but fome aged refpeB:able perfons told the ktng pl:unly, that he fhould not fufi'"cr himfdf to be ~ed away by the ardour of youth; that before any refolution was taken 1t ought to be remembered, that the Spaniards were warlike refolute men, and fought with arms fuperior to their's; that he fhould not confid~r the relation between himfelf and Montezuma fo much as the alhance of ~he latter with the Spaniards; that a friendfhip of that nature, M. I S 'f 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0.' nature, of which there were the cleareft and moft certain proofs, would BOOK .IX. make him facrificc all the interefis of his family and his coun~ry to ~----..- . .J' the ambition of thofe il:rangers. In fpitc of thofe repre'fentations war was refolved upon, and immed~ atel~ they bcga~ ~o make preparations for it with the utmoft fecrecx.; but fhll not fufhc1ent to prevent t}:lc intelligence of it from reaching. Montezuma .and Cortes : t~is general became extremely uneafy at . 1t, but reflecbng that all Ills daring defigns had fucceeded, he rdolved to ward off the blow, by marching with his troops to make an affault upon Tezcuco. Montezuma ditTauded him from fo dan~ erous a fl:ep, informing him of the ftrength of that capital and the unmenfe number of its inhabitants. Cortes determined, therefore, to fend. an cmba{fy to that king, calling to his recolleCtion the friendfhip formerly agreed upon between them in Ajotzinco when he came to meet him in the name of his uncle, and alfo to tell him to reflect that it was not eaficr to undertake WJr than diffic ult to fucceed in it and that it would turn out to better account for him to keep up a good .correfpori'dence with the king of Cafl:ile and the Sp:mifh nation. Cacamat~ in anfwereJ , that he could not regard men as friends who injured his .honour, \vronged his blood, difdained his religion, and oppreifed h1s country; that he did not know who the kin()' of Cafl:ile was, nor was it of any importance for him to know it. tl~t jf t,11 ey wou ld e1r cape the fl:onn wh1. ch was now ready, to pour upo, n them they fhould immediately quit Mexico, and return to their native country. Not~ithft.1~ding this ~rm anfwer, Cortes repeated his embat1y; but bemg agam anfwered m the fame tone, he complained to Mon- . tezuma; a~d, in order to enga~e him in the affitir, he fe igned to fufpctl: even him of ·having fome influence in the 10fl:ile defigns of his nephew. .1\tfontezuma cleared himfelf fi·om fufpicion by the mo£1: fincere proteftations, and offt:rcd to interpofe his authority. He fen t to tell Cacamatzin to come to Mexico to vifit him, and that he woulu find means to accommodate the difference. Cacamatzin, amazed at fe.ein~ Montezuma m?re intcrc.:fted in favour o'f thofe who dcftroyed h1s hberty, than of lus own rela tion who. was zealous to rel~orc it to him, anfwereJ, that if after fu h infamous tn::atment he had a fpark of ' |