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A Tale of the Last Days of the Aztec Dynasty
`Stand aside, serf!' were the stern tones of an officer, addressed to a youth.
With a thousand others, he was watching the procession of the Priests of the sun, headed by the emperor and his nobles, on the way to offer sacrifices at each gate of the city, to propitiate the wrath of their Deity — for rain had not fallen on the earth for the space of eleven weeks, and the fierce sun had burned up the harvests.
The eyes of this youth seemed to be fixed more particularly on the princess Eylla, than on the spectacle, gorgeous as it was, with its seas of plumes and banners; its glittering helms and golden shields; its trains of knights in silver armor, and brazen chariots, with silken canopies of green and gold, containing beautiful virgins of the sun, glorious in their robes of white, and beaming coronets of stars.
`Stand aside, serf!' cried the officer a second time to the unheeding youth, and, at the same instant, the glittering point of a long, slender spear he carried, pricked the breast of the young man, who, ere it could penetrate, caught it in his hand, wrenched it from his grasp, broke it in twain, and cast the pieces disdainfully at his feet.
`Ha! It is the slave Montezuma!' cried the infuriated officer. `He has mocked us full long. Cut him down!'
But ere the soldiers which formed the guard about the emperor and his daughter, and which the officer commanded, could obey, the crowd opened to the right and left and received the destined victim into its bosom.
`Hew your way to him,' cried the emperor, whose attention had been drawn to the scene, and who now beheld the citizens protecting the offender; `cut the slaves in pieces!'
`Nay, my father, will you let blood be spilled on this sacred time?' plead the sweet and earnest voice of the princess Eylla, who, riding in the imperial chariot beside the emperor, also witnessed the affray.
`They are my slaves, and it is in their blood that I float above their heads,' was the stern reply of the tyrant.
`Nay, father! see how the poor people fall before the weapons of the fierce guards! And look! others, as fast as their fellows are slain, press up to fill the gap, and, with their devoted hearts, place a barrier between thy vengeance and its victim!'
`Therefore should they die for thus daring to thwart my will! On your life, noble,' he called to the governor of his guard, `let not the insolent slave escape!'
`Spare him — O, spare them! For my sake, sire, bid them hold,' plead the princess earnestly.
`Dost thou plead for a few score bondmen, daughter! If I let this pass, the slaves will beard me on my throne!'
`Alas! such fearful slaughter!' she cried, covering her eyes from the scene. `Father! Emperor!' she again exclaimed, falling at his feet in the chariot, `shall Eylla plead in vain!'
`Ascala, call off your guards! Their insolence is enough punished. Hath the mover of it been slain?'
`Thrice he strove to force himself upon our blades,' answered the noble, `armed with the pike-end he wrested from me, but the multitude held him back. Thou seest him standing yonder, taller by the head than his fellows, gazing on thee with defiance.'
The lovely princess had fallen upon the emperor's neck, as he yielded to her tears, and gratefully kissed him. With strange affection for one so sanguinary in his disposition, he tenderly returned it upon her forehead, and then sternly bade the procession move on.
But Eylla — for curiosity to gaze on a man, for whom so many had given their lives, had led her to seek him in the crowd, ere the noble pointed him out — did not pass on before she met, and received from the dark eyes of the handsome young man, a look of grateful homage and acknowledgment. The gentleness of the princess drew her as near to the hearts of her subjects, as the sternness of her father removed him from them, so the youth felt that it was no insult for his gaze, humble as he was, to seek the eye of the princess, and thank her for her interposition.
But the mischief that glance did, cannot be estimated! The princess Eylla rode on — but, from that moment, she forgot the procession, — her father — every thing but the face of the youth for whom she had interceded. Her mind, as she proceeded, became filled with curiosity to know who he could be that held at his command, and willing devotion, the lives of so many men; and then her thoughts run upon his lofty aspect and noble bearing; recalled his grateful, yet respectful glance; dwelt upon the dark fire of his fine eyes, and the expressive manly beauty of his countenance. But the more she thought, the more bewildered she grew, till, at length, recalled to herself by the approach of the procession to the Temple of the Gate, she hung her head in confusion, and concealed within the silken folds of her azure vesture the blush that crimsoned her virgin cheek.
In the centre of the present empire of Mexico, and within the borders of the beautiful country once inhabited by the ancestors of those wild and splendid savages, the Comanchees, lies a chain of elevated mountains, whose snowy peaks pierce the skies, leaving the vast fields of clouds floating midway between them and the plains. Towards the south they make a majestic curve, and enclose within their embrace a lake twelve leagues in circumference, on the bright bosom of which, like an emerald cast upon a mirror, rests the beautiful island of Alcolo, the seat of the Aztec empire. One of these mountains, which is called the peak of Ix, is loftier than the rest, and on its inaccessible summit blazes a star-like point, which is said to be a single diamond. This glittering apex is here called the `star of the Burning Stone.' By day the dazzling point glows in the splendor of the cloudless sun-light with all the dyes of the iris; by night its brightness is subdued, and its light becomes pure and pale like the chastened radiance of the moonbeam.
At the period of our story, this lake, with its central island and encircling girdle of bright, snow-capped mountains, was the seat of an empire now no more. From the midst of the fair island of Alcolo rose the proud city of Mexico, its capital, gorgeous with golden domes, needle-like pinnacles, overlaid with silver, majestic towers, and vast temples dedicated to the Sun, and to the god of war; while through it, dividing it into two parts, flowed a broad artificial river, which, for more than a league, reflected from its steel-like bosom continuous lines of temples, palaces, and edifices of costly grandeur. Here had been for ages the imperial palace and throne of the emperors, and here still was the centre of wealth, power, and regal magnificence.
Ulyd, the last monarch of his race, and of the Aztec dynasty, now sat on the throne of this glorious empire. He was haughty, cruel, and imperious. His foot rested upon the necks of his many millions of subjects, and his sceptre was converted into a sword, which was hourly bathed in human blood. But Eylla, the only daughter of the sanguinary emperor, was gentle as the dove in temper; fearless as the eagle of her house in spirit; as darkly beautiful as Lyn, the Angel of Flowers; and as graceful in form and motion as the antelope, that runs upon the mountains. The tyrant loved his daughter, and that love was all that humanized his nature. In one of the lesser streets of this gorgeous capital, near the water, lived a poor net-maker, Macho by name, whose sole merit was his honesty, and whose only income was the daily pittance earned by the toil of his hands. He had lost his wife, but Heaven had tempered its judgments with mercy, and left him a son and daughter, to share his labors and solace his old age. Montezuma, which was the name of the youth, was now twenty-three years of age. His stature was lofty, and his port noble; while the highest manly grace and beauty were stamped upon his face and person. His dignity was that of virtue; his beauty that of a gentle temper and a cheerful heart. He was doated on by his father, idolized by his sister, honored and beloved by all of his degree in the city; but despised, so closely had nature allied him to them, by all the nobles of the court. Such was Montezuma at the period of our story. His sister, Fatziza, was four years his junior. She was the loveliest virgin that bent her knee to adore the rising sun in all the city of Mexico. The night was not darker than her hair, nor the stars that gem it brighter than her eyes. Her voice was low and musical as the love-note of the Thu, when at twilight he woos his mate amid the dark branches of the zampzin-tree, and when she sang the groves that overhung the canal would ring vocal with the answering melody of the Tzire, the bulbul of Alcolo. She was as happy as a bird from morning till night, and her cheerful face, as she went about the humble but neat little cot of the old net-maker, looking after her domestic affairs, made glad the hearts of all who looked upon her; and no heart did her smile make more glad than that of her lover, Sismarqui, the handsome son of Ota, the renowned embosser of shields, who lived in the adjoining street.
It was on the same hour of the afternoon in which the events connected with the passage of the procession through the street leading from the temple of the sun to the east gate occurred, that the beautiful Fatziza, ignorant of what had happened, was seated on the little cane-balcony, that projected above the sidewalk of the narrow street in which she lived. She was arrayed in the neat, virgin attire becoming her condition, and her dark hair, besides being plaited and bound with the usual fillet, was ornamented with a simple white flower of the tepala, for it was near the time that Sismarqui was wont to pass, on his way from the shop towards the imperial armory, followed by his father's two apprentices, laden with the shields that had been embossed that day. The little balcony in which she sat was not curiously latticed and adorned with pictured, silken curtains, like the more spacious verandahs that ornamented the houses of the better class of citizens, but instead was protected by a screen of green net-work, netted by her own fingers. It was now drawn aside, to admit more freely the breeze from the water, so that if any among the passing crowd should chance to cast their eyes upward, they could easily have discovered her; and many, indeed, were the enamored youth, that stopped to linger and gaze upon her beauty, as, unconscious of their admiration, she bent her face over a piece of useful needlework, on which she was industriously employed.
Let it not be supposed, that it was female vanity that brought Fatziza to sit so openly above her father's shop-door. In that paradisial climate, where the air is ever mild and halmy, where summer weds with autumn but to produce a spring of fruit and flowers in endless succession, the artificers, and humbler citizens of that degree, knew no other apartment in which to assemble for enjoying the evening time, than the light balconies that shaded their shop-dwellings. Here Fatziza had sat from childhood, evening after evening, and with a child's innocence of purpose she had now taken her accustomed seat there this evening. She expected her lover too; and at every third stitch in her needle-work, she glanced up the street to see if he was yet coming. The street was called the Street of the Net-makers, from the number of that craft dwelling in it, and terminated at the canal; so that her father's house, being the last in it, one end of it overhung the water. At this end was also a balcony, projecting from her brother's room, and which, by a narrow terrace, was connected with that on the street where she was seated. By going a few steps round this platform, therefore, Fatziza could command a wide view of the gay canal, with its gilt and painted barges, of every fantastic shape, whether of bird, beast, or fish, or of fabled monster, moving in various directions upon its placid bosom, and an extended line of the palaces of the Aztec noblemen on the opposite shore, with the Temple of the Sun rising majestically in the midst of them; while in the distance, the sky-piercing boundary of snowy peaks glittered in the beams of the setting sun, as if helmed with gold. But she had seen this scene every day of her life, and the canal had no charm for her eye, save when, at the monthly feasts of the sun, she could behold, as she had thrice done, her lover outstripping, in the aquatic race, fleets of competitors, and bearing off from the steps of the island altar, the silver ore with which the high priest rewarded the victor.
Her thoughts were running upon these achievements of her lover, when suddenly the sound of steel ringing against steel arrested her ear, and she looked up from her needle with a heightened glow, and with the exclamation,
`He is coming.'
But, instead of seeing Sismarqui, followed by the two apprentices bearing the shields, she beheld a young cavalier in light court-armor, such as was the fashion for nobles to wear when not in battle, ambling on a black charger down the street, at an easy, careless pace, as if listless of his time. His sword, which glittered with its superb finish, and which, to show its matchless polish, was passed naked through a ring at his girdle instead of a scabbard, occasionally struck against the steel plates of his saddle-peak, as his steed slightly started from side to side at the sudden appearance of maidens drawn to their verandahs by the rare sight, in that quarter, of a knight of the emperor's court; and Fatziza knew that it was this sound she had mistaken for her lover's approach. Nevertheless, she did not drop her eyes again upon her work, but with curiosity gazed upon the stranger as he slowly came towards her. He wore an open stell helmet, fashioned like an eagle's beak, the symbol of the sacred eagle of the house of Aztecs, and shaded by a high and waving plume of snow-white feathers. His corslet was of the finest steel, and yielded like velvet to the motions of his body. Across his breast was bound a scarf of green and gold, and a short horseman's cloak fell gracefully from his left shoulder to his stirrups. On his saddle-bow hung a small courtier's shield, with a golden sun emblazoned in its centre. His steed was covered with a transparent silver net, that descended to his small symmetrical fetlocks, while massive chains of nicely fitting plates of gold ornamented as well as mailed his chest.
These points of horse and rider drew but a momentary glance from the maiden, who was familiar with the town-costume of the emperor's knights; nor did the elegance of his figure, nor the finished grace with which he sat his horse, nor the perfection of his manege elicit her admiration; for she had seen cavaliers ride before as well as he; but what attracted her notice was, that he wore, dropped from the front-piece of his helmet, a curtain or veil of the finest steel, that concealed the upper part of his face as low down as his mouth, which was of a most beautiful shape, and shaded by a raven-black mustache. He wore no other beard, and his chin and lower part of his face were those of a young and very handsome man. This demi-visor was woven so openly as to permit vision, as his riding plainly showed, while it defeated the closest scrutiny of observers. This mode of appearing forth masked, altogether, she was aware, was not uncommon among the nobles and gay young cavaliers of the highest rank in the city, but there was something in the appearance of this horseman, that drew from the eye of the net-maker's daughter more notice than she had in her maidenly propriety ever before bestowed upon one of a rank so high above her. Perhaps it was that she regarded him with more interest, inasmuch as she expected, when she looked up, to have seen Sismarqui; and perhaps the extreme beauty of the part of his face visible beneath the mask, caused her eyes to linger with curiosity,— for he was indeed very handsome, so far as discoverable, — and a pleasant smile dwelt upon his mouth, as he paced along the close street. Fatziza did not reflect, as she gazed, that though she could not see his eyes, that they beheld her, unconscious of their observation, and rested upon her beautiful face with passionate delight. In a few steps further his ambling steed had paced opposite to the balcony; and the maiden, as if she felt the hidden gaze fixed upon her face, withdrew her eyes, and blushingly bent her head over her work. To her surprise and alarm, the horseman, instead of passing by towards a shaded path, which led between a row of gardens and the canal, suddenly drew rein before the balcony, and laid his hand lightly upon the balustrade; for so low was this humble maiden's boudoir, that, as he sat upon his horse, he was nearly on a level with her who sat within it.
`A fair evening to thee, sweet mistress,' he said, in the courteous, yet condescending tones, that became his bearing and her condition; `Nay, I pr'y thee, draw not thy curtain. I would fain hold a moment's discourse with thee.'
`Nay, my lord,' said Fatziza, with embarrassment, and looking still more beautiful for her confusion, while her hand lingered on the band of the netting, which she dared not drop in the face of one so superior to her, even though his rude intrusion might well have excused her; but citizens of her class had been from infancy accustomed to imperial slavery, and were hourly exposed to the domineering whims and idle passions of the nobles, as well as to the absolute will of their Emperor. Her life was in the young cavalier's hands, and she trembled to anger him. `Nay, my lord; I am but a poor net-maker's daughter,' was all she dared say, as she held the folds of the screen in her arrested hand.
`Therefore shouldst thou feel the more grateful for the grace done thee. By the bright diamond of Ix! thy eyes were never made to net coarse threads together into fisher's nets; they are snares in themselves, that should be cast to catch princes. There be many, both prince and noble, in Mexico, would come to thy net, fair fisher.'
Fatziza dropped her head at this language, and let fall the heavy lias over her dark eyes, till they were shaded from his view.
`Wilt thou then veil them, pretty one? Nay, 't is too late. Thou canst not undo the mischief they have done. Pray, child, what is thy name?'
`Fatziza, my lord,' she replied, in a half-tone of fear.
`There is a sweet flower, called Fatziza, in the Princess Eylla's garden. It hath a tall and graceful stalk; and its leaves, of the richest coral dye, are folded two and two together, like a maiden's lips. Wert thou named after it?'
`Nay, my good lord; allow me to retire.'
`Stay,' he said, quickly, placing his hand upon her wrist with just force enough to detain her. `What a moulded hand! Tezcuco, the emperor's sculptor, would give his famous statue of the Vichu for such a model for his chisel. Were the ladies of the court to behold it, fair maid, thou wouldst be the next virgin to be sacrificed to the Sun.'
Fatziza instantly shuddered, and the color fled her cheek.
`It makes thee tremble, child. 'T is true, the divinity will have none but the loveliest; but it were a pity thou shouldst e'er be chosen as a victim.'
`The holy Avandu forbid!' she cried with clasped fingers.
`It is the holy Avandu, virgin, that alone claims such lovely victims as thyself. But I see it gives thee pain. Let us discourse of love. I have an idle half hour till the twilight deepen.'
`Nay, sir, I am but an humble artisan's daughter.'
`So, thou didst tell me before. Yet I would rather linger by thy balcony, and look into thy sweet dark eyes, and listen to thy soft love-keyed voice, than be the accepted wooer of any lady in the empire beneath the princess, who scarce excels thee in charms.' As the young cavalier said this in the easy, quiet tone which had characterized his manner from the first, he seemed to be gazing upon her face through the links of his mask, with bold admiration of the beauty he had so highly, yet so justly praised. Fatziza seemed as if she should sink upon the floor of the veranda, for she felt the danger of her position only as it could be appreciated by a maiden living beneath a government in which all below the rank of nobles were treated as serfs and bondmen, possessing no right, either in their persons, goods, or lives, and existing only at the caprice of a monarch, who, with his haughty court was only withheld by indifference or satiety, from violating every tie nature taught them to hold most sacred.
`Brave knight,' she said earnestly, while her eyes were fixed on him with even more eloquence of pleading than flowed from her lips, `I beseech you ride on and leave one whose companionship, even for the idle moment you have given to it, will do thee dishonor with this noble princess, whom you serve, while the regard you bestow on me will but bring affliction to my father's roof. Go, I pray thee, sir, and take a poor maiden's thanks for the honor you have now done her.'
`Gentle Fatziza, this earnest eloquence of thy tongue and eyes for me to leave thee, is but flinging golden chains about my neck, to bind me closer. Ah, there is a basalan within thy window! reach it hither! Dost thou play on it?'
`To my father, when he asks for music,' she replied, overjoyed to be released from the hold he had upon her hand, even to get the instrument for him, which, fearing to disobey, she timidly placed in his hands.
He run his fingers lightly and skillfully over the chords of the basalan, a rude instrument of three strings, not differing much from the Moorish guitar, which was much used by the humbler classes, and said with a smile, `Wouldst thou hear a knight sing a courtly ballad upon a basalan, before a net-maker's balcony, fair mistress?'
`Nay, sir, put me not to ridicule before my own townswomen.'
`By the star Ula! where the soul of music hath her abode — I do not mock thee, pretty mistress. Listen.' He thrummed two or three notes, and shook his head. `Thy instrument is something rude — but if there be melody in the strings, it shall come forth.'
He then placed the lesser end of the basalan against his breast, and sweeping the strings rudely, but with bold and rapid touches, sung the following song in a voice wonderfully full of rich, deep melody: —
THE KNIGHT AT THE BALCONY. PRINCE PALIPAN TO FATZIZA. Lady, I love, at the deep midnight To look on the glittering orbs of light That burn in the heavens afar; Their light is as pure as the royal gem, Or the holy fire that enkindled them, But thine eye is a brighter star! The stars look brightly down on me, Whispering of war and chivalry, And glory's triumph car; But, from orbs that so far above me shine I turn to a beauty more divine, To thee — a more heavenly star! I have listed the clang of the trumpet blast — On the foeman my breast I have fearlessly cast, Uncaring for wound or scar; But the trumpet is silent — the stars shine not now, But thine eye — that clear gem 'neath thy beautiful brow — Is a brighter and dearer star!
When he had ended, he handed back to her the instrument, saying, `Now, pr'y thee, fair fisher's daughter, return me a song for mine?'
Fatziza had listened, till she forgot the unpleasantness of her situation, to the stirring song of the free cavalier, and carefully had he noted the effect of it upon her bounding bosom and brightening eye. His request at once broke the charm. She stood silent and hesitating.
`Nay, then, if thou wilt not sing, coy maid, then thou shalt kiss me.'
He seized the hand in which she carelessly held the basalan, near his reach, and drawing her towards him, rose in his stirrup, and pressed, ere she could escape, a kiss upon her mouth. At the instant of this act of knightly gallantry, a young man of a bold and free carriage made his appearance, followed closely by two apprentices laden with shields. His eye detected the purpose of the cavalier in rising in his stirrup, and, quicker than lightning, he snatched two of the shields from the packs, and struck them together with a loud crash. The sharp sound caused the horse to rear so suddenly, that, ere the cavalier could recover his seat, he was thrown from his saddle to the ground. On recovering his feet, he beheld the young man in the act of replacing the shields, which at once explained the cause, though not the motive of the rude clamor. He instantly leaped upon his horse again, and, with his naked sword, spurred towards him. The man instantly seized a shield upon which he received and shivered the blade, and, with his other hand, caught the horse by the head, and skillfully turned him aside from his person.
`Hold, Sismarqui! Harm him not, if thou lovest thy life and me!' cried the maiden, who had witnessed this from the balcony, and knew well the impatient spirit of her lover — for his eye, as he stood at the horse's head, was fixed on the knight with vindictive menace, and his athletic frame worked in its sinews, and writhed like that of the leopard-hound, ere he bounds from the leash upon his prey.
The cavalier to whom the words of Fatziza had given the clue to the young armorer's motive, in attempting to unhorse him, surveyed him steadily in his turn, and his hand sought in his breast for the short dagger worn by knights of his degree, which he half drew forth, and then replaced again.
`Not now, slave!' he said, in the low, deliberate tone of quiet rage. `I shall remember thee. Thou hast been full bold to unhorse a knight for kissing thy mistress. It had like to have been a dear kiss to me. Thou hast taken care, as I shall do, that it shall be a dear one to thyself.'
Thus speaking, the horseman turned and rode towards the little balcony, where stood Fatziza — pale, and anxious for the safety of her lover, whom she felt had, in one brief moment, created an enemy of the most dangerous description.
`Sweet fisher's — nay — 'tis sweet net-maker's daughter, I do remember,' he said courteously, yet with an irony in his habitual haughty manner he could ill suppress, `thou shouldst have given me the song.'
`O, thou wilt forgive him, my lord?'
`He hath broken my sword.'
`He shall give thee another of his own make, of finer temper.'
`But he hath unhorsed me. Shall he put me on my horse again, pretty one?'
`Forgive him, sir.'
`Thou dost plead well and gracefully.'
`He is my lover.'
`Therefore should I not forgive him.'
`Shame, Fatziza!' cried the proud young man; it ill becometh a maid like thee to ask favor of a knight. I scorn his forgiveness, and despise his hatred.'
`Ha! this is language from a slave.'
`Therefore do I use the only freedom a slave has — that of speech.'
`Fair mistress, shall I forgive him?'
`I need it not,' said the armorer, fiercely.
`Yes, yes, I pray thee —' interpleaded the maiden.
`Then I do forgive him, because it doth not please him that I should, and that I have a mind to do thee a kindness. His favor, sweet maid, shall hang on thine. So, if thou carest for him, thou wilt be less coy when next we chance to meet. Fare thee well, beauteous Fatziza.'
With these words, portent with coming evil to her, he gave rein to his steed, and riding forward, turned to the left, opposite the net-maker's house, and disappeared slowly along a shaded path, between the gardens and the canal.
The citizens who had been drawn from their shops and dwellings by the loud ringing of the shields, and had witnessed, with terror, the quarrel between one of their own condition and a knight of the emperor's court, followed, in silence, with their eyes, the retiring cavalier, until he was out of sight: they then turned them upon the young armorer, with alarm and foreboding depicted on their faces. He stood where the cavalier had left him, with his arms folded moodily across his breast, and, with a dark and cloudy brow, gazing towards the point where he had disappeared. He was a young man, a little under the middle height, with a broad chest and a firmly set frame. His complexion was a fine, clear brown, his features decidedly handsome, and strongly marked with fire and intelligence above his condition. The carriage of his head was proud, if not commanding, and his step and attitudes were expressive of firmness and decision. His eyes were gray, and exceedingly vivid in their light, yet steady and resolute in their gaze. He was altogether, a young man of a bold and fearless character, impetuous in temper, and haughty above his station, as a bondman.
`Why look ye upon me, fellow-slaves, as if ye expected to see the earth open and swallow me up,' he cried, suddenly turning upon the crowd in the street. `I have had the boldness to speak to a knight, and lo! you stand about me, trembling like women.'
`Alas, rash youth,' said an old man, who was leaning upon his staff near him; `I fear thou hast laid thy head and ours upon the block; given our fair street to the flames, and our women and children to the lust of the emperor's soldiery.'
`He did but salute thy bride, and it were an honor, rather than matter of grievance,' said a maker of lance-shafts, with a half-finished shaft in his hand, upon which he rested.
`Surely, surely,' echoed several craftsmen; `and if we had not wives and daughters with charms to tempt a knight's lip, we would hold them little worth.'
`This is the spirit ye are of!' cried the young armorer, with a flashing eye. `Ye are fit material for slaves! May your wives be torn from your houses; your daughters be violated before your eyes, by reckless nobles — and may you be so accursed as to grovel and thank them for the grace they have done ye. Ye are slaves — and slaves ye will die.'
The bold language and indignant manner of the young bondman, made every hearer tremble, and, interchanging glances of fear with one another, they dispersed, precipitately, in all directions, and, entering their shops, shut themselves in, leaving the young armorer alone in the street, with his apprentices, and but one of the citizens that had composed the crowd. This man had stood aloof, as Sismarqui spoke to them, but, on their timid dispersion, he advanced towards him, and said, in a low tone: —
`Young artisan — you have spoken the mind of many worthy citizens of Mexico.'
The armorer turned upon him, and saw beside him a stout man of middle age, the upper part of his person wrapped in the broad scarf of blue linen, that marked the caste to which he himself belonged, and wearing, also, the bondman's scarlet cap, and striped drawers. His features were bold and decided, and the aspect of his countenance was rigidly stern. He was a little taller than the young man, but less muscular and sinewy. In his hand he held a short oar, which indicated his profession as a waterman. Sismarqui surveyed him closely, an instant, and then grasping his hand, said, in the same tone,
`There are then three men among the serfs of the empire.
`Who is the third?'
`Montezuma.'
`I have heard the name.'
`Every man in Mexico shall yet hear it, from the tyrant to the infant at the breast. What is thy name?'
`Casipeti.'
`Art thou that Casipeti who yesterday struck the lieutenant of the king's guards, for attempting too free license with his daughter, as he was walking with her, across the Vanda?'
`I am.'
`Come in doors, and let me embrace thee! Thank the gods! liberty yet lives in human breasts. Nay, noble Casipeti — hesitate not — 'tis my father-in-law's Macho, the net-maker.'
`Not now, good youth. When thou wouldst find me, seek me at my dwelling on the stone bridge.'
Thus speaking, the citizen left him, and hastened up the street.
`Fatziza,' said the young man to the maiden, who had continued to remain in the spot on the balcony, where the knight had left her, with clasped fingers and tearful eyes, as if transfixed with grief, at his terrible parting words, — `his favor, sweet maid, shall hang on thine, ringing in her ears. `Fatziza!'
Thrice he repeated the name — each time more tenderly than before — ere she heard him. `Go in, dear Fatziza, lest thy presence there should give further occasion for courtly insults. I will but go with the apprentices, and leave these shields with the armorer, and be back ere the sun be down.'
`Haste, Sismarqui! and, O! let me soon see thee; for I fear I know not what evil.'
`Thou needest not fear, dear bride; thy brother's arm and mine shall be thy defence against any danger that menaces thee.'
`It is not for myself I fear, but for thee, Sismarqui. Thou hast angered a noble.'
`A prince should not insult thee with impunity.'
`Thou art given to strange language, this evening. Thy quick spirit will bring evil upon thee and me.'
`Art thou sorry I unhorsed the knight?'
`Nay; thou art jealous!'
`Of my honor —?'
`Ha, ha, ha! a serf's honor!'
Sismarqui turned, like lightning, to see who had uttered this laugh and bitter gibe, and saw, near him, a tall, slender man, who, from his brown doublet, white scarf, and green silk cap, with a silver eagle upon its point, was one of the servitors of the Prince. He had just come from a small gate, leading from the street into the gardens, and bore a basket of garlands and fruit in his hand, and was proceeding towards the water side, as if to cross to the palace, when the words of the young armorer arrested him. From his swarthy complexion, deep sunken and glittering eyes, long braided black hair, and beardless lip, he was of the false and dissembling race of the Flascalas. Sismarqui gazed upon him an instant, with an impetuous and resenting glance; and then turning away, bade his apprentices take up their burdens and follow him.
`Stay, armorer!' he said; advancing a step.
`What would you?' Sismarqui replied; delaying, while the boys went on.
`I would know of thee, what is a serf's honor?'
`I will strike thee, thou Flascalan eunuch, unless thou pass on.'
At this instant the palace slave caught sight of Fatziza. Her beauty struck him with a surprise that he did not attempt to conceal.
`Ah! a beauteous virgin, artisan! A rare flower.'
`I will break thy head for thee, if thou pass not on.'
`Darest thou threaten one of the Prince's household?' cried the Flascalan, in a harsh, shrill voice. `Here, sweet! there is a nosegay for thee.'
He threw towards the balcony, as he spoke, a bunch of flowers, which fell back again upon the ground. The eunuch sprung forward to get them, when the young man placed his foot upon them, and crushed them. The foiled servitor drew back, and looking up at the balcony, said, muttering, as if he had guessed the relation in which she stood to the youth —
`I will bring thee, bright virgin, a wreath from the Emperor's nephew, the gallant Prince Palapan, when he shall hear from my lips of thy charms. I will note the house well.'
As he stepped back to survey the net-maker's abode, the young armorer seized him by the neck —
`If thou darest to breathe to the Prince, or to mortal man, aught touching this maiden,' he said fiercely, `I will tear thy heart from thy throat. Lo, see to it.'
He flung him from him as he spoke, and followed his gliding figure with his eyes, till he saw him get into a boat, and shoot out into the canal, where he was soon lost to the eye, in the gathering shades of evening.
`Alas! Sismarqui, you have made two vindictive enemies within the hour. Where will this end?' cried Fatziza.
`I hope in firing the nobles against the people — in rousing a spirit of resistance, among the five hundred thousand bondmen within the walls, to the tyranny of the thirty thousand who rule and enslave them. If what I have done within this hour but strike the spark of liberty, I am content my body shall kindle the conflagration.'
`Ah! Sismarqui, you love me not.'
`I love thee, dear Fatziza; but I love freedom better.'
`What hath given thee this mood?' she said, bending over the balcony, as he leaned against it, and taking his hand.
`The gods gave it me with my nature. It hath been in me from the hour of early boyhood. I compared my condition with that of the sons of the nobles. It was thus I made the comparison. My father had finished a shield of rare workmanship, and bade me take it to the knight who ordered it. At his palace gate, I met a boy, scarce half my own age, richly clad, and decked with jewels, followed by his tutor and two attendants. He asked me, pertly, what I carried; for it was covered with a cloth, to keep it from the dust. I told him. "Let me see it," said he. His authoritative manner stung me; and I answered, in the same tone, that it was a sight for knights, and not for babies. He instantly struck me across the face, with a switch he carried, and said, "Slave! dost thou answer a noble's son thus?' I would have struck him down, but two slaves seized me, and punished me with the himboo, till life nearly left me. I was then sent home to my father, with a warning never to speak uncivilly to a noble baby.' His lip curled with scornful contempt as he ended.
`Thy father should have taught thee deference, dear Sismarqui, and this would not have happened to thee,' said Fatziza.
`Thus it is!' he said, bitterly. `We all, youth and maiden, drink it in with our mother's milk. There must be a new race of men, to know what liberty is. We have been begotten serfs and bondmen.'
`What is the dreadful purpose upon your mind? You are not yourself, Sismarqui. Come in, and let me soothe thy spirit. I will sing to thee.'
`I have no heart for music. Where is thy brother?' he abruptly asked.
`He hath been gone since noon. He said he thought he should witness the procession from the Temple to the Gate.'
`Is thy father within?'
`At his netting, in the rear shop.'
`Montezuma should be here by this time. Had he business?'
`To take a pair of nets to some one on the east side of the city.'
`I will call on my way back. I would see him.'
`Breathe not into his ear the strange, dark thoughts that fill your soul, Sismarqui. I would have my brother's bosom at peace.'
`It is at peace, because he hath not borne the wrong I have borne, by seeing his betrothed bride — the chaste idol of his bosom — held in the licentious embrace of a noble. I know Montezuma's spirit. It is kindred with my own!'
As he spoke, a lurid glare filled the atmosphere with a strange brightness, communicating to every object a pale crimson hue.
`It is the sacred flame. The sun has set,' said Sismarqui. `Let us worship.'
The lovers reverently crossed their hands upon their bosoms, and repeated together, solemnly —
`The Sun, our father, hath gone to rest, that his children may repose upon his bosom. U-lu-la! Let us praise him. He hath made us. Light and heat are his. Day and night are his. We are his children; and he is our father.'
They then continued their conversation, as before.
`One spark will inflame Montezuma's breast.'
`Strike not that spark, Sismarqui, I pray you.'
`Nay, then, I will not. There will not be opportunity long wanting to kindle it from other sources. The nobles are becoming more insolent in these peaceful times, and the Emperor, for want of enemies to slay in battle, must needs have his thirst for blood slaked from our veins. All his court follow his example. Two hours since, I saw his guards strike off a young man's head, because, in his attention to a blind father, whom he was supporting across the street, he doffed not his cap to the Arikeve of the Emperor's stables, as he was prancing by; and when the old man fell to the ground, he was trampled to death under four score iron hoofs.'
`Fearful!' ejaculated the maiden. `Alas! how shall this evil be averted from our heads?'
`By meeting it half way! — rousing the spirit of freedom in every breast, and making general insurrection.'
`Thou art mad, Sismarqui.'
`Keep within, dearest Fatziza,' he said hastily, without replying to her words. `I will soon return, and ere I again leave thee, I hope to kindle thy spirit with something of the fire that burns in my own bosom.'
He lingered a moment, till he saw her disappear, and close behind her the door-like window that opened upon the balcony, and then, with a rapid step, followed his apprentices along the path leading by the canal, which had been taken by the knight, whose admiration of Fitziza's charms had produced such menacing results.
The cavalier had continued to ride on, after turning into this path, at the same ambling pace at which he had passed through the net-maker's street. On his left, luxuriant gardens were bending their branches, laden with fruit, to the ground; and on his right flowed the majestic canal, spanned by seven marble bridges, its surface covered with gorgeous barges, and its banks adorned with long lines of palaces, groves, and temples. Fishers, in their sharp, narrow boats, dotted the channel, or, having finished their day's toil, were spreading their nets upon the shore. Artisans and their apprentices were returning from their labor, or, loitering upon the shore, were observing the scenes upon the water, which was dyed with the rosy color of the west, and was so placid that every object was reflected upon it with the distinctness of the reality. Occasionally, a devotional song from a boatman, addressed to the setting sun, came across the water to the horseman's ear, strangely mingled with the shouts and laughter of others, the distant call of one on the opposite bank to his fellow in the stream, and the incessant dash of the thousand oars that were ceaselessly dipped in the water. The knight gave but a careless attention to these scenes, and continued on his way, until he came in sight of the stately entrance of the first bridge; when, seeing that the sun was nearly down, and that the iron gates would soon be shut, he spurred forward, and, in a few moments, cantered beneath the lofty gateway. At the portal he reined up, and called the captain of the barrier.
`Istalass,' he said, as the officer appeared, `see that you keep your barrier with more than usual watchfulness. Drop your portcullis, henceforward, at half an hour before sunset, till further orders from the Emperor; nor rise it in the morning, without first sending parties of horse forth to see that there are no bands of serfs prepared to rush in. I have seen a spirit abroad this evening, I dreamed not was in the four walls of Mexico.'
`Ah, noble sir! this news is strange. Yet, pardon me, I would do nothing without orders from the palace.'
`How, sirrah?'
`I do not know thee, save that thou art knightly.'
`True — I had forgot I was masked.'
He lifted his steel veil as he spoke, and instantly replaced it again. The officer placed his hands upon his breast, in deep reverence, and said —
`It is done as you command.'
`See to it — and should any disturbance arise in the quarter in which you command, be prompt in putting it down. From a lesser matter than I have seen to-night, got Peru once a new master from the rabble.
He rode rapidly across the noble bridge, which was lined on either side with columns and statues, and entered a magnificent square, the four sides of which seemed to be composed of temples and porticoes. In the centre of the vast square, was a quadrangular terrace of alternate galleries and gardens, rising one above another, in a pyramidal form, to a great height, each story lessening as it rose, until the whole magnificent pile terminated in a circular altar of black marble, at an elevation for overlooking the loftiest palaces. Around the altar appeared a group of priests of the Sun, in white robes and flowing beards. Near its head, stood the venerable High Priest, clothed in white linen, and crowned with a mitre of gold, holding, elevated in his hand, towards the setting sun, a censor, in which brightly burned the sacred flame. Opposite the altar, on the west side of the square, towered the temple of the Celestial Deity, its vast gilded dome terminating in a single column of porphyry, of so great a height that it was visible from every part of the city. On the summit of it was a shield of gold, the apparent size of the Sun, by which stood a single priest, holding extended an azure veil, studded with stars, as if emblematical of night. In the midst of the square, and in the immense spaces between the pyramidal altar and the palaces surrounding it, was assembled a countless multitude, heaving, in their living motion, like the waves of the sea.
As the knight entered upon this imposing scene, the attention of the whole throng was fixed upon the summit of the elevated column. Suddenly, there arose a deep murmur from a myriad of lips, which as instantly ceased; and again silence, like the hushed stillness of death, reigned over the human mass.
The priest was veiling the sun!
The cavalier threw himself from his horse, and kneeled beside him, with his gaze, like all the rest, turned towards the summit of the column of porphyry. The priest was slowly elevating the veil over the disc of the golden shield, with the same majestic motion with which the sun, alone visible to his eye, was descending beneath the horizon. Slowly and gradually the dark symbolic veil covered the golden face of the Sun's image, till it concealed the upper limb, when a deep wail, like the articulation of a world's woe, filled the air. The whole multitude fell upon their faces to the earth. The High Priest swung fire from his censor upon the high altar, which kindled into a vast flame, of a bloody hue, and shed a wild crimson glare over the wide city; while the company of priests about the altar began to chant a religious hymn to their departing deity, while the worshippers, with whom the knight joined, rising to their feet, chanted, at the end of every verse, a choral pæan of praise.
U-lu-la! I-oe-va! La! U-lu-la! Praise the Sun! Hail the Sun! He is God. Worship him. Priests. —The Sun is our father; He made us: We are his children; We worship him.
People. —A-van-du! Ulu-la! La! U-lu-la. I-o-vah!
Priests. —He gives us light by day, And his heat warms us; He veils his face by night, That man may repose.
People. —A-van-du! Ulu-la-la! I-e-o-va!
Priests. —He clothes the earth with verdure; He giveth the rain and harvest. Great is the Avandu, our father! Let us worship him.
People. —A-van-du! I-e-o-va! U-lu-la!
Priests. —He maketh purple the grape, And giveth wine for the sad heart; He melteth the snows for the thirsty herds, And causeth the sweet grass to grow.
People. —Praise the Sun! Hail the Sun! He is God. Worship him!
While the priests were chanting, they continued to cast offerings of fruit, and flowers, and herbs upon the flame. When the hymn was ended, the High Priest stretched forth his hands above the sea of human heads, heaving beneath him, and proclaimed —
`Though, my children, we are descended from the sacred and august Sun, who rules in the heavens and on earth, yet, through guilt, we have fallen from our original purity. We daily incur his fiery wrath, and deserve death. But he is pleased to accept the blood of kids and bullocks for the propitiation of our daring offences against his ethereal purity, instead of our own lives — asking human sacrifices only on festivals. Let us, therefore, be grateful for his mercy, and put our guilt of this past day upon the victim, that it may be accepted by him as a sacrifice in our stead.'
The High Priest then laid his hands upon the head of a white kid, which the priests led to the altar, and cried aloud —
`Thus, erring children of the Sun, do I lay your offences upon the expiatory victim.'
`Avenge thyself, oh Sun! upon the innocent victim, and not on us, the guilty, responded the multitude with one voice, falling upon their faces to the ground.
Instantly the knife of the High Priest was buried in the heart of the substitute of the people; and, after solemnly sprinkling the blood upon the four corners of the altar, he laid the victim upon the sacred fire, and consumed it.
As the crowd of worshippers began to retire from the square or court of the temple, and when the knight was also in the act of remounting his horse, to ride on his way, he felt a hand slightly pull his cloak. On turning round, he saw a stout man, with the lower part of his face closely muffled in a coarse blue scarf, who, from this costume, as well as from the rest of his dress, appeared to be of the caste of the bondmen.
`What would you, slave?' demanded the cavalier haughtily, scarce glancing over his shoulder a second time, and placing his foot in the stirrup.
`Serve thee.'
`Thou art a serf, by thy garb. How canst thou serve me?'
`Both in love and revenge.'
`Ah! that would be rare service. Who art thou and what?
`Casipeti.'
`The Mascal of the palace!
The man hesitated — then replied in a steady tone of voice, `even so, my lord.'
`What doest thou abroad in this guise, Sir Steward?'
`I have a purpose that I may not betray. As I came through the net makers' street, my lord, I witnessed thy passage of love at the balcony, and the fray that followed.'
`Thou didst! Well, what wilt thou make out of it?' said the Knight, biting his lip impatiently.
`A servile insurrection,' was the reply, in a deep, earnest tone.
`Ha!' exclaimed the cavalier, laying his hand with energy upon the shoulder of the speaker. `I did have my own suspicions of this — I saw but a spark fly from the worse flint; but I have known cities laid in ashes by a spark.'
`Thou hast well penetrated this matter, my lord. Now if thou wouldst secure this rude fellow for thy own private revenge and his mistress for thy pleasure, I will aid thee.'
`I shall take my revenge in my own hands,' answered the knight haughtily; `and in matters of love I need not thy assistance. Dost thou know me?'
`Thou art masked,' answered the man evasively.
`Thou shouldst know well the masker, ere thou venturest such freedom of speech.'
`Nay, my lord — for such I know thou art, though thy court dress of armor is unfamiliar to me. The maiden is surpassing fair and will reward thy dalliance. Thou knowest thou wouldst lose the favor of the princess by letting thy gallantry to a net-maker's daughter come to her ears — and, allow me to tell you, my lord, that open violence towards the young armorer will rouse a spirit among the artisans that will not be easily put down. No, my lord, whosoever of the princess Eylla's knights thou art, it were wise in thee to keep this matter under, for thou wilt thus best serve both ends thou hast in view.'
`Thou art a cunning reasoner — and wisdom as well as policy are in thy speech,' said the knight. `What dost thou advise? The virgin hath rare loveliness, and, by the bright sun! she shall not become a serf's bride.'
`What did you purpose, my lord, ere I met you?'
`To despatch a troop of horse and level the street and bring both prisoners to the castle,' he said promptly.
And would the princess Eylla have countenanced the presence of this maid as guest of one of her knights? Even his highness, the Prince Palipan, would not dare do such a thing publicly.'
`Dare not!' repeated the knight loudly; and then directly added, in a different tone, `perhaps he were wiser not to do it.'
`If, as it is said, he aspires to the hand of the sweet and virtuous princess.'
`True — true,' he said hastily. `What dost thou now propose — for in that we have had conference thus far together, I will tell thee that I have love for this fair maid, and am resolved to bring her presently to submission. As for her fiery wooer, I shall have him presently seized and brought to my abode, lest through him, the matter of his wrong get to the princess' ears.'
`If your lordship will leave the affair with me to manage, it shall be done as you would wish within the next twelve hours.'
`What, pray, is thy motive in being thus earnest to serve a stranger? as thou knowest me not.'
`I have my own interests to serve also.'
`And would make me the tool to this end!' returned the knight angrily.
`Nay — my lord — what human being acts without reference to his interests? Whether I serve thee for gold or for hatred of thy victims — 't is the same to thee.'
`Be it so,' said the cavalier, mounting his horse. `When thou wouldst communicate with me, send me, privately, this signet.'
As he spoke he removed a small ring in which was set an emerald, marked with some device, and placed it in his hand.
`To whom shall I send it, my lord?' asked the man in the low tone of one seeking confidence.
The knight hesitated an instant and then said, `Come closer, and on thy life — look thou! — be secret.'
He lifted his visor and the man started back with undisguised surprise, then crossed his hands upon his breast, and was about to bend in deep reverence, when the knight caught hold of him and said sternly,
`Wouldst thou already expose it to these about here? Go, and serve me with thy best wit and caution. Thou hast shown thyself to possess a wisdom during this conference that I shall need make use of in time to come. It is therefore I would that thou shouldst now know me.'
As the knight ended he struck his spurs into the flank of his impatient steed and galloped forward in the direction of one of the four great avenues that led from the angles of the square to the four quarters of the city. The man looked after him for a moment with the smile of one who has succeeded beyond his hopes in some hidden purpose; then examining the ring he placed it upon his finger, and gathered his scarf about his breast and face. He then walked rapidly away, in an opposite direction, towards the canal, and was soon lost in the crowd that thronged its bank, enjoying the evening breeze from the encircling lake and listening to the sound of music that came from the numerous pleasure barges of the nobles, that floated like fairy palaces upon its transparent bosom.
The roseate tinge of twilight still lingered on the water, when a small fisher's boat, containing two persons, was seen pulling easily along the pier of columns that terminated the grounds of the Imperial palace on the side of the canal opposite to the net-maker's street. One of the individuals, who was seated on the centre thwart of the boat and rowing, was a hunchback: but his face was like a woman's, for its soft beauty, and his hair flowed in luxuriant tresses about his high, massive shoulders. His eyes were very large and deeply set, and shot forth the most pentrating glances in a direct line. His spirit looked visibly forth from them. They seemed literally to blaze like lamps with the intensity of the intellectual fire pent within, and that was consuming them.
The other individual was an old man, with a flowing beard, that rendered his appearance strikingly venerable. The boat was very humble in its character as also was the appearance of its occupants. They both wore the coarse, blue scarf, scarlet cap, and striped fringed drawers, peculiar to the lower castes of the Mexitili, save that the habit of the younger was fashioned with more taste than the elder's, and notwithstanding his deformity, worn with pretension to youthful grace. In the folds across his breast was placed a sprig of the delicately-leaved plant of the Ute, as if there belonged to him a grace of mind and refinement of taste singularly in contrast with the appearance of his person. A net and a few fishes lay in the bottom of the boat; a small awning was spread above the stern, where the old man was seated, and the bows were ornamented with the rude representation carved in wood, of a horse's head. The little boat moved steadily on, amid a multitude of others, darting swiftly in every direction, and at intervals the youth, who was rowing, would chant a verse of some hymn to the protecting spirit of the water. At length they came opposite the entrance to the palace, when he ceased rowing and gazed upon it. It rose from the shore, terrace above terrace, supported by slender white marble columns, with gilded capitals, till it terminated in a stately pile of imperial magnificence and grandeur that rivalled even the Temple of the Sun, which stood near, itself appearing a city of Grecian domes, and marble towers, and silver spires, mingled with gardens, fountains, and lofty burnished altars, every point and pinnacle glittering with precious stones.
`Father,' said the young man, after having for a few moments surveyed the gorgeous palace of the emperor, `how many million human lives have been sacrificed to build up that mountain of laid gold and columned marble?'
`How mean you, my son?' asked the old man; `'t is built of gold and marble, as thou seest, and not of men's lives. Pull on a little further and then we shall be high enough to take the current across to our street. 'T is getting late.'
`I can imagine, father,' continued the young man, without regarding his words, and gazing thoughtfully upon the structure, `I can imagine each fair polished stone to be the scull of a man, like you and me, each diamond to be a human eye, and every column and glorious ornament to be a human limb. It is a palace of dead men's bones — and these men were our brothers — our fellow-bondmen.'
`'T is said that three millions of the emperor's subjects died in erecting it, my son, if that is what you mean — but their lives were his and not their own.'
`Is thy life, father, thine own?' asked the youth with bitterness.
`'Till the emperor bid me give it up for his pleasure.'
`Ulyd is but a man like thyself!'
`He is the brother of the Sun.'
`And thou and I are children of the Sun. Which hath the more honor — the son or the brother?
`Hist, boy. Thou art mad. Thy language will be taken up by passing boats.'
`And what would be the end of it?' he enquired scornfully, and his glance kindling.
`The loss of thy head and thy father's.'
`May not the emperor take them at any moment if he will? Is it not better to die having done worthy of death, than be slain like a sheep at another's will? Father, I am tired of being a serf.'
`If thy tongue cuts thus, thou wilt not have long space to lament thy weariness, ' exclaimed the old man in alarm. `Hush, I bid thee! Take thine oar — or yonder barge will come upon us and bear us down, and thou knowest these nobles care little for a poor fisher's life.'
`Thou hast it! That is what I would have thee dwell upon in thy heart, father,' said the hunchback, as the boat, obedient to a few strokes of his oars, shot aside while a gay pleasure barge darted past like an arrow. `I would have this feeling of the cheapness of our lives impressed on every mind in Mexico, till she free herself in her might from this accursed vassalage. Heaven made not me a slave — to wear this scarlet badge of servitude upon my head, and this scarf across my body — and that haughty young cavalier, standing on yonder prow, in silk and gold, to bid me crouch, and kneel, stand aside or even slay myself at his bidding. I have a man's frame and form as well as he. I speak, eat, move, as he does — love and hate as he does — in short, I am a man, and he is no more.'
`Thou art hunchback, boy.' `The gods made me not so.' `No — thou wert born fair and perfect — but it was a knight in sport tossed his shield upon thee when thou wert an infant lying on the ground before the door.'
`Would to the just gods I knew this cavalier! I would slay him were he prince Palipan.'
`Thou art most surely mad, Hucha,' cried the old man, trembling from head to foot. Thou wilt, with thy hasty words, one day thrust thyself into the way of death; and what will become of thy poor father.
`Die also, old man! 'T were better to die than live.'
`And Fatziza! Dost thou forget thy cousin, Fatziza?' plead the old man mournfully.
`She, alas! were better dead than what she is, for her beauty will yet assuredly bring to her young bosom, woe and misery I dare not think upon. Besides,' he said in a sad, bitter tone, `she loves me not. I am Hucha, the hunchback.'
As he spoke, he once more resumed his oars and was pulling along the pier as before, when a glittering barge, with a silver prow and a shield above the stern like the sun, gorgeous with crimson curtains and gilded canopies, from which floated the sound of music mingled with gay voices of laughter, came bearing down, impelled by fifty oars. It was the barge he had alluded to, and on her prow stood the cavalier he had contrasted with himself.
`Ply the oar, boy!' cried the old man. At this instant they heard the noble say, laughing, `Lo, yonder is a hunchback! he will fright our court ladies and transfer the nobility. Besides, he is loitering in our course. Pass on over him!'
The young man bent to the oar, for he saw the imminent danger and cleared her arrowing and slightly deviating path just in time to escape being struck by her bows, but fell upon the sweeps of the oars-men. `Knock the slaves on the head and sink their boat,' cried the noble, as the skiff became entangled among the sweeps. `It will teach these fellows better than to obstruct a knight's pleasure barge.'
The oars-men instantly upset the boat and threw them both out into the water. The old man would have sunk, for he had been stunned by a blow dealt from one of the sweeps, but for the aid of his son, who held him up with one arm, while with the other he clung to one of the oars held by the rowers and which were chained to the ports. Their weight depressed the barge, and the noble sprung towards them with his sword drawn and cried sternly,
`Leave thy hold, hunchback!'
`It is my father here, my lord, whom I would save.'
The noble without replying, aimed a blow at his hand, with his weapon, when he released his grasp and let the barge pass on leaving him swimming and with difficulty keeping the old man's head above water. Two or three skiffs were flying to their assistance, when the barge rounded to and the nobleman with his friends gathered around him, forbade any one to help them, while he looked on to witness the result as a novel species of entertainment.
`Thou dost buffet bravely, hunchback!' he cried with irony. `His shoulders hold wind,' cried another. `Take the old man on thy back, Sir Hunchback,' mocked a third cavalier.
The old man soon recovered his senses and greatly relieved the young man of his burden by aiding himself.
`Father,' said the young man, as he saw that he could do without his assistance, `I would sink to my grave now most willingly, did I not hope to live to avenge this wrong. That gray knight, Guichapa, standing on the stern, shall repent his pleasant sport.'
`He it was, boy, that cast the shield on thee!' said the old man looking.
`Then the gods help me to swim — for I will not die now.'
They slowly made their way towards the shore, when, as if wearied of the delay, the noble, after one or two more insulting jeers, bade his barge move on its way again, and left them to their fate. At this moment a light boat, with a garland on its stern, pulled by a single man, passed so near them that the oars were within reach of the young man's grasp.
`I pray thee, brother,' he said, `take this old man from the water.'
`Brother me no brother, slave,' said the rower, in a shrill, sharp key. And turning his face towards the hunchback he showed the swart features and glittering eye of the Flascalan.
`Thou hast well said it, eunuch. Pass on,' cried Hucha, withdrawing his hold upon the side of the boat. `I would rather trust to the water than to one of thy race.'
The Flascalan struck the young man a sharp blow upon the shoulders, accompanied with a laugh of derision, and continued on his way across the canal.
The barge had scarcely got twenty yards away, when several boats of their own craft came to their assistance and took them on board. The hunchback sat silent until they landed not far from the net-makers' street, and then touching a lad on the shoulder who had pulled one of the boats, called him aside and said to him,
`Go, see my father home, Tripeti, and stay there until I come, which will be shortly. Go. I have matters that will keep me abroad awhile.'
Having seen him depart as he had directed, the hunchback turned to the boatmen and a group of others who stood round him and said —
`My friends, you have done me service in saving me and my father. If the gods will, I will do you a service in return which shall compensate you and your children's children after you.'
`We need none, good Hucha,' said they all. `We are happy to have saved you, for you are like a son and a brother to us.'
`Am I indeed so loved?' he inquired with feeling — `then show all your love for me,' he added with enthusiasm, `by being ready to stand by me when I shall call upon you.'
`What does your language and manner import?' they asked with surprise.
`Is there a man here that hath not had some injury at the hand of the nobles?'
`Hush, young man! This is rash language here,' said a staid old boatman, laying his hand rudely upon him.
`Answer me! Have ye not been wronged?' he repeated without regarding the warning. `Nay — then gather about me and I will speak to thee in a slave's tone. My fellow bondmen,' he said, as they drew near him, `I will answer for you to a man. Here stands Harani, the refiner, whose eldest boy was impaled for striking a Flascalan who would have dragged off his sweet-heart to a nobleman's harem. Here stands Uhman, the waterman, whose young bride was rifled from his nuptial couch, ere he had pressed it, by a lieutenant of the Emperor's guards. I see here Pireni, the silver-smith, who lay in the dungeons of the castle three years, till his last xu of silver was tortured from him. I see here Hurequa, the barge-keeper, Emba, Coro and Zacuri, who have each been victims of oppression.' He paused and looked round upon them.
There was a low but unanimous assent.
`This, then, you feel, and dare acknowledge. Thank the gods for this one step. How many of ourselves, think you, brethren, are there in Mexico that endure bondage?'
`One million, perhaps,' answered several.
`And thirty thousand nobles, who are the masters, with the tyrant, Ulyd, at their head.'
`What will this drift to?' asked one of the fishermen, cautiously, of his fellow.
`It will drift,' answered the young man, whose quick ear had overheard this, `to placing this million in the possession of their natural rights, which these thirty thousand nobles unjustly withhold from them. We are men as well as they. They have no right over our lives and liberties. Let us, then, assert them, and break those chains that shackle us. As for me, I am resolved to be free. The first blow will soon be struck. The time is ripening; and, then, when you hear me call upon you — rise, freemen!'
The young man turned and walked away, leaving them gazing upon each other, in mute surprise, fear, and wonder. The Mexicans had, for several centuries, been under the sanguinary yoke of the most degrading servitude, to an aristocracy that haughtily imagined them to belong to an inferior species to themselves. Their persons, lands, and goods were the property of the Emperor, who transferred them, at pleasure, to the noblemen of his court. They had so long been accustomed to the distinction between themselves and the nobles, that they never looked to any change in their destinies, or scarce thought of exercising any other will than that of their masters. They were mild, industrious, and intelligent; and, save their political and social condition, shared all the elements that compose useful citizens. The artisans of this caste were skillful beyond those of any other nation of the world, and, so fond was the Emperor and the nobles of architectural and artificial display, were the most numerous of all. There was, besides, those of whom was composed the vast overflowing population of the city, a still lower and more degraded caste, attached to the soil, whose occupation was that of agriculture. The household servants of the Emperor and nobles were brought from distant provinces, and were of a different race from the Mexicans, being chiefly from the country of the Xamiltepec and Flascalan— the natives of the latter being always selected as attendants on the harems of the nobles. The army of the Emperor was composed of the bondmen appendant of the soil, each noble bringing into the field a certain number; and so numerous vere the vassals of this degree, that each knight could, at any moment, place himself at the head of from six to ten thousand of his personal retainers.
Such was the political condition of the empire of the opulent and luxurious Aztecs at this period. Revolts, from time to time, had occurred among the soldiery, and, even in former times, among the artisans in the city; but they were speedily suppressed; and even the neighboring empire of Peru, the policy of which was similar, had been twice revolutionized within a century. Nevertheless, this state of feudal vassalage and sole imperial power, continued still to exist unshaken — the subjects of it submissive and passive, if not content with their chains. But a new spirit was awakened, by a series of wrongs, in the breasts of two or three individuals of the enslaved mass, whose spirits had not bowed so low as their fellows, and Liberty seemed about to descend and once more make her abode among them.
`We are, indeed, slaves,' said one of the group, after Hucha had disappeared. `The hunchback speaks well. We are no better than the Xamiltepec, or base Flascalan. He speaks truth.'
`It is true,' answered Pireni, the silver-smith. `I think the Emperor should treat us better.'
`'T is not better treatment we desire from the Emperor,' said Uhman, the water-man; `it is freedom we want. We want to feel that our wives and daughters are our own, and not the licentious nobles' — that our houses, goods, and coin are ours.'
`This were a good thing, could it happen so,' said Hunaqua, the barge-keeper; `but we wont see it in our day, neighbors.'
`No, no; not in our day; we must be content,' was the general response; and then glancing timidly round, to see if they had been noted conversing together, they separated, each man going to his own home. But the startling subject of their conference was not banished from any of their minds. The brand had been thrown, and waited only for the wind to fan it.
The hunchback took his way along the water side, until he came to a narrow, steep street, that led from the canal to a hill top, crowned by a temple, erected to the god of war. This was the street of The Armorers. It was nearly deserted, for it was already evening; and the young man glided along the dark fronts of the buildings, beneath the overshadowing balconies, for some distance, without meeting any one. His step was firm, his pace swift, and his course decided and unhesitating. At length he stopped, opposite a long building, of more imposing appearance than others in the street, on the front of which was hung out a gigantic shield, showing the craft of the occupant — for the character of every shop in the street was designated by a brazen helmet, a sword or spear head, a cuirass or gauntlet, or some part of knightly garniture, each portion of armor having its own appropriate craftsman. The hunchback, after a moment's delay before the building, crossed the street towards it, and struck upon the door.
`Is it thou, Sismarqui?' asked a voice within.
`It is Hucha,' answered the young man, in a low tone.
`Hucha! and, pray, what dost thou here, good youth, after night-coming?' said a large, heavy man, opening the door from within, and taking him by the hand, in a friendly manner.
`Let me enter, Ota, and I will inform thee of my business.'
He passed by him into the shop as he spoke; and the armorer, closing the door, turned towards him.
`Ota,' asked the hunchback, in an assumed, careless tone, glancing about the low shop, which was hung around with shields, `how many shields hast thou here? thy craft is thriving.'
`Some seven hundred. Yes, Hucha, 't is a busy trade.'
`And thou art getting rich, doubtless?'
`Rich! Doth not the Emperor's armorer pay me eleven brass xu a day, and doth he not pay the same to all artisans, of whatever trade, in Mexico, taking their labor. Who getteth rich, that thou talkest thus, boy?' he replied, angrily.
`Were the recompense of thy labor thine, Ota, how many siver xu couldst thou, and thy score of apprentices, earn in a day?'
`Silver xu? The Emperor's lieutenant, at the armory, receives from each knight five golden xu for each shield I emboss with the royal eagle, and a golden tsi in addition, if I add to them a sun in low relief.'
`Thou wouldst be a happy man, Ota, would the Emperor give thee thy honestly earned profits.'
`I could buy the third part of this street in one year's labor.'
`I would thou wert, rich, for I know thou lovest money.'
`It were a hungry love in Mexico, Hucha. I would to God I had been born a noble.'
`Ah! dost thou love them so well as that?' asked the artful hunchback.
`Nay, I love them not, for I get little good by them — though I live by their armor. I would be a noble only for the wealth and power it would give me.'
`Dost thou, then, believe that their wealth and power is all that elevates them, and the want of which degrades thee?' demanded the young man, eagerly.
`I did not think so when I was a youth like thyself,' replied the stout armorer, in a more cautious tone, as if he thought he was speaking too boldly; `but I have thought since it might be the case.'
`Thou hast thought justly,' cried the hunchback, with enthusiasm. `They have no natural rights that are not equally our own — slaves, bondmen, serfs as we are. Ota, the time has come when the million of degraded Mexitili must think for themselves. Light from the bright Sun, celestial moral light is breaking upon my mind, and I see its beams illuminating yours. I have visited you to feel your pulse. I find, though other causes move it, it beats kindred to mine. I am resolved not to sleep till I have sounded others I have in my mind — thy son, Sismarqui, and my cousin, Montezuma, being first among them. I think I know their tempers, though, hitherto, we have conversed on this deep matter but with our eyes, when we have witnessed wrong we dared not avenge. But the time is coming! Pledge me thy hand and sacred oath, thou wilt be ready to answer a call to free thyself and all thou lovest from bondage.'
`Thou art jesting, Hucha,' said Ota, bewildered.
`It will be no jest, if I can inspire but five hundred of my fellow bondmen with my spirit. I tell thee, armorer, if I can make thirty young men, whom I shall call upon to night, listen to me, I can move a power that shall make the nobles of the empire shake in their gilded palaces.'
`By the gods! young man, I have half caught thy spirit. Hist! Let us discourse lower. Let me hear thy plan. Thy words have broke the shell of a nut I have been cracking within my teeth for twenty years.'
They walked apart, a few moments, in close conversation, and then the armorer, as if replying to some question he had finally put to him, said —
`Come hither, and I will show thee.'
He led him towards a door, at the extremity of the shop, and they passed through it, and crossed a narrow court, to a door that led into the rear of the adjacent building.
`Now, if thou canst get Insquini, the old sword-maker, to join us, his influence will bring in two thirds of the armorers, with their apprentices, in this street.'
They knocked at the door, which was opened by a small, old man, who, nevertheless, possessed much of the bearing and fire of youth in his appearance.
`Ah! neighbor, is it thou? I was about retiring for the night,' he said, neither repelling nor inviting them to enter.
`I have brought thee Hucha, the hunchback, who would speak a word with thee, touching matters, I think, will find thine a willing ear.'
Insquini, on seeing the hunchback, extended his hand frankly towards him, and said —
`Come in, young friend! 'T is over late — but thy company is always welcome — ever ready at a song thou — ever with a pleasant tale on thy lip. Come in — come in!'
They entered the shop, and Hucha's eyes glistened, as the lamp the sword-maker held gleamed along tiers of swords, arranged symmetrically on the sides of the long, narrow apartment. It was impossible to read, otherwise than truly, the language that glowed in them, as he surveyed the steely array.
`Insquini, thou makest a goodly show of steel, here,' he said, carelessly. `Doubtless, thou hast a thousand good blades there?'
`Better than that, master. Eighteen hundred at the most — besides a stack of seven hundred sent here to day to burnish, not yet unpacked.'
`What dost thou make swords for, Insquini?'
`Make swords for, boy?'
`Aye, what are they for? What is their use?'
`Nay — thou art disposed to be merry with an old man, and quibble his dull brain with a riddle.'
`I was never more serious in my life.'
`I make them for knights and nobles; and I have even burnished a sword for the Emperor's own use, before I got so old.'
`And what do the knights and nobles with those swords when they get them?'
`Use them in battle.'
`How long is it since our knights fought in battle?'
`It is seven — nay, eight years.'
`And thou hast had no work in swords since then, Insquini.'
`Bless you, Hucha! It would seem the swords have been made three to one since then.'
`What is done with them?'
`The nobles or knights, our masters, wear them in bravery by the side, as it were.'
`And they have made no manner of use of them, then, for eight years.'
`Use! Doth not every gallant slay his man a day?' said the sword-maker, laughing. `There hath been little idle steel, master hunchback! Ha, ha, ha! Our knights keep themselves in practice.'
`How?' demanded the hunchback, coming close to him, and speaking sternly.
`How!' repeated the sword-maker, starting back a step, alarmed at this sudden alteration in his hitherto apparently indifferent tone and manner.
`Yes — how do they keep their swords in play — on wlat objects?'
`Why, surely, master Hucha, upon we citizens about,' replied the artificer, with a forced laugh; `if we please not their humor.'
`Upon we citizens about, if we please not their humor!' repeated the young man, with biting irony, mingled with grief. `Yes, thou hast well said, Inisquini! Would to the gods, the next knight that crosses thy threshhold would thrust thee through, and impale thee to the side of thy shop, to test the temper of thy swords.'
`Dost thou wish it, cruel youth?' asked the sword-maker, with surprise and injured feeling.
`Dost thou?' demanded Hucha, with imperative emphasis.
`No, surely,' said the man, with a shudder.
`Yet, it may happen to thee, any day. Dost thou never think of it?'
`Often; but I have escaped all my life, till now.'
`Because thy occupation was useful to them, and thou hast been cunning in thy speech, with a slave's wisdom. But, passing by thyself — thou hast five sons, who work with thee at thy craft.'
`Hath harm come to them?' asked the old man, grasping the wrist of the hunchback, and looking eagerly for his reply.
`No — that I have knowledge of; but thou hast no peace in them. They may be slain before thy face, and thou not be able to save them.'
`I know it — I fear it hourly,' answered Insquini, with paternal feeling.
`Old man, what wouldst thou do if thou couldst insure thy sons' lives to good old age?'
`Sacrifice myself to the gods,' answered the father, fervently.
`I know thou wouldst. But thou canst effect it easier. Thou art an old man, and have seen and thought much. I need not tell thee that the nobles who enslave us do it not because they are more powerful in number than we, but because we are the most degraded in spirit?' Is it not so?'
`Hush! thou wilt be heard,' cried Inisquini, with fear.
`Is it not so?' repeated Hucha, more determinedly.
`I have thought it was; but —'
`It is so. If thou and thy five sons should this moment be sent for by any dissolute noble, to be set up for a pastime, and then slain, you would weep, and wail, and wring your hands, and implore the gods; but yet you would go, like bullocks dragged to the altar of sacrifice.'
The old man looked timidly round, and shrunk within himself with mortal fear, as if he expected to hear at his door the supposed summons. `Go, Hucha, go; thou wilt assuredly bring death upon me and mine,' he cried, trembling.
`Inisquini,' said the young man, solemnly, `I know thou hast a resolute spirit by nature, and art considered wise above thy fellow-craftsmen. I will be brief with thee. In a word — within three days the power of the nobles shall be overthrown, the chains that bind us shall be sundered, and every serf in Mexico shall be free as heaven's own light.'
`Madman!' cried the sword-maker, with angry surprise.
`There is method in my madness. Listen: I have been, this night, injured beyond my forbearance, by these nobles. They cast my father into the canal, for sport, and, but for me, he would have perished; and me they mocked with jeers and jests that have stung me to the soul. No, Inisquini! I shall be passive no longer. Thirty thousand nobles shall not keep their feet on the necks of a million men, that can walk with their faces heavenward. I shall neither sleep nor eat till I have awakened in the breast of every man in whom bondage has yet left man's moral courage, the spirit of retributive vengeance against our oppressors.
The sword-maker gazed upon the glowing and indignant face of Hucha for a few seconds after he had ceased, and then paced the floor with a hasty step. The hunchback pressed the hand of the armorer, Ota, and smiled victoriously as he looked after him, and witnessed the effect of his words.
`The fire takes,' he said; and added, feelingly, `my degraded fellow-bondmen will yet assert their rights!'
`Hucha, there is my hand!' at length said the sword-maker, in a firm voice; `it were better to die, as surely we must, if we attempt this thing and fail, than live longer so.'
`We shall not die! the gods favor it,' said Hucha, elevating his right hand towards heaven with a look of kindling enthusiasm. `Let us three embrace and swear by the sun, our sacred father, we will devote ourselves to this cause!'
We swear!' all three repeated, in one voice together, stretching their hands towards the East.
`Now, noble Inisquini,' said the youth, smiling, and glancing at the serried lines of blades, `we have twenty-five hundred swords. Is it not so?'
`How?' demanded the sword-maker, with astonishment.
`When I came in we had seven hundred shields. Was it not so, Ota?' said Hucha drily.
The sword-maker turned upon the armorer, and asked, incredulously,
`Hast thou indeed given the emperor's shields to this enterprise?'
`Shall we send them with these swords to him and his knights, to use against us, should this matter come to a head,' replied Ota, ironically.
`Be it so,' said Inisquini, acquiescing in a measure that at first startled him, from its magnitude, `I did not think this was so well-shaped a plan. I can see deeper into it. Hucha, go, with my blessing! Be shrewd, cautious, and bold.'
`Thou must labor, too. With thy sons and apprentices, and those of Ota, there are already sixty men counted. They must know it only at the last moment, when they are wanted for action. They are sure?'
`Sure to do our bidding,' replied both of the artificers together.
`You now know my plan,' said Hucha. `I go now to communicate it to others. You must be equally diligent to-night and to-morrow in sounding the armorers through the street. Ten thousand men ought to be communicated with, each one converting his fellow, by to-morrow's sunset.'
`For arms,' said Inisquini, `a thousand suits of armor, and swords and spears enough for twelve thousand men, can be found at hand in this street.'
`And I will bring twelve thousand men to demand them,' said the hunchback, with energy. `Now fare thee well. I must see thy son Sismarqui to-night, Ota, and, above all, I must see Montezuma.'
`Sismarqui was sent to the armory, but I think Montezuma's fair sister hath beguiled him of his time on his way back, or he would have been at home ere this.'
The hunchback bit his lips as he alluded to his cousin Fatziza, as though he did not relish the coupling of her name with that of the armorer's son — but he said nothing. Grasping the hand of Inisquini, and again urging upon him to kindle the spirit of insurrection in the breasts of all his trustiest acquaintances, he left him, after the latter had placed in his hand a short, two-edged sword, of the finest temper, and with the embosser returned to his shop by the way he had come.
When Sismarqui returns, say nothing to him of this matter until I meet him,' he said, as Ota opened the street door to let him out. I will pass here again before midnight, and give your door a tap to see if he is in, should I not find him at the net-maker's. Be faithful and true, and thou wilt yet have thy most glittering visions of wealth realized.'
With these words, the hunchback bade the armorer good night, and issued forth into the street. He proceeded a short distance along the west side of it, and entered a shop which was not yet closed. The sign above the door was a pike. He remained within, ten or twelve minutes, and re-appeared with an elastic step, and proceeded to an artificer's opposite, and tapped at a low door, above which was the sign of a helmet, and in a moment after disappeared within. Scarcely had he done so before the embosser's door, and that of Inisquini simultaneously opened, and both made their appearance wrapped in their scarfs. They met, and conferred an instant on the walk, and then, separating, pursued different ways, with the air of men bent on some deep and secret purpose. As Inisquini glided past the shop designated by the helmet, the hunchback came out.
`Hucha! is it thou?'
`Ah! 't is Inisquini!' returned the other, after a scrutinizing glance.
`What of Requa?'
`The gods seem to have gone before me and breathed into men the spirit of liberty,' was the animated reply of the young man. `I have only, it would seem, to lift a standard on yonder summit of the hill of the temple, to gather a host.'
`Be not rash. Let us proceed safely that we may gain securely,' said the sword-maker. `Leave this street to Ota and myself, and go you and see such as live beyond this quarter, whom you think will join us. Let every thing be secret and sacred till the day and hour be rife. We are moving abroad with our lives in our open palms.'
`I will then seek Montezuma first,' said Hucha, as he parted from him; I rely greatly on his judgment and sagacity, if he will join us.'
`We meet at midnight, at my house,' said Inisquini.
`At midnight, then, we shall know whether we are to live slaves, or die men,' answered Hucha.
Inisquini then parted from him and entered the shop of a halberd-maker, while the hunchback, after going a short distance in the opposite direction, turned a corner, and pursued his way along a thoroughfare that led towards the net-makers' street.
The quarter of the city in which occurred the tumult and massacre of so many citizens, in consequence of the intrepid and spirited conduct of the young scrf Montezuma, in wresting the noble's spear from him, as it was entering his bosom, was situated towards the East gate, nearly a mile from the palace, and two thirds of a mile from the net-makers' street, and on the same side of the canal with the latter. The street in which it occurred was one of four great avenues that extended from East to West, across the city, passing over the marble bridges of the canal. In this quarter, the citizens — if men may be so called that are not freemen — were chiefly lapidaries, and workers in marble, builders, and architects, each craft having its own street for its peculiar pursuits. It was near the entrance of the street of lapidaries, where it terminated in an open square, containing an altar to the god of war, that the fray in which the youth was so conspicuous, occurred. The magnificent procession flowed on, like a river of silken and golden waves, bearing upon its tide banners, spears, helmets, and plumes, and moving to the sound of music of the most brilliant and martial description. When the last of the procession, which consisted of a troop of horsemen, clad in steel from peak to spur, had passed by, the multitude, which had remained motionless and still from the moment the slaughter ceased, gave breath to a low, deep, long pent-up murmur. There was a slight movement, and every eye was instinctively turned towards the young man who had been the cause of the tumult. Montezuma was leaning upon the broken spear-shaft he had wrested from the governor of the guard, gazing sternly upon the dead and dying that lay in their blood at his feet. He at length looked up, as if he felt their eyes upon him, and, glancing round upon them, again bent his gaze upon the slain, and remained silent. Of the thousands in that multitude, there were but few that had seen the young net-maker before his resistance to the noble who commanded the emperor's guard. Five or six alone of those about him were his friends and acquaintances; and so dearly had he attached himself to these, by years of intercourse with them, that no sooner did they see his life threatened, than, though overcome with surprise at his daring to resist, they cast themselves before him, not to strike a blow in his defence — for, until this day, this no bondman had dared do — but to cover him with their bodies. One after another they fell, cut down by the soldiery, when those around, struck by this devotion, animated by the bold spirit of the young man, who seemed by the presence of his commanding countenance, to command their lives, and filled with that new spirit of freedom which seems at times to descend upon a nation in one day, and as if inspired by the souls of the fallen, impulsively cast themselves before the breast which had become the target of so many sanguinary spears, and received in their bodies the deadly wounds so fatally aimed at him.
Some of the surviving friends of the slain at length broke the silence, and began to cry out loudly against him, and accuse him of their death. Others regarded him as if he had been a superior being, and there threatened to be a division among them.
`Men and fellow-bondmen, why stand ye here, gazing upon me, as if I were not of like flesh and blood?' he cried, looking round upon them with stern pity. `Wherefore do ye murmur with yourselves? I have resisted a noble, and there lie in our midst eighteen dead men who have paid with their lives for my offence. They are your brethren and mine. I am guilty of their death. Let him who is the most degraded slave among ye, strike through the heart that these brave men died to protect.'
As he spoke, he bowed his manly bosom, and seemed to pause and await the death he demanded.
`Ye are silent! I am not accused. Men and brethren, these dead men fell not by my hand, though by daring to resist a tyrant, I have been instrumental to their death. They fell by the swords of assassins — they are the victims of the emperor's retributive vengeance. His wrath, which, for the kindness of some of ye could not reach me, fell upon these! Was it a just deed to slay these men? I wait for your reply.'
`No — no,' cried several stern voices.
`There spoke the true spirit I would rouse in ye. Hear me! We are within the walls of Mexico nine hundred thousand slaves, with skins as fair and hearts as warm as our masters.'
There was an extraordinary movement in the throng, and a confused, agitated murmur at these words, so new to their ears, and they listened with pale, eager faces, in which was settled a look of intense expectation, as he continued.
`And who are these masters? A sanguinary emperor whom you never behold but with fear of your lives; a body of haughty knights and nobles of the same spirit with himself, whose pastime it is to slay your sons and brothers in the streets, for imaginary offences, and violate the honor of your wives and daughters.'
`True, true,' cried a single voice near him; `true,' echoed a second; `it is all true,' was taken up by one and another, till a hundred voices responded, at first, faintly, but as their numbers increased, with almost menacing firmness. Montezuma looked around and smiled, while he lifted his hands to heaven in gratitude.
`The gods be thanked! I perceive there is coming a day of reckoning for our masters! Who are these masters? A body not a fiftieth part so numerous as ourselves, enervated by luxury, and idle and dissolute, because supported by the unrewarded labor of our own hands. What right, brethren, has the emperor to seize upon the fruits of your toil? By what claim does the knight and noble hold the wages earned by the sweat of your brows? If you earn twelve silver xu a day, by what authority does the emperor take eleven — aye, and the twelfth, if he choose — and cut off your heads and cast your bodies into the kennel if ye dare to murmur! What joy has the mother in her first born, or the father in the son of his strength, or the bridegroom in his bride, or the brother in his sister's love, if they may be at any moment torn from the embraces of your affections, and become the property of tyrants, murderers, and adulterers?'
There was an evidence of the deepest feeling pervading the multitude, as they listened to language such as none had ever listened to before, and received ideas that few present had dared entertain, even in the secret closets of their own hearts. Some who heard him, and had gathered near him from the first, had partaken of his spirit, and had evidently long thought as he did. There was visible an elated joy in their stern countenances that showed they had at last found a spirit to whose guidance they could safely and freely surrender themselves, with their crude and half-formed notions of liberty, which, until this occasion, had been cherished secretly and timidly in their bosoms. Montezuma dreamt not such a spirit was alive in Mexico. But when the magnetized steel comes in contact with metals, all that is true steel, though not at first discerned, at once flies to meet it. He soon found about him a score of young and middle-aged men, in whom he saw a spirit kindred with his own. He instantly took advantage of the impression he had made, not only on them, but on the whole multitude.
Fellow-bondmen! It is time we should know our rights as men, and citizens of this empire. We and our fathers have been slaves full long to the emperor and his haughty nobility. Let us break our chains, and elevate our condition to that of freemen. Let us demand of him protection, by just laws, for our lives, our possessions, and our domestic honor. Let us secure to ourselves the right of property in lands, and goods, and tenements, and no longer hold them, with our lives, at his will. Let us retain for our own maintenance, and towards the accumulation of wealth, the proceeds of our toil, which now flows into his coffers. In fine, let us become freemen! If the emperor will consent to this, his throne shall rest secure, and we will defend it with our lives — if he will not, let us hurl him from it, and establish a government that shall secure to us those political and social rights that belong to mankind. Behold,' he cried, pointing to the heap of slain, `behold the first sacrifice on the altar of our liberties. It was the gods alone who inspired these men to this act of fatal devotion. Let the spot where they lie be sacred. Let their bodies be the altar by which we will kneel and swear to deliver ourselves from bondage, or die as they have died!'
A commotion like that of the wind sweeping across heaving waves rose upon the air. It was not loud, but deep and earnest. Every man in the vast multitude seemed moved with the feelings he had awakened. Every bosom of the thousand bondmen seemed struggling to break from its chains. The eye of the young insurgent kindled as he beheld the effect produced. It was the crisis, and he seized it. Elevating his arms, he called on the gods to bear witness, and stretching his right hand towards the setting sun, he solemnly adjured this sacred deity to behold his act; then, bending over the dead, he laid his left hand upon the pile of slain, and lifting the other towards the heavens, cried, in a voice that rung like a trumpet,
`Behold, ye gods, and thou, most sacred sun! Here, on this consecrated altar, I swear to be the liberator of my country. Swear, ye who will with me be free!'
A thousand arms were lifted toward heaven, and a thousand voices responded,
`We swear!'
Moutezuma looked around upon them as they ceased, and, spreading out his hands over them, fervently blessed them, from the enthusiasm of his full and ardent feelings.
`Yes, my friends!' he added, `this spirit is from the gods, and not of ourselves. Let us feel that we are acting under their guidance, and are protected by their power. Now, I pray you, retire to your abodes in quiet, until the hour is rife. It may be at midnight — it may be at sunrise. The signal shall be a flame on the summit of the temple of the god of war, which we shall first seize and defend. In the mean while be ready to act, and busily spread the spirit of revolt throughout your quarter. I hasten to my own quarter, in the centre of the city, which I shall rouse, if the gods go with me. Let not the rumor reach the palace; and, lest any traitor should seek to betray our open plot ere it be matured, at once guard the avenues from your quarter, and let no man leave it. Ha! yonder moves hastily away a Flascalan eunuch of the palace, and there sits upon horseback, on the out-skirts, a cavalier. Seize them both! Let this deed show your sincerity.'
The Flascalan fled, and succeeded in making his escape, but the other was instantly surrounded, and would have been bodily torn from his horse to the earth, when the knight, who had coolly permitted them to approach within a few feet of him, unmoved, suddenly cired,
`I will betray you not, brave citizens! Conduct me to your leader, for I would speak with him.'
`Give up thy sword, then, master,' said one of the most resolute and zealous of the insurgents.
`Take it,' he replied, giving it readily to him.
As the crowd retired to either side, to let the knight pass through, the young chief eyed him, first with suspicion, and then with the closest curiosity. He was a man of large stature, and courteous bearing, and rode one of those powerful, black horses, of the warlike breed, imported from Peru. His armor was plain, but not in fashion, like that worn by the Aztec nobles, and there was no device upon his shield, and on his brazen helmet was the crest of a lion, instead of the Aztec eagle. His visor was closed; but the short, light, brown hair escaped beneath his casque, and rested on his shapely shoulders. As he approached Montezuma, who stood in the space where lay the dead bodies, his horse reared so powerfully as to threaten to fall backwards upon his rider, who kept his seat as unmoved as if the motions of the animal were the result of his own will. The silence and expectation of the crowd was immense as he came near.
`Young man,' he said, in a tone slightly of reproof, `thou art hasty in setting upon a knight with such deadly purpose as these friends of thine but now manifested towards me.'
`Thou wert a listener, noble, to treason. Thou shouldst have held on thy way, and thou wouldst not have been a prisoner, as now. But methinks thou art not of Mexico, by thy speech and device.'
`I am a Peruvian, having but this hour entered your city, and having been witness of thy spirit as I delayed to gaze on the religious procession and the beauty of the emperor's fair daughter, I was unawares a witness of what has followed, and did listen to your speech, brave youth, with a delighted bosom. I am a Peruvian, and can sympathize with thee.'
`If thou art a Peruvian, then thou art welcome; for I am told there are no bondmen in Peru, but that the Inca is father to a nation of children. Is it so, knight?'
`Thou hast been well informed,' replied the knight. `Peace, love, and contentment dwell with us, and justice and mercy are as the right and left hands of the Inca, our father.'
`Peru is the land of freedom, friends,' cried Montezuma. `Let us confer upon Mexico the same blessings. Pray, sir knight, whither do you ride? through the city? Thou art free to go.'
`Nay, I am but a stranger, and know no hostel better than another. If either among you could give me hospitality till the morning, I should prefer it, as my business hither requires that I should be awhile private.'
`Thou shalt go with me, noble sir,' said Montezuma, `though thou wilt find but poor fare and rude entertainment beneath a net-maker's roof.'
`It is good enough, young man. I will be thy guest; and it may be I can advise thee somewhat as to guiding the direction of this vast flood thou hast so boldly unbanked; and if thou wilt, when I shall get through my affairs, accept my arm and good sword; they shall be freely given to thy cause.'
In a few moments afterwards, the multitude retired from the square to their several homes, to arm and prepare for the contemplated revolt. The success of Montezuma in rousing them to action, showed that the love of liberty is inherent in the human heart, and that, however it may be obscured, it is never wholly extinguished. Not five men in degraded and enslaved Mexico until this day had ever spoken the word, and few knew that there was such a thing as liberty. But the manner in which they received it when it was pronounced, told plainly that the chord was in their bosoms, and had hitherto been silent for want of a bold hand to strike it.
Still did Montezuma dream, that the spirit that was kindled in his bosom was at the same moment firing the breast of the bold young armorer, Sismarqui, rung a mile distant in the net-maker's street, and would shortly, uninfluenced by either voluntarily, animate the soul of the insulted hunchback. But Liberty, when she would be worshipped on earth, erects her statue in such temples as she will; and this evening the sacred flame of freedom, simultaneously lighted by her own hand, blazed from the chosen altars of three of the noblest hearts in Mexico.
`Sir knight,' said Montezuma, when the citizens had retired from the place, which they did in deep and solemn silence, as if their newly awakened feelings were too serious for words, `dost thou note that deep undercurrent? how mighty its flow — yet how noiseless! It is this that is going to undermine the palaces of our masters, and sweep away the ruins, till there shall not be left a column on its pedestal.'
`Thou hast set in motion a fearful power, young man,' said the knight, gravely, `which, uncontrolled, will overthrow not only this fair empire, but recoil upon itself to its own whelming ruin. Pray, as we go along, give me the history of this matter of public grievance.'
Montezuma pointed to the heap of slain.
`There is written to-day's page of wrongs. Each day hath its leaf.'
`Nay — I know all this. The laws and government and manners of thy empire we in Peru are not strangers to. I see that you have, at last, revolted, and are meditating the subversion of the throne. But what is the mode of government, with which thou wouldst replace the present? Wouldst thou slay the emperor and the nobles, and let each man be his own governor? '
`No, knight; this were exchanging tyranny for anarchy. I would not destroy the throne, but purify it. The emperor should be the ruler of his people — not their master.'
`You would destroy, then, the barriers that stand between you and the nobility, leave their rank open to the deserving among yourselves, and from vassals and appendages to the power of the nobles, become free and inpendent citizens, with none but political subjection to the emperior.'
`It is this we aim at,' said Montezuma, with animation, `alone.'
`You, yourself, may aim at what you will, young man, if, as it seems, the gods have decreed you to be leader in this revolt. Take care your virtue be not wrecked, when ambition take the helm!'
`Nay, by the sacred sun, knight!' said the youth, warmly. `Let my hopes of my country's freedom be realized to the extent you name, and I will be content after to be offered the first sacrifice to the gods.'
`Such is thy present spirit, because thou art not yet tempted. Methinks,' he then said, carelessly, `it was the beauty of the princess Eylla, whom I beheld in the chariot, that led thee to thrust thyself in the way of the rude knight's spear, and that now threatens to overturn Mexico.'
`How knowest thou it was the Princess Eylla, Peruvian, if thou hast but now entered the city a stranger?' asked the young Mexitlian, sternly, looking suspiciously upon him, as if he sought to penetrate the bars of his closed visor. `I have been full free in my confidence?'
`Thou holdest my sword in thy hand, and a thousand men would be obedient to thy sign,' answered the knight, calmly. `I inquired of a by-stander, and he told me. I knew the emperor by his crown, and having seen his face stamped upon thy coin.'
`Pardon me, knight. But this is a time when confidence should be given cautiously, especially to one of thy rank. If thou art, as thou sayest, a Peruvian, come hither on matters of private import, I seek not to penetrate thy secret, and do again restore thee my confidence. If thou wilt follow me, I will guide thee to my abode. I have much to do ere midnight.'
The knight dismounted, as if in courtesy to his companion, and, putting his bridle on his arm, walked beside him. As they passed along through the narrow and winding streets, the sight of a bondman and a knight walking by together, drew many to the doors of their shops, and upon their balconies.
`I did awhile since allude to the beauty of the emperor's daughter, young man,' said the knight, as they went along, as if disposed to converse. `What is her favor with the court?'
`She is lively, in mind as in person, and of a sweet and gentle temper — in all things opposite to the emperor,' answered Montezuma, warmly.
`Hath she been sought in marriage, knowest thou?'
`It is rumored the haughty Prince Palipan will espouse her.'
`Ah! hath she regard for him?'
`Rumor saith not; but 't is the emperor's will, and there is none other in the empire she can wed.'
The knight walked on in silence a little while, and then suddenly asked,
`When do these espousals take place?'
`Within seven days — on the anniversary of her twentieth birth-day.'
`She is very fair, surpassing my conception of her,' said the knight, after a pause, as if discoursing with his own mind. He then said, turning to Montezuma,
`Will not this revolt of the city thou hast on foot grieve this sweet princess?'
`Nay, I had not thought of it. One would willingly remain a slave, to shield her from sorrow.'
`Spoken gallantly. I am rejoiced to hear she hath such favor with those of thy rank.'
`Thou takest singular interest in her for a Peruvian noble,' said Montezuma.
`The fame of her beauty hath reached our capital, and the Inca's son hath been enamored of her in imagination. Her name is the theme of song among knights and nobles.'
`It were better she were thy prince's bride than that of Prince Palipan, said the youth, with animation; `yet, methinks, when I remember her gentle beauty, I should rather she would not marry at all.'
The knight turned his face towards him, as if struck by the manner rather than by the words of the young man, and then said, with a light laugh,
`Have a care, young chief. There is no bound to the horizon of a youth's ambition, when he hath once begun to climb.'
As the knight said this, they came near the ruins of what was once a stately palace. It was now blackened with fire, and its court filled with rank grass. It presented a scene of singular wildness and desolation in the midst of a city so full of life.'
The Peruvian paused, and detained his companion by the arm, while he earnestly surveyed it.
`It is the Axuzco palace,' said Montezuma.
The knight made no reply for some time. At length he said, in a voice that had all at once become deep and stern,
`Young man, knowest thou the history of this ill-fated family?'
`'T is said — 't was when I was a boy it happened — that the Lord Axuzco was a traitor, and so the emperor banished him, and razed his palace.'
`He was a traitor, young man, just as thou art now a traitor! He was a patriotic and a brave man, and dared to tell the tyrant Ulyd his mind. At length, sickened with the tyranny of the emperor and the licentiousness of the nobles, with indignation and disgust he withdrew himself from them, joined himself with the oppressed people, and raised the standard of revolt, and shouted liberty to the enslaved. This palace was the seat of the conspiracy. But the mass of the debased people knew not the cry, and did not obey it. He was taken, with a few score of the boldest spirits, that had united themselves to him, and cast into prison. His companions were decapitated and quartered. He himself wrested the headman's axe from his hands on the very seaffold, and, cutting his way through the soldiers with the glittering instrument, unborsed a knight, leaped into his saddle, and escaped through the gates.'
`I never heard of all this before,' said Montezuma, who had listened with surprise to the knight's narrative.
`Because those with whom thou hast been dare not speak of it. The name of Axuzco is accursed in Mexico by imperial decree.'
`Would to the gods we had this good knight's arm, now that people have responded to the cry of liberty.'
`Young man,' said the knight, in an impressive voice, `thou hast thy wish. Behold in me the banished lord of Axuzco!'
`Thou!' cried Montezuma, starting back at a name that he had but seldom heard repeated, and with which he had hitherto associated the darkest and most fearful qualities.
`Yes. I have come back, after eighteen years' exile, to see once more my native land and the halls of my youth. The gods have brought me to my journey's end this day, as if by design. Thou knowest not how my blood leaped when I saw thee, ere I had got a furlong into the city, resist the emperor's guard. I thanked heaven that I had found one man in Mexico on my return. I could have embraced thee to my heart.'
`Noble lord of Axuzco —'
`Nay, I am but a simple Peruvian cavalier — my secret is with thee till I see fit to reveal it — I but gave it into thy keeping as pledge of confidence. Now I do think of it, I will e'en seek the naked hospitality of my own abode. My steed will fare richly off the wild grass of the court, and I need nothing. When thou needest my aid, thou wilt find me in yonder wing. There was my chamber, and I would make friendship with its walls again.'
`Footstep hath not ventured there since thou left it, sir."
`Then 't is the more sacred to my feelings. When thou dost think thyself sufficiently safe to light thy beacon upon the Temple of War, come hither with those friends thou takest into thy closest councils, and let once more the standard of liberty be raised within these walls which the emperor's curse hath consecrated to be its most sacred temple.'
As he spoke he grasped the young man's hand and led his horse beneath the dilapidated archway of the ruin, and crossed the gloomy court in the direction of the main body of the building, which, though partially destroyed, still preserved the outline of its former stately character, and some remains of its architectural beauty.
Montezuma, after lingering a moment till he saw him pass through the ivy-mantled entrance to the hall, pursued his way, wondering at the events that the last hour had produced. The day was nearly at a close when he resumed his way, and he had gone but a few steps when the crimson light of the altar fires illumined the sky and told him that the sun had set. He stopped, and turning his face towards the west, crossed his hands upon his breast, and for an instant worshipped, and then continued rapidly to walk forward. At length he entered a narrow lane, lined on both sides with dark gloomy buildings, and at the extremity was an arch and battlement crowned by massive towers. The street led beneath this arch and lost itself in a broader thoroughfare beyond which itself led to the canal touching it not far above the net-makers' street.
He continued to walk rapidly forward through the lane, until he approached the arch, where was stationed a guard to protect the armory, which was a vast structure with long tiers of stone galleries in the midst of a vast paved court, on the left of the archway. He still held the broken pike in his hand, though scarcely conscious of possessing it.
Ha! Montezuma! what dost thou with the head of a knight's spear?' said the soldier, a tall and almost gigantic man, in the tone of an acquaintance. `There is blood upon it, too!'
`Hist, Gila!' said Montezuma, as he came near him. `When wilt thou be off guard?'
`Within an hour, or little more.'
`Then come thou, on the instant thou art free, privately to my house. I would speak with thee.'
`And what with the cruel Fatziza?'
`'T is sterner pastime I would invite thee to! When my sister gave the preference to thy brother Sismarqui, thou didst say thou wouldst abide by her decision and forget her. I trust thou hast.'
I find a steel corslet wont keep love out of the heart after he once hath found the way in. I would go back to embossing shields instead of bearing them — but the captain here took such a fancy to my make and inches, he will not let me go — but talked to day of sending me to the emperor's life-guard. '
`Come then to me the moment thou art at liberty,' said Montezuma, passing him.
`But that bloody spear-head!'
`I will tell thee, by and by. We are on the eve of revolt. Has Sismarqui been here to day for shields?'
`I expect him now, to bring half a score, that were ordered to be sent home at this hour.'
If I meet him not, and he should come, tell him without delay to hasten to me.'
With these words, Montezuma passed the tall man-at-arms, who it seemed, had been taken into the guard from the clan of artisans, on account of his strength and stature, and which he had joined as a cure for unrequited love.
Montezuma, on emerging from the arched passage, was proceeding at a swift pace, when he met the apprentices of the embosser, bearing the shields towards the armory.
`Where is Sismarqui?' he asked, stopping the first one, and addressing him so sternly, from the depth of his feelings, that it was with difficulty he could reply, and when he did, it was with what had been uppermost in their minds since they had left the net-makers' street, ten minutes before.
`He hath unhorsed a knight!'
`What sayest thou?'
`He hath had a fray with a knight!' said the other, with more self-possession.
`Dost thou know what thou sayest?' he demanded, in the intensest surprise.
`A mounted knight, in passing the balcony, did give thy sister a kiss, and young master Sismarqui, thereat, caught two of the shields and struck them together so loudly that his horse leaped and threw him.'
`And what did the knight? what further did Sismarqui?' demanded the young man, with breathless interest.
`The knight drew his sword, and rushed upon him —'
`Yes — yes —'
`And Sismarqui caught the blade on this shield — here is the dent — and shivered it to the hilt.'
`And what then? Glorious Sismarqui!'
`The knight, after some fierce discourse, rode away.'
`And this you tell me is true?'
`Every word of it; here is the shield.'
`Let me see it. Ah! 't was well done! Liberty hath carved here her own scutcheon,' he said, pressing his lips upon it. `I will take this sacred shield! Pass on!'
`'T is for the armory.'
`It matters not whether it be taken now, or five hours hence. Leave it with me.'
They continued on their way, after looking upon each other, as if wondering at the meaning of his words, and he remained for a minute, gazing upon the shield.
`I should regard the tale as a dream, but that I do behold here, with my eyes, this deep indent upon the breast of the imperial eagle. This was no chance stroke that lighted so truly upon this emblem of tyranny. Thus shall the eagle himself be stricken! Sismarqui, thou art my soul's own mate!'
`What dost thou, Montezuma, speaking to that shield?' said a voice close to his ear.
Sismarqui, my brave Sismarqui!' was the only reply of the noble youth, and he ardently embraced him.
`Art thou mad?' asked the young man, with surprise.
`Mad! yes, with joy! Look! dost thou know this device?'
'T was carved there by a knight, not half an hour since.'
`And thou didst have words, then, with this knight?' questioned Montezuma, hurriedly.
`He did from his horse lean forward to kiss Fatziza, as she sat in the balcony, and I unhorsed him by —'
`I know it — And he aimed to avenge himself, and thou didst defend thy life like a man! Let me again embrace thee. We are more than brothers! What merit have we, that the gods have so blessed us this day. I too have resisted a knight — the Governor of the emperor's guard, who would have slain me for being near his way — but — nay, this tells the rest!' he said, exhibiting the broken spear.
`Tis a noble's lance!'
`This I wrested from him and broke.'
`There is blood on it!?
`Yes, for I slew with it, three men-at-arms — and they slew eighteen artisans, who sought to save my life.'
`Montezuma!' exclaimed the young man, with the deepest surprise.
`'T was done within the hour, in the street of columns.'
`If this hath been done, then 't is from this moment, the people or nobles.'
`Thou hast it, brother! I did not think I should be half way met in this thing. I have further to tell thee. Full seven thousand men saw this contest; and when the procession passed on, I inflamed their breasts with a bold, dark picture of their bondage, and at this moment, there are seven thousand hearts in that quarter, that have your spirit and mine! I have just seen a forest of hands lifted to the sun, and heard, like the sullen surges of the heaving sea, thousands of voices as that of one man, swearing to be free.'
`Hast thou, oh, hast thou?' scarcely could articulate the young armorer.
`Aye, and of the gods, too!'
`Then hath the empire of the tyrant passed into other hands from this hour,' said Sismarqui, fervently. `Whither goest thou? What is thy purpose? '
`I was hastening to find thee, to tell thee that thou wert a slave, and that it was time thou didst get thyself free. But thanks to this knight, he hath taught thee the lesson more briefly than I could have done it. I wish each bond-slave in Mexico could be thus taught it — it would leave me little to do but point to the eastle, to the gates, and then to the palace. My purpose is, now that thou hast thy lesson — to give thee one hour to bring over with thy brother Gila, every soldier of the guard in the armory. There is not one but hates the emperor and would side with us, were the standard of revolt once raised. For how many men is there armor there?'
`Suits for eight thousand nobles, and forty thousand soldiers.'
`'T will do! The signal will be a flame on the summit of the temple of the god of war, which I shall first seize, and the light will be the sign of success. After you have been to the armory, which you must possess yourself of when you see the light illumining the city, return and rouse this quarter, by calling on all our friends and neighbors, and tell them to arm, for that this night Mexico is to be made free. The conduct of the revolt in this ward, you will take yourself.
`What hour will the signal be given?'
`If possible, at midnight. I have a few friends to call on, and arouse. In one hour I shall have visited every dwelling in my own street. Meet me then at my house, where I shall call together those whom I find best fitted to take the lead in this rebellion. Casipeti, and thy father, and Inisquini, Emba, and Malif, the silver-smith, are men I would trust. Besides, I have an ally whom you little dream of. But be at the rendezvous at my house, at the end of the hour, and you shall then hear. We will there decide on our future course. Let us now part.'
`May the gods, in whose hands is the disposition of human events, prosper our cause!'
`Tell Fatziza, if thou seest her, I cannot be back as I promised, said Sismarqui.
`Dost thou think of her?'
`I love her.'
`I love my country.'
`Nor do I love it less for loving one of its maidens.'
With a hearty embrace the two young men then separated. Sismarqui to go to the armory, in and out of which he had free access, from his occupation, and Montezuma, the young and daring leader of this fearful revolt, to sound the name of liberty in the ears of those living in the net-makers' street and along the bank of the canal, ere he should return to his own abode.
Fatziza waited by her chamber window, which commanded a view of the street without exposing her to observation, a weary half hour, for the return of her lover, whose protracted absence she finally began to attribute to the consequences of his fray with the knight. At length she heard a footstep in her brother's chamber, and supposing him to have returned, she gladly hastened with a light to open his door and speak to him. On entering she beheld not Montezuma, but Hucha, the hunchback.
`Cousin Hucha, is it thou?' she said, half retiring. `I thought Montezums had returned and got in by the balcony, as he sometimes does.'
I came up the same way, wishing to speak to him without disturbing you dear cousin,' said Hucha with tenderness.
`He hath been abroad since noon, and I fear something evil hath detained him.'
`Is — is Sismarqui here?' asked the hunchback, in a hesitating manner, and a cold tone of voice, singularly contrasting with his recent gentleness of address.
`Sismarqui hath gone to the armory with shields. I did expect him here ere this, on his return. If thou wilt wait, both he and brother will be in soon.'
`Wherefore should I wait, cousin — thou dost not like to have me near thee,' said Hucha, with that sensitiveness characteristic of men who possess any physical deformity.
`Nay — Hucha — do not pain me with this idle language. I did think you had forgotten those feelings. You know I esteem you.'
`Yes — you esteem — because, when you hear me converse, you forget that I am accursed in shape — I would the gods had made me a fool, so they had made me an upright man. Then I might have shared thy love. For if thou dost deny it to my intellect because of my body, thou woaldst then have given it to my body not missing the mind. Women ever love physical beauty. Thy sex are rarely won by merely mental qualities.'
`Hucha, believe me, you do me wrong, at least,' said the maiden, warmly speaking in that softly thrilling tone which in woman conveys so much sympathy; `was Gila deformed? Is every youth a maiden rejects, rejected for some misshape of limb or feature? or is every one she accepts, alone distinguished for his perfect figure? You are prone to look at all things, dear cousin, through the distorted medium of your own morbid mind.'
`Doubtless, as you say, my mind is distorted, as well as my body,' he said, angrily. `Would to the gods I had never been born!' And he covered his face with his hands, as if in suffering.
`Nay, Hucha, you are too sensitive! All men love you. Thou hast not an enemy.'
`Yes, they love me because their pity begets a bastard love for the poor hunchback, with his pale face and soft, woman's eyes.'
`I love you, Hucha, and 't is not from pity.'
`Oh, that it were from pity, then! Pity, in thy sex, is but holier love — love without its passion. Woman ever looks upon such as I with love's tenderness: never with love's passion! Thou couldst never love me, cousin.'
`Do not let us talk on this theme; 't is an unhappy one! List! 't is Sismarqui! Nay, 't is my father, below.'
`See, now! how the imaginary step of one thou lovest brings the quick color to thy cheek, and modulates thy voice to a rich tremulous key it had not before! I would give my life to be myself the cause of such change in a woman — in thee, cousin,' he added, touchingly. `I am accursed. Cousin Fitziza, believe me, I do so feel my shape, that, though by nature I am of gentle temper and affectionate, I cannot help feeling hatred for all mankind. I do hate, in my heart, thy brother and Sismarqui!'
`'T is false, Hucha! altogether false! Thou dost thyself injustice.'
`I tell thee, cousin, I do hate all men who walk upright, with their faces heavenward, as the gods formed them, in stature and countenance like themselves.' 'T is not the hatred that would make me wish their death, but it is of such a kind, had I but my will, I have the heart to torture them, and make them writhe with biting wit, and cutting gibes, and scorching irony. I'd make them feel my power, and, for very fear, do me reverence.'
`This is not thy temper, Hucha,' said Fatziza, with indignant energy; `I know thee better. Thou art all gentleness to all. Friendship hath not a nobler votary than thyself. Thou art doing good ceaselessly, in some way, to the sick, and helpless, and needy, and universal charity hath made thee beloved and almost adored. Why dost thou wrong thyself?'
`I but speak the truth: I said it was my heart that was poisoned by misfortune against my species. My head controls the heart, and philosophy has sternly schooled me to keep it under, if I would live happy. All this charity you speak of is but the scabbard that hides a poisoned sword, lest it chance to prick the wearer's heels.'
`And thou dost hate my brother?'
`Habit hath got me into loving him.'
`And Sismarqui?'
`I do not like him — yet 't is not because nature hath made him a perfect man — but I do not love him.'
`Thou wouldst not surely harm him, Hucha?'
`Thy love for him makes sacred his person, in my eyes. Cousin Fatziza! you know not what a noble and loving heart you have flung away,' said the Hunchback, taking her hand and speaking with the most impassioned feeling. `Thy love, too, would have made me a better man — it would have acted like leaven upon it. But, it matters not,' he added, hastily turning away from her; `I will try and forget thee, and find oblivion in the stirring scenes about to open.'
`Thou art not angry?'
`Not with thee, but with the gods.'
As he spoke a footstep was heard upon the stairs, and the same instant Montezuma entered the apartment. He appeared fatigued, yet there was a spirit in his countenance, and a kindling of the eye they had never before witnessed.
`Welcome, Montezuma,' said Hucha, in a joyful tone. `I have been sometime waiting for thee.'
`Thou art pale, brother,' said Fatziza, as she saw him cast himself upon a settle beside the door.
`I have need to be pale, sister. He who carries the ruddy cheek of a careless heart at this time, loves not his country, and has no manhood.'
`Ha! Montezuma, is this thy speech, too?' cried the Hunchback, with surprise.
`We are a nation of slaves, Hucha! but light has broke in upon us — our chains are falling to pieces. The tyrant shall grant us freedom from our servitude, or die. Man's blood shall no longer be accounted as water.'
`Hush, brother! Thou and Sismarqui are mad to day.'
`Montezuma! what hath kindled thy spirit?'
`And by thine eye thy own has been inflamed also! There is universal inspiration.'
`What hath been done?'
Blood! blood! The same daily spilling of blood! It cried from the ground for vengeance, and I have answered it. It was by the emperor's orders, because I defended my life.'
`Didst thou?' almost shrieked the Hunchback, with the excited joy of his feelings.
`'T was in the procession to the gate. Had it not been that the tyrant is the father of the sweet princess Eylla, I would have slain the slayer with my own hand.'
`Hist, brother!' entreated Fatziza. `Speak not so loud! Ere this thy words have been caught up, and swift wings are bearing them to the emperor's ears. Alas, what aileth thee and all I love this day — that they should court their own destruction!'
`I have whispered rebellion,' continued the young man, heedless of his sister's words, `in the willing ears of ten thousand of my fellow-slaves.'
`And at this moment it is being breathed into the ears of hundreds in this quarter,' said Hucha, with animation; I have been injured this day by our masters, but knew not that thou wert also at work. Where is Sismarqui?'
`Liberty hath anointed him when she did thee and me! Dost thou know I have resolved to raise the standard of revolt ere the sun rise!'
`Be thou the leader in this thing, cousin! I did think I had been its mover — but I see I am but an infant to thee.'
`I have already chosen seven leaders of divisions. They will be here soon. Our final rendezvous is to be at midnight, at the Axuzco palace. We shall then mature our plans, and act.'
`The Axuzco palace!'
`Why dost thou start. Come thou, then, with such chosen men as thou canst trust in council, and thou wilt see a man there whose name will make thy bosom throb high.'
While he was speaking, a tap was heard on the street door, below.
`There must be Casipeti!' said Montezuma.
`Casipeti! He yesterday struck a noble.'
`And, believe me, you, and I, and Sismarqui have been inspired by this bold deed, without knowing it. My blood leaped when 't was told me, yesterday.'
`And mine.'
`Let us give the bold Casipeti the credit, then, of striking out the first rivet of our chains. Come with me below. I would meet him there.'
He went down as he spoke, followed by Hucha, leaving the distressed Fatziza a prey to the most dreadful anticipations. Yet she was grateful to hear, from her brother's words, that she had not been altogether the instrument, as the object of the knight's passing gallantry, of awakening this spirit in the minds of the people.
`Welcome, Casipeti,' said Montezuma, admitting the visitor into a low apartment hung round with the materials of a net-maker's craft. `Thou art punctual! How goes it with thy news?'
`I have eight hundred men, that, at the sound of my name, in the silver-smiths' street, are ready to follow where I lead!'
`I will go and see Ota, Inisquini, and others, and bring them hither,' said Hucha, hastily departing.
He had scarcely left before, one after another, several persons, with arms beneath their scarfs, came in, until fifteen men were assembled in the little room. Not long afterwards Ota, the armorer, and Inisquini, the sword-maker, joined them. Montezuma then drew from each the various successes they had met with in rousing their fellow-citizens, and, finding the result beyond his most sanguine hopes, detailed to them briefly his plans, and invited them to meet him at twelve o'clock, at the ruined palace of Axuzco, where he would make known to them one whom they would find was no mean auxiliary to their cause. He met with some opposition from Inisquini and one or two others, whose wish was to attack the palace, slay the emperor, and take the government into their own hands. But Montezuma, seconded by Casipeti, Hucha, and the rest, resolved, first, only to seize upon the gates, bridges, and military defences, and then propose terms to the emperor and nobility. If they were complied with he was to be permitted, with certain restrictions, to retain the throne — if denied, the imperial palace and the palaces of the nobles were to be attacked, and their subsequent course to be governed by the events.
`Sismarqui,' at length, said Montezuma, when he had brought Inisquini over to his views, `will, doubtless, soon be here. If he has succeeded in bringing over the guard, there remains no doubt of our success. One cohort of troops on our side will be the rallying point for the whole army, who are as degraded as ourselves.'
While he was speaking, Sismarqui entered, clad in armor from head to heel. All started till he spoke.
`The armory is ours,' he cried, in his excitement, seeing none but Montezuma, who let him in. `Every soldier's breast beats with joy. We have only to send the people there for arms when the time comes to strike the blow. Ha! Casipeti here! My father, too! Inisquini! Hucha! Emba, Xaxeti!
`We are all present, and welcome you, brave Sismarqui, to our councils,' said Casipeti.
`There is no time to lose!' said the young armorer. You who are to take the head and lead of the revolt, and would provide yourselves with weapons, go now to the armory. The rumor will, ere this, have reached the nobles. Wherever I go I see the streets alive with people, dispersed in groups, some armed, and others impatient to get their arms, and for the hour of midnight. At the first blaze of the signal-light, the streets will pour forth its thousands. Never was such a universal spirit spread among a multitude in so brief a space.'
`The rumor may reach the palace,' said Casipeti, with calm dignity; `but the emperor will scarce dream that't is more than a street affray, and despatch a troop of horse to quell it. But, as 't is yet confined to this side the canal, 't will scarce have got there. But we have no fear of any united force until the greatness of the revolt is known, and that can only be when the whole people will be up in their might, with arms in their hands. 'T is but four hours to midnight; and each moment but strengthens and ripenns the cause. Let us go and arm ourselves, my friends. We meet again at the Axuzco palace.'
With these words the chief conspirators separated, leaving only Sismarqui behind with Montezuma. The former delayed but to interchange a few words with Fatziza, whom, at length, he left in tears.
Montezuma paced the apartment a while in deep thought. He felt he had incurred a deep responsibility, as the leader of the fearful revolt. He had kindled an insurrectionary flame in a hundred thousand breasts, that seas of blood could alone extinguish. He thought of the Princess Eylla — of her beauty and goodness. For her sake, he felt he would be willing to undo all he had done — that she might be happy, continue to be a slave. He shrunk at the evil that menaced her. He half-conceived the thought of rushing forth to turn back the current he had let loose. It was then that he reflected, painfully, yet not with regret, that he had roused a spirit he could not lay, and that, as the helmsman is borne along with the ship he guides and governs, he himself must become subservient to the will of the vast power he directed.
Early on the same evening on which these events transpired, the lovely Princess Eylla sat in her gorgeous chamber, gazing forth from the palace window upon the serene beauty of the night. The `bright bands of Orion' were spanning the east, and the `sweet influences of Pleiads' ruled the hour. The last roseate tinge had long since faded from the edge of the mountains of Ixtitlan, and on the summit of the peak of Ix, the `Star of the Burning Stone' gleamed palely, like a planet setting upon it. Beautiful slaves, in the richest dresses, kneeled at a distance, with their folded hands laid across their bosoms, silently watching for the least sign of her will, or gesture of command.
The thoughts of the Princess were not on the scence spread out before and beneath her. Long and meditatively did she remain there, until the moon rose, and poured the golden flood of her orient light into the open lattice by which she sat, and falling upon her fair forehead, gave it the soft lustre of the pearl. One snowy hand, half in the moonlight, half in the shade, sustained her cheek. Ever and anon her young bosom would heave and fall, and from her parted lips a low sigh escape. The light of the moon seemed to rouse her from the deep reverie in which she had been for the last half hour. All at once she started to her feet, and at the same instant, her slaves flew and prostrated themselves around her.
`Tzitzis,' she said to a beautiful Peruvian slave, with flowing black tresses, a slender waist, and limbed like an antelope, `you remain with me; the rest of you retire to your couches. I shall need your attendance no longer till dawn of day.'
Slowly, with their faces turned towards her, the young girls retired, and the princess was left alone with her favorite and confidential slave.
`Tzitzis!'
`Your highness,' answered the slave, still kneeling at the footstool of her mistress, and without lifting the heaving, slumberous eyelids that veiled her brilliant eyes.
`You have heard that several poor men were slain to day, as we passed through the city, towards the Temple of the East Gate, to sacrifice to the Sun.'
`Nay, your highness, I did not. But as scarce a day goes by without bloodshed, I doubt not this day has had its share,' replied the slave, with a mixture of irony and sorrow in her manner.
`Hist, minion! It is my father's unhappy disposition. Yet he loves me.'
`So does the lion of Peru his whelp — the tiger of Yucatan his young,' answered the Pernvian maid, with a degree of spirit and scorn that her favor with her gentle mistress could only have licensed.
`Have done, Tzitzis,' said the Princess, with some sternness.
The slave beat her head low to the earth, as if humbled by the reproof, her night-hued hair falling like a veil about her face, and her whole subdued attitude that of gaceful humility.
`Nay — rise, and listen to me,' said the Princess, after gazing upon her favorite a moment with a smile. The slave threw back from her face her cloud of dark hair, and kissed gratefully the hand extended to her, while the light of a cheerful and merry spirit once more beamed from her intelligent face.
`I have detained thee, pretty one, to serve me with thy ready wits and well-tried faithfulness. Listen.'
The slave gazed an instant into the face of the Princess, as if to seek the key for her guidance and bearing, and discovering that while it was embarrassed it was serious, she bent her head reverently, and with a graceful inclination upon her bosom, and silently awaited the communication of her will.
`There was some commotion today among the populace,' said the Princess, after a moment's hesitation, `caused by an attempt of the officer of the Emperor's guard to seize a youth who, inadvertently and from too eager curiosity to witness the procession to the Temple, thrust himself forward before the others.'
`To behold thee, Princess, or I know not the hearts of the youth of the empire.'
`Because thou knowest the heart of one youth, dost think thou knowest all, chit?' asked the Princess, with a smile of raillery.
The conscious virgin dropped her head still lower upon her bosom, and was silent, while the tell-tale carnation enriched the olive shade of her cheek and brow. The Princess Eylla enjoyed her confusion a moment, and then continued —
`I heard this youth called Montezuma. Know you such a one by name in the city, and his degree?'
`Was he tall and kingly in his port, your highness?'
`He looked majesty himself. Such, methinks, as a prince of the Sun should appear. I have not in all the court seen a noble his equal.'
`Was he youthful withal?'
`Scarce the down had darkened his lip, and the scissors had never touched his flowing locks of jet.'
`Did he smile like the sun in May?'
`Never sun shone brighter than his smile. It sparkled like sunlight upon a fountain.'
`Were his eyes like a diamond set in jet, upon a ground of pearl, flashing fire and speaking intelligence?'
`The same, Tzitzis. Thou hast beheld the youth, maiden!'
`Was he haughty, yet his haughtiness blent with the modesty becoming his degree; and while he looked, if he looked on thee, did his eyes, as they gazed, seem to plead thy forgiveness of the deed as they committed it?'
`Thou hast painted him to the very semblance, girl,' said the Princess, laughing, and then blushing as confusedly as the fair Peruvian slave had before done, as she detected a smile lurking in the dimpled mouth of her confidant.
The slave dropped her eyes, as if she would hide their mischievous expression, and the Princess looked forth from the lattice for an instant, and then abruptly rising, took one or two turns through her chamber. After a few moments she stopped, and turned to the kneeling girl, in whose still cast-down yet knowing looks, she too plainly detected the knowledge of what she had not yet dared to confess to herself.
`Tzitzis,' she said, laying her finger lightly across her favorite's forehead, `be faithful and secret.'
The young slave caught her hand, and fervently impressed a kiss upon it, in token of her devotion to her.
`Seek out this Montezuma,' continued the Princess, `and bring him secretly to the palace.'
`Your highness!' exclaimed the maiden, with a start of surprise.
`I would see a youth for whom men so freely cast away their lives, as I have this day seen them do,' answered the Princess Eylla, as if she would disguise her real motives from the penetrating intelligence of the Peruvian.
`Your highness, he is a net-maker's son,' said quickly the beautiful slave, who saw with surprise, what she could ill conceal, that a tender emotion had sprung up in the heart of her mistress for the unknown youth — for women can never succeed in disguising their hearts from each other.
`The better still,' answered the Princess, who no longer attempted to veil from her confidant her feelings towards the youth; `the better still. If he be not princely born, it were best he were at the other end of the degree. Go. I would see him! Use what other instruments thou wilt to aid thee. Let this signet be to him the token of my will. Be speedy, discreet, and as subtile and wise as the Anaconda of thy native Peru.
The slave prostrated herself at the feet of her mistress; then rising reverently, kissed her hand, and glided from the chamber. The Princess Eylla listened to her faintest footstep, and then reseated herself by the lattice, her virgin bosom filled with emotions all new to her, and her thoughts bewildered with a thousand new and strange ideas, yet all tender and pleasing. Before her lay a range of gardens, adorned with fountains, groves, and statues — beyond was the canal, like a broad band of steel, binding the city to the enfolding bosom of the lake Alcolo — while, beyond and around her, rose towers, domes, and columnar altars, mingled together in gorgeous confusion— all lying, like a magic scene of fairy land, beneath the lavish opulence of the moonlight, which flooded all with such mellow radiance, that the whole seemed to be seen by her through a medium of transparent silver.
That the lovely Eylla was suddenly in love with the low stranger who occupied her thoughts, would be doing her injustice to assert. She felt an interest in him, which grew out of curiosity. But interest, once awakened in a maiden's bosom, for a handsome youth, of whatever degree, will ripen into love, if opportunity for cherishing it offers. That this opportunity should not be wanting in her case, she had now taken sufficient care, though her motives, in sending for the young net-maker to appear in her presence, were free from any thing which her maidenly delicacy condemned. And when the idea, that her heart was interested in him, would startle her from her reverie, she would proudly recollect that she was a princess and he a serf, and then, as if fortified against love with delusive security, give her thoughts again to this dangerous theme of their meditation.
While she was thus playing with love's arrows, as if they were inoccuous to a princess, a soft strain of instrumental music reached her ear from beneath the lattice. She listened, and heard a manly voice mingle with it; while she could distinctly hear the words of an impassioned song of love addressed to her ear. These were the words: —
THE PRINCE'S SERENADE. Wake, Eaglet of Aztec! rise, daughter of Light! List the lay that I breathe to thee now; By the Day, that ere long shall uprise on the night, 'T is to thee, and thee only, I bow! 'T is the voice of my heart that now falls on thine ear; Wake, Spirit of Beauty! wake, rise, and appear! List, daughter of Love, to the breath of my soul! Like the Thureb's, that sings but to die; My voice and my spirit together may roll On the dull, heavy ear of Iltzai! But thou dost not heed, though that angel alone Hear the prayer of my soul on his night-shrouded throne.The star-gem of Ix! lo. I catch its proud ray, Blazing clear on the desolate height! But I turn from its beauty and brightness away To a ray of more heavenly light! Then, Eylla, look down, in the smile of thine eyes It is day in my soul, though the sun never rise!
She rose impatiently and bit her lip, as if displeased and agitated. After twice or thrice traversing the apartment, with a quick, excited step, she closed the lattice through which the melodious serenade floated into her chamber; and still hearing the faint swell of the notes, she dropped, with an angry and excited gesture, a heavy curtain of silver tissue across the recess. She had scarcely done so, when she checked herself in the position in which she was, and stood for an instant like a statue.
`Wonderful — strange! Is this madness? Why has the Prince's voice all at once become so hateful to me! Is this myself, or is it a spirit not my own that has possessed my bosom? Last night I listened to him — to this very song — with pleasure, though I love him not; and this evening I have no sooner heard his voice, than I fly from the lattice and shut out the sound, as if there were poison in the air on which it rose to my ear. I surely cannot hate Prince Palipan so suddenly! What hath happened to me?'
The Princess Eylla was taking her first lesson in her own heart. She was learning the alphabet of love. The truth seemed to flash upon her. The real cause of her sudden and strange antipathy to the Prince it required no neeromancy to explain.
`Nay — this feeling must not grow,' she said, with forced resolution. `I tremble at the discovery. It must down! Why has that youth's image such a hold upon my mind! I will force myself to listen to the Prince.'
It was necessary indeed, as she strongly involuntarily expressed it, in her present state of feeling, to force herself to listen. She resolutely approached the window, and drew aside the curtain. The music had ceased. She could not conceal from herself that she felt inwardly pleased at this, and laid her hand upon the lattice to open it, when she heard a light step behind her. She turned quickly, and beheld a young man, elegantly attired, who instantly kneeled, as her eyes rested upon him, and laid his hand upon his heart.
`You are bold, prince!' she said, quickly.
`Sweet princess, I do confess it,' he said, without lifting his glance to hers, and then remained silent.
`Why are you here?' she continued, with less displeasure, on witnessing his subdued manner, and then instantly added, with a mantling smile, `did you come to witness the effect of your music?'
`I came, fairest princess,' he answered, rising, and speaking with a serious air, yet with the graceful courtesy becoming a prince, `witnessing the closing of your lattice, to ask thy forgiveness for my offence.'
`Thou hast not offended me, Palipan.'
`Wherefore, then, cousin,' he said, his voice assuming a tenderness that caused her to breathe quicker and bend her eyes upon the tesselated floor, `did you show such marks of displeasure?'
`Prince — do not question me,' she replied, after a moment's silence. `Thy suit has never been encouraged.'
`Thou hast endured my presence, princess.'
`It has been endured, prince,' she said, pointedly, and the next instant she regretted that she had so sharply marked her reply.
`Has it indeed been thus, Princess Eylla?' he said, haughtily. `Then hast thou been trifling with thy own heart and mine. I could not believe such duplicity lived in thy pure bosom.'
`Nay, prince,' she said with feeling, `I have never deceived you. You have daily complained of my coldness, and accused me of not returning your affection. I never loved you, prince. It was my father's wish that we should be united — policy seemed to dictate it — and I have therefore suffered you to hope. But, as you accuse me of duplicity, I will now act openly. We might have been united — I might have loved you as a wife, but — but —'
`But what?' demanded the prince, between grief and resentment.
`I cannot love you.'
`It is not thus,' cried the prince, `your sentence would have ended, princess— but you love another!'
`Prince Palipan! you forget yourself! said Eylla, haughtily.
`Noble princess,' he said, advancing towards her, and wholly changing his manner to one of deep earnestness, `I beseech you trifle not with me. My heart is devoted to you, and, unawares to yourself, you are inflicting upon me the keenest misery.'
`Prince, I should grieve indeed,' she said, with calm irony, `if I believed your sorrow was for any thing besides disappointed ambition.'
`Ha! dost thou believe I aim at my uncle's throne, through thy hand?'
`I believe, cousin, it is the loss of the hand, rather than the heart, you grieve for.'
`Who hath whispered this?'
`Thyself!'
`Then have I been most false to myself, princess. You do accuse me wrongfully.
`The archer's arrow may be leveled at the sparrow, but if his glance is at the same time fixed on the eagle that sails above him, it is easy to tell in what direction his shaft will fly.'
The prince looked confused and knit his brow.
`By the golden temple of the sun! cousin, you have misjudged me,' he said, earnestly. `If this suspicion has had weight in influencing your extraordinary conduct to-night, I swear to you by the sacred eagle of our house, I looked not to the imperial throne, though, 'tis true, thy father does! I thought of no diadem but thy peerless beauty — of no throne but thy heart — of no sceptre but thy love!'
`Thou hast spoken it most courtly, cousin, but my heart is unmoved. You see I am plain with you.'
The prince paced the apartment with a quick step and an angry brow. She regarded him with a calm gaze, as if she clearly justified herself for her conduct, from an intimate knowledge of his character. The prince was not above twenty-four years of age, with an extremely elegant and symmetrical person, but a little above the middle height. He was a remarkably handsome man, with brilliant eyes, the glances of which were most penetrating. His features were finely chiseled, and of an elevated character, with a pale, thoughtful forehead. His mouth was wonderfully expressive of his feelings. It was well-shaped, and shaded by a mustache, but the sweetest smile that sometimes played on it, could not altogether destroy a lingering expression of haughtiness and cruelty, that seemed natural to it. He looked like an imperious and passionate man, who, however, had his true character so much under the control of that he would appear, that its darker and less amiable shades were visible only to such as knew him long and intimately; and these, even, were likely, sometimes, to be deceived. The Princess Eylla, however, had much natural penetration, which, united to years of childish intercourse, gave her means of judging of him with more truth and clearness than was agreeable to him.
Until this evening, she had regarded him as her future husband. Her father had commanded her to give him her hand, and she knew of no alternative but to yield obedience. Recently, in contemplation of a speedy union, their intercourse had been more tender, at least, in its outward character, on his side, for she was, at all times, rather enduring and passive. It was her fate, and, besides her cousin, there was none in the empire with whom her imperial rank would permit her to wed. But, within the last seven hours, a change had been wrought in her, as complete as it was instant. An unknown youth, of humble degree, for his lofty spirit and manly beauty, had awakened an interest in her bosom, that left no room there even for a prince of the empire, who had not the spell to touch the slumbering lute of love, that lies in woman's heart, silent, unresponsive, till some skilled minstrel strikes the thrilling key that awakes its melody. The chord was struck, and harmony flowed that dissolved her own heart; yet she knew not why or how it was done. Love had done its perfect work, and she knew not that it was love. Love had shown her the hitherto unknown treasures of her heart, and she felt she could never waste these riches of love upon the prince. Love showed her the depth of her own feelings — the wealth of affection that was in her heart; he had unlocked sealed fountains of womanly tenderness that she knew not were hidden in woman's heart. She trembled when she reflected that she was about to fling away all those — all this unworked mine of virgin gold. She shuddered, and thanked the gods for the escape.
`Oh!' she said mentally, as the prince paced the room before her, `Oh, I knew not what I was about to throw away upon him!'
`Fair cousin,' said the prince, suddenly stopping, and taking her hand, `hath any idle tale of the palace gossip come to thy ears, that thou dost receive me with such a strange mood?'
`I have heard tales enough, cousin,' she said, in an indifferent tone, `but these have little weight with me.'
`Thou hast heard nothing to-night?' he asked quickly.
The princess smiled at his eagerness and said,
`Hath any thing recent occurred to give food for gossip, prince?
`Nay,' he said, coloring, `I did think some foolish rumor or report, from those who would weaken my suit with thee, might have been thrown to the palace, and so get to thy hearing.'
`I hear enough of wrong and outrage, done by the nobles of my father's court upon the inoffensive people, prince,' she said, with spirit; but in this thou canst have had no hand! A prince will ever be above wrong and injustice to the helpless.'
`Thou should'st teach this morality to thy imperial father, cousin,' answered Prince Palipan, with a scornful movement of the upper lip.
`Alas! thou needest not smile, prince; my father needs a better spirit, and I pray the gods he may get one.'
`It will be when the gods take him, then,' said the prince with the same expression.
`Thou art thinking to anger me, cousin, by this mocking of my father. Thou dost forget he is emperor. I do see in thee exhibited a spirit, that, if thou hadst come to the throne — as, thank the gods, thou wilt never do! — would scarce have made justice or mercy more regarded than it is now.'
`So thou dost thank the gods!' he repeated, with an almost menacing gesture. `Princess Eylla,' he instantly added, lowering his tone to one of deep feeling, and speaking deprecatingly — so sudden were the changes in the spirit of this impetuous man, `I do believe thou art mocking me.'
`Nay, prince, I do not mock,' she answered, as if touched by his distress — as if pitying his wrecked ambition, which she knew was alone the aim and object of his intermediate wooing.
`Can I have no further claim to thy hand
`Never, cousin,' she firmly answered.
`Princess Eylla, thou hast heard of some passing love-passage of mine, that has alarmed thy jealousy, and this is thy revenge.'
`There never existed the love for jealousy to grow out of, prince. Then thou hast had love-passages while thou wert wooing me!'
The prince colored, and doggedly replied, `I do feel assured that this alone has given color to our interwiew; or else thou hast fallen in love with one beneath thee!'
`Prince!' haughtily cried the princess, though a consciousness she could not hide gave less force to her reproof than she intended.
`Madam! you trifle with me,' said Prince Palipan angrily. `Once for all — will you accept my suit?'
`No, sir.'
`Then by the eagle of thy father's sceptre, I will leap into the throne, and spurn the ladder by which I would have stepped to it.'
As he spoke these ringing words, he haughtily and with contemptuous indignity waved her away with his hand, and, turning his back upon her, left the apartment.
`The spirit of the princess sprung as if it would break from its tenement, at this insult. Her eyes flashed fire, and her cheek and lip became pale, as the blood left them to fill her surcharged heart. She followed him with her eyes, transfixed to the spot like a statue; and thus she stood, a full minute after he had departed. At length her lips parted, as if to speak — but suddenly the words of resentment and indignant wonder, that were ready to find utterance, were changed to devout expressions of gratitude; and casting herself before an altar of the sun that was in her chamber, she lifted her clasped hands, and thanked the deity she worshipped, for her escape from the danger that had awaited her from a union with the fiery and wicked prince.
This interview had unmasked his heart to her. She had suspected his ambitious interests rather than his protested love, had most weight with him in suing for her hand. That the prince loved her, her vanity, as a lovely woman, would not allow her to question; but she felt that whatever pure passion he entertained for her was overbalanced by the brilliant sceptre which was to reward that love. The prince indeed loved his cousin as much as he was capable of loving any woman. Her extreme beauty, her thousand graces and charms of mind, her spirit, and altogether faultless character, could not but have their influence over his heart.
The princess rose from the altar, and seating herself upon a pile of embroidered cushions by the window, strove to recover her calmness and self-possession. Her heart was full, and but for the insult that kindled her cheek, and burned up her tears, she would have wept for excitement — not for grief — for though she regretted to have parted with the prince on such terms, yet on reviewing her own feelings, she justified herself in taking the course she did, and felt gratified that he had ceased longer to entertain hopes of a union which, never so distasteful to her as it had been this day, had never been contemplated by her but with painful emotions.
`What did that fearful threat import with which he left me?' she asked of herself as she reviewed the incidents of the interview; `dare he attempt — no,' she instantly checked herself, as if the idea that had occurred to her was too improbable to be contemplated for an instant — `yet there was meaning in his words! They were not the angry words of a hasty spirit, that are the next hour recalled or forgotten. They were spoken in a deliberate and most menacing manner. `Dare he attempt the throne? But two lives stand between it and his ambition — mine and my father's! This cousin of mine must be looked after. He has the command of half the troops in the city, and may, if he have the wickedness to — but no, no, I will not do him this injustice. He meant not, he could not mean what he said. He has been wounded, and his temper tried. I will banish the unworthy thought, and forgive him what he uttered. Surely he could mean it not — it meant every thing or nothing.'
With all her charity, the lovely young princess could not altogether banish some degree of anxiety from her mind, but, as if wishing that her thoughts should be submissive to her will, she sought to change their current by dwelling upon the contemplated interview with the handsome young net-maker's son, who had unconsciously done so much mischief.
[1] The author acknowledges himself indebted for this and the other songs in these volumes, to Owen G. Warren, Esq., of New York.
— A bird of beautiful plumage, fabled to sing only once in its life, and that while dying.
—— The messenger of death.
When Tzitzis, the beautiful Peruvian slave, left the chamber of the princess to seek a messenger to despatch on the secret errand intrusted to her, she glided along the corridors with her finger on her lip, as if she was fain to take that method to keep safely the great secret that filled her little heart; the greatest secret, from its nature and the high rank of the chief individual interested, that a discreet maiden could carry about with her. She moved lightly along the marble halls of the palace until she came to a staircase at the end of the corridor, which descended to a portico, beneath which courtiers and others were lounging; it being the anteroom to the imperial hall of audience.
`Whither art tripping now, pretty Tzitzis?' said a youth, gayly attired in a green suit laced with gold, gallantly approaching her; `methinks thou dost nothing but run up and down the staircase to exhibit thy neat ankles?'
`And thou, Count Arispe,' she said, with a smile, skillfully avoiding the kiss he attempted to place upon her lips, `thou art ever here when I pass of errands for my mistress, as if to show thy brave suit of green and gold, and the faint mustache that hath begun to grow on thy lip.'
This retort was received with a laugh by his companions, and the maiden wound her devious and perilous way among the gallants with an adroitness and good humor, that gave no one offence, while she awarded none the favor he sought from her ripe lips. When she had crossed the portico, she entered a high, vaulted passage of stone, that, from the direction in which it run, communicated with a part of the palace appropriated to the life-guards of the emperor. It was hung, in its whole length, with banners captured in battle, and with the swords and spears and armor taken from enemies. At its extremity was standing a group of idle soldiers, and two or three officers of an inferior grade, one of whom no sooner descried the slave approaching, than he left his companions, who followed him with a light laugh and a word of pleasant raillery, and hastened to meet her. He was very young, but of good stature and figure, and rather good-natured than handsome.
`Elec,' she said, `do not think now, as I know you do by your self-complacent smile, that I am here for the third time since noon, on purpose to see you. I do not care so much for you as that.'
`But, sweet pretty Tzitzis, thou dost betray thyself in thy very speech. I had not thought so,' was the reply of the youth, smiling, and attempting to kiss her, though he blushed at his own boldness.
`No — you shall not kiss me either. I did not come to be kissed, nor to be loved. I think you are very forward. I have a message from the princess, ' she said, peremptorily.
`To me?' inquired the young soldier. `What can it be?'
`Thou art ever having thyself uppermost in thy thoughts. 'T is not to thee, but for thee.'
`Does it concern thyself?'
`There, thou canst think of nothing else but me?'
`'T was of nothing else but myself just now. I would I knew the riddle o' thy mind for one five minutes!'
`'T would puzzle thee to know any woman's so long. But this will never do, talking with thee here, and the princess ready to die for —' Here her fore-finger flew to her pretty mouth to stop it, and she became as silent, all at once, as if sound had never gone forth from her closed lips.
`The princess dying!' repeated her lover, with the earnestness of alarm
`Thou art a fool, Elec,' she said, sharply.
`Thou hast sharpened thy wit upon me till, verily, thou hast worn out my brains,' answered the somewhat dull young soldier, blushing and laughing.
`The steel worn off in the sharpening should have served to temper thee rather, methinks. But it has not, I see. Yet thou hast quite brain enough to do what I would have thee.'
`Why dost thou love me, if I be such a fool?' said the lover, somewhat hurt.
`I never said I loved thee.'
`But thou dost, Tzitzis; and thou hast said so often when thou hast walked with me by moonlight on the battlement, as I watched.'
The maiden blushed, and said, laughing,
`Well, I suppose I have to love you, Elec, because you are so foolish nobody else will.'
`Thou dost not mean half thou sayest, thou mischievous gypsy; and I will avenge myself on thee by kissing thee,' said the youth, growing bold.
`No, thou shalt not.'
`Wilt thou kiss me?'
`No.'
`Dost mean it?'
`Yes.'
`Then I will not anger thee by pressing thee.'
`I said yes,' she said, archly.
`I thought thou didst mean to say yes to thy no.'
`I said no, and I said yes. But thou shouldst never ask me if you may kiss me.
`No?'
`No. For I will be sure to say no.'
`Why so?'
`Maidens must say something at such times, and they always say no — 't would be so silly to say yes.'
`Then thou wilt never let me kiss thee?'
`I did not say so. I told thee not to ask me; if you did, I should say no.'
`Then how shall I ever kiss thee?'
`In this way, my pretty youth,' said, in a gay tone, an old officer of the court passing at that moment unobserved, taking the lovely girl's face between his two palms, and giving her a gallant salute. This is the way the minx means. Thou art a dull lover to need lessons in kissing from a grey-beard. '
The officer, laughing, passed on through the gallery in which they stood, while Tzitzis, after recovering from her confusion, elevated her finger and shook it at her backward wooer.
`Now thou didst see that! But it was not my fault. He did n't ask me, if he had I should have told him no. You are so slow of comprehension.'
`Then I will be so no longer. I have learned the lesson.'
With this he threw his arms about her, and kissed her so ardently, that she was forced to slap him in the face before he would stop.
`Now thou art as much the other way. You are certainly the most troublesome lover a poor girl ever had to get along with. Here I have been half an hour trying to teach you a little lesson you ought to have learned long ago — you ought — and you had to learn it at last from old Lord Vepotani. Really, if I did not love you, I would n't have another word to say to you.'
`Pr'y thee, sweet! be not angry.'
`No — I do n't care enough about you to be angry with you,' she said, petulantly.
The gods a-mercy! what a weathercock. It's now fair — it's now foul.'
Hold your tongue, and listen to me. Here is a signet;' and she held up to him the gem given her by her mistress.
`I see it. 'T is an emerald.'
`'T is a topaz.'
`Beshrew me — 't is a topaz.'
`Nay — now 't is an emerald!'
`I would have sworn it.'
`Sworn what?'
`'T is an emerald — nay, a topaz.'
`What color are my eyes? Dost thou know so much?'
`I could never look into them steady.'
`Look now!' and she fixed upon him a pair of the most brilliant, laughing black eyes Peruvian maiden ever did mischief with.'
`They are — they are —' and the simple young man looked very hard at them.
`Well, what are they?'
`They are not green.'
`No?'
`No — topazes are green.'
`Emeralds are green.'
`Yes — they are not blue, I think.'
`The eyes, or the emeralds?'
`The eyes — do keep them quiet. They are not black.'
`Not black?'
`Is a diamond black?
`No, it is pure light.'
`How look they set in jet?'
`Like dark fire.'
`Such are thine eyes!'
`The diamond of Ix! thou hast made a speech will atone for some of thy less happy ones,' answered the maiden, laughing. `By the time we have been married one year thou wilt be another man. Take this signet now and do as I bid thee. Thou knowest where the net-maker's street is, on the other side of the canal, not a great way from the armory?'
`'T is nearly opposite here.'
`Take this signet; and see thou lose it not, nor show it to any human being, save him to whom you are sent. For this is no common matter thou art trusted on. Put it in thy bosom.'
`I will keep it as safely here, sweet Tzitzis, as if it were thyself in person,' he said, placing it within the folds of the sash that passed across his shirt of mail.
`Thou art improving each minute, Elec; 't is a pity I could not be with thee more, to civilize thee.'
`Marry me.'
`Bold enough, indeed!' she replied, turning her head away over her shoulder, with a pouting mouth. `I shall not give thee any more lessons. It is quite time thou wast gone on thy errand. Haste!'
`Thou hast not given it me yet?'
`'T is in thy bosom.'
`But the errand?'
`You are so trying, and I have so much to say to you when I see you, you drive it entirely out of my head.' She blushed as if she knew she had attributed her neglect to any cause but the true one. `Go to the palace-pier and take a boat and cross to the net-maker's street to the house of Mahco, the net-maker, which overhangs the canal, just below the Tirovi gardens. Inquire there for one Montezuma, his son, and tell him the princess commands his presence forthwith at the palace.'
`How shall I know him?'
`Dost thou not remember the day after the last festival of the new moon a youth came here to bring a silken net to the luxurious Lord Esca, for him to lounge upon his divan and catch gold-fish from the little marble lake in his sleeping chamber with it?'
`I do remember it.'
`But, do you remember him?'
`He was short, with a red beard.
`No, no; that was a waterman, who stood by him. It was he who tapped me on the cheek, and kissed me. Dost remember now? I would not have put thee in mind of this, but you have such a memory. Short, with a red beard! He was tall, and looked like a prince, yet was courteous and gentle. and asked me to sing him a Peruvian ballad, for he had a sister who sang and played the basalan, but sang no songs of Peru.'
`Didst thou?'
`After you left the court, vexed because he kissed me, — I could n't help it, no more than I could old Lord Vepotani, — I did sing to him a little ballad. He then told me where his sister lived, 't was in sight from the palace, and bade me not to forget, when the princess let me go abroad into the city, to call and see his sister, and teach her the Peruvian air he said he liked so well. Are you jealous, Elec?' she asked, in conclusion, with the most natural naivete conceivable.
`Not a bit — so thou dost not want this fine young man to come and see thee?'
`I? No, no. There is somebody else that — I shall assuredly let this secret out if he is not soon off. Go, good Elec. This net-maker command to accompany thee on thy return to the palace. Let no one observe thee, going or coming, nor learn thy errand. Be speedy and cautious, and I do n't know what reward thou wilt get from me.'
`Shall I find thee here to lead me to the princess with him?'
`You must not land here, nor must you take a boatman; but row yourself across and back. Run the boat into the dark basin that flows beneath the palace terrace, to the foot of the water-stairs, and there land. I will meet you there. Good bye!'
With this parting, she bounded from him, and was flying back along the gallery, when, seeing him looking after her from the spot on which she had left him, she stopped, and with impatent gestures waved his instant departure, and lingered till she saw him turn and quit the passage. Then, springing to the stone shelf of one of the lofty, narrow apertures for admitting light into the gallery, she beheld him by the moonlight cross the battlement, and descend a broad flight of steps that wound around a circular tower that flanked that wing of the palace, to the paved terrace, the distant boundary of which was the bright water, with its moving city of boats. She watched until she saw him disappear among the columns that lined the edge of the terrace; and shortly after beheld a boat shoot out into the canal, propelled by a single man, whom, by his shining casque and figure, she knew, even at that distance, must be her messenger.
`I do pray,' she said, as she prepared to bound to the pavement, `he will deliver it properly, and bring the young man with him. My sweet princess would never forgive me, if he should not succeed, and blame me for not sending a trustier messenger. But then Elec is my lover; and if he is a little dull, he is good-hearted, and loves me. I do n't think I would give him, as a lover, for any knight in the palace.'
`Wouldst thou not, pretty bird?' said one, who at the same instant received her form in his arms, as she sprung from the elevated shelf of the window to the floor.
Tzitzis half shrieked, and then disengaging herself, hit the individual smartly in the face.
`What art thou ever in the way for, Sulukis?' she demanded, in a half-displeased tone. `Now go and gossip what thou hast listened to all over the palace.'
The individual addressed was a very fat little man, with a bald head, and a broad, farcical countenance. His costume was most singular for its absurdity and motley hues. Every article he wore seemed to have been made expressly to reverse the usual fashion of men's habits, and to display a perverse contrast of gay colors. He wore a rich scarlet cap of velvet, which was shaped like a shoe, with the sole uppermost; and his sandals were ornamented, on the top of the foot, with very small brazen helmets, which tinkled like bells.
`What art looking after i' the window, sweetheart?' he asked, with the ogle of a buffoon.
`I did get up there, seeing thee coming, to get out of thy way, fool.'
`Now I will swear by the beard o' the princess thou didst get up there to jump into my arms as I came by! I hav n't been a court fool all my life not to know what women are?'
`What hath thy folly, Sulukis, to do with thy knowledge?' she asked, with a frown.
`Doth it not take a wise man to measure wisdom? Answer me that.
`Yes.'
`Then doth it take a fool to measure folly?'
`Thou art ever speaking against women, because thou never didst find favor in their eyes.'
`Not a lady i' the palace but looketh with a sideling eye on me when I walk about in my holiday attire. I tell thee thou art ignorant. I am in favor. The princess hath laughed at my jests.'
`She hath laughed at thee, fool! Go aside and let me pass on.'
`Nay, if she laugh, I care not, if she laugh at, or with me. Half the world is laughing at the other half since 't was first made. I would not be out o' the fashion o' it.'
`Thou art most strangely so in the wardrobe, fat Sulukes! Thou art enough to frighten any one!'
`Is not my cap green velvet, and hath it not a diamond to glitter in it?'
`'T is a sandal — 't is no cap. Why dost wear it on thy head?'
`To show where my wisdom lies. Other men wear their sandals on their feet, in which, verily, without word-play, lieth their understandings. Mine, the gods have put in my head side, and I do wear o' the outside the indication o' its presence. I will tell the a secret, sweetheart.'
`What is it?'
`I am in love with thee.'
`Thou hast told that secret to every maid in the palace that would give thee a two minutes discourse with them. Go to, fool!'
`'The emperor saith I have more wisdom than all his court. He doth never undertake any matter of moment, but after consulting his wise counsellors, he finisheth by asking me for my opinion. Because, says he, there are but two ways of doing a thing — a wrong and a right. The right he calleth a spear with one point — the wrong, he likeneth to a star with divers points shooting every way but the right.'
`He getteth the right way — that is the spear, from his counsellors, and that he may know which of the points of the star point most opposite to it, he asketh thee, knowing thy answer will be to that point which is most to be shunned. Thy folly is the index which ever pointeth to the mischief.'
`Nay, but he doth oftentimes ask my opinion ere he ask that of his wisemen. '
`That first, knowing of thee the wrong way, he may discern the right. Doubtless he doth truly say of thee thou hast more wisdom in thee than all his counsellors. But 'tis only folly thou hast at last.'
`Nay — may not a finger-board that pointeth out to the traveller the precipice, be as good a finger-board as that which pointeth him back from it. Give me a kiss, sweetheart.'
`Nay, I never have let fools kiss me.'
`I did see Elec kissing thee but now, which made me hasten from t' other end of the gallery, while the humor was in thee.'
`Humph! What is Elec to thee, witless? He hath more wit in his finger-nails than thou in thy whole body. Wouldst thou make him thy fellow in folly?
`Nay, fellows in wits, but not in folly. This is the difference, look ye, between wit and folly. Wit causeth a man to know when he is hungry, and when he hath eat enough; when he is dry, and when he hath drunk enough; when he is sleepy, and when he hath had sleep enough. But it giveth him nothing better than black bread for his hunger, water for his thirst, and, a naked board to sleep on. Folly causeth him to know how to find dainty things for his palate, and to wash his dinner down with generous wines — to choose down to sleep on, instead of boards, and to sleep when he chooseth to lie down. Wit is common to man and brute beasts — folly hath her home only in the breasts of fools. Elec, therefore, hath not folly, but wit. We are diamond and flint to each other.'
`And thou art folly — the flint; and he, wit — the diamond.'
`True, sweetheart! I emit the spark that kindleth the flame 'neath the crucible which burneth thy diamond of wit to charcoal. I wonder he left not thy mouth black!'
`Out upon thee, Sulukis! I never knew thee so rude of speech!
`I learned it from the knights — they are enough to corrupt one even more virtuous in his morals. The emperor hath forbade me keeping company with them.'
`My mistress forbade me to hold discourse with thee.'
`She showeth her wisdom. Princesses should never let their confidants go in the way o' temptation.'
`If thou dost not move thy fat body out o' my way, and let me go — I will call to yonder young knights, and have them pommel thee.'
`The emperor hath bade me avoid their company. So if such be thy humor, sweetheart, I will not delay here. Good bye, pretty Tzitzis! Do not forget the distinction I have taught thee between folly and wit. When thy lover, Elec, kisseth thee again, remember he is but charcoal, and wipe thy lips after.' With these words he stood aside from the recess and let her pass.
`I will pay thee this, fool!' she said, as she flew past him.
`There goeth a woman who hath common sense —' soliloquized the corpulent jester, looking after her with dignified gravity. `I cannot away with it! 'Tis troublesome enough in men, but I ha' no mercy on 't in a woman.'
`Flying back again! as if thou wert a hare, and a brace of hounds were after thee!' said, in a lively tone, one of the young courtiers, as Tzitzis was re-crossing the portico to return to the wing of the palace she had left. And, the young man caught her hand.
`Nay, detain me not; I am on the princess' affairs.'
`It is of the princess I would speak to thee.
`Quick, then, for I have been long detained by the prating Sulukis!'
`Thou needest not haste, pretty Peruvian — I saw the prince passing but now to pay a visit to her rooms.'
`Poor princess!'
`Why dost thou sigh?'
`I am sorry she hath been troubled by him.'
`'T is of this I would talk with thee. I think she loves him not?'
`He is to be her husband.'
`The emperor hath decreed it — but not the fates!'
`Nor hath love! I did suspect it. 'T is true she loves him not, maiden?'
`I dare not speak my mind to thee, sir — I am a slave.'
`I would not betray thee, by the gods! Dost thou not know the lord Cuiri well enough to trust him? Come aside a little!'
`I know thee but slightly, sir,' she said, with deep respect, `but I know the good opinion my mistress hath of thee.'
`I am glad I have such favor with our beloved princess. Alas! I feared she loved not Prince Palipan.'
`Whoe does, my lord?'
`Truly, do not I. Look, then, Tzitziz! — I know thy devotion to thy mistress, and will now tell thee, that, if the princess like not this union, she shall not sacrifice herself. The emperor himself shall not urge her to it. The empire were better without an emperor, than such an one as Prince Palipan.'
`Dost thou think thus, my lord?' she exclaimed, with surprise and pleasure on her bright face.
`Not only I, but many other men,' answered the young noble sternly.
The maiden stood silent and reflecting for a moment, and then said:—
`This devotion to the princess' happiness, by the noble gentlemen of the court, will make her happy. But she will give countenance to no act such as your bold speech darkly hints at.'
`How dost thou understand me?'
`That the will of the emperor and the ambition of the prince must be resisted, with arms, if need be.'
`Thou art quick. I did mean this.'
`The princess will never save herself and sacrifice her father.'
`Nay, you mistake. The emperor will not come to harm. It would be only to place the princess alone on the throne. She hath wisdom to govern us. The emperor hath proclaimed his intention to abdicate. Let him resign to her alone.'
`This is a deep matter, my lord. I tremble.'
`I would have you broach it to your mistress, ere she have gone too far in encouraging the prince.'
`Thy father is the first noble of the empire — what saith he?'
`He is imbecile. I am only recognized as the Duke of Cuiri — I am alone answerable for my conduct. The princess is beloved, and must not be sacrificed, if the true hearts that beat around her can save her.'
The maiden fixed her large eyes penetratingly upon his face for an instant, and then dropped them in silence.
`Maiden, I read that look, I think, aright.'
`My lord,' said Tzitzis, impressively, `I pray you pardon me, but I fear thy passion will be as fatal to the princess' happiness as the haughty prince's ambition.'
`Thou art a fearless speaker.'
`Because I love my mistress. My lord, she hath ever spoken well of you — because she never suspected what I have now, for the first time, discerned, that, under your modest and respectful demeanor in her presence, was concealed love.'
`It was concealed, maiden,' said the youthful noble, with feeling; `I have never breathed to mortal ear what thy woman's eye hath now discerned. I do love your mistress with a consuming passion. But, like a faithful subject, I have let it secretly prey upon my life, ere I would she should know it.'
`She hath never known it. Let her still be ignorant of it, my lord! If there had been a kindred feeling for thee, in her own bosom, it would long since have betrayed itself — for love in woman cannot be hid as in thy sex. She hath ever spoken of thee in the even voice of common discourse. If ever she praised thee, 't was in such terms as become a virgin princess speaking of a brave noble of the realm — a part of her empire, not of her heart.'
`I would she should not know it,' he said with ill-suppressed emotion.
`Thou art herein wise, noble duke, and showest thy devotion to the princess by this denial. I will not speak of it. Yet,' he said, detaining her as she was leaving him; `yet, maiden,' repeated he earnestly, `wilt thou, for pity of my love, speak to her of me, as if by accident, when thou art next in her presence, and by her manner of discourse, and by watching her cheek and eye, as thou dost skillfully, try the gauge of her heart — judge if there be room for thought of me in it.'
`I will do it for pity of thy passion. But thou dost trifle with thy noble-hearted feelings, my good lord, to let them waste thus in hopeless love. Thou knowest a princess may not espouse beneath her rank.'
`A princess — but not an empress.'
The maiden started, with a mingled look of astonishment and fear. `My lord!'
The noble smiled, and then said, in a low tone of confidence, taking her hand —
`Thou hast my life in thy hands. Serve me faithfully, and I will be thy friend.'
`My lord,' said she, with embarrassment, withdrawing her hand, `I will do what I can for thee. But, alas! I fear thy ruin from this thing. I would rather thou wert emperor than Prince Palipan. If the princess could but love thee!'
`She hath not been wooed. Love will beget love, maiden. What dost thou think?'
`She will never love thee, my lord,' said the Peruvian, firmly.
`I do fear so. Take, sweet angel, my suit in thy hands, and let me hear from thee if there be hope.'
`If not — thou wilt give her to Prince Palipan in revenge; wilt not?' she asked, with an arch smile.
`Nay — I can never, whatever the issue, seek other than the happiness of the fair and gentle princess. If she love me not, I will die to secure her happiness in her own way.'
`Even to placing Prince Palipan on the throne beside her?'
`Even this — even this! should she command me.'
`Then thou art worthy of her love. I will aid thee with all a woman's wit. I did think jealousy of the prince, and not my mistress' happiness, had influenced thee.'
`Thou didst most deeply wrong my love and honor, maiden.'
`My lord,' said a gay voice near him, at which the maiden took flight, and disappeared beyond an angle of the gallery; `thou art a successful suitor, if I may judge by the attention of ear of the fair Peruvian. She hath flown like a frighted bird. I shall ne'er get near her again for another favor, if such be already the fruit o' thy ear whispering.'
The young noble colored, and then laughed, as he passed his arm through that of the old Lord Vepotani, and led him, in deep discourse, towards a distant part of the palace.
When the prince quitted the apartments of the Princess Eylla with such menacing language on his lips, he strode through the range of gilded saloons that led to his quarter of the palace, with the quick, fiery tread of an enraged man. His hand was firmly grasped upon the hilt of his sword, as if he would have avenged his wrongs with it, yet felt he could not; while his brow was lowered and stern, and his lips compressed, with the struggle of the strong passions the decision of the princess had let loose. The attendant slaves that stood in the galleries trembled, as they fell submissively before him, with their faces to the pavement; while one or two courtiers that advanced a step as if to address him, retired from his path again in silence, and let him pass on uninterrupted. At length, as he was crossing a small court that separated the princess' apartments from his own scarcely less magnificent suite of chambers, a slave stepped forth from the shadow of a statue that had concealed him, and throwing himself on one knee, caught the fringe of his cloak. The impatient prince would have spurned him with his foot, and passed on, when his face arrested him.
`Is it thou, slave?' he demanded, in a tone as if his anger had found a suitable victim on which momentarily to vent itself.
`Gneicha, the Tlascalan,' answered the slave, with mingled boldness and submission.
`Why hast thou lingered? Thy head shall pay for it.'
`I have news.'
`Stand; and I would hear of that on which I sent thee. Didst thou get it?'
`'T is here, my prince,' he said, taking from the folds of his scarf a single white flower, of the most exquisite beauty, and presenting it to him.
`What didst thou call it?' asked the prince, gazing upon it with admiration.
`The otol. There are but seven trees in the empire, and each tree bears but a single flower.'
`The odor hath already filled the palace. Hath it surely the power thou didst promise for it?'
`It hath, prince.'
`If it fail, thy head shall answer it. I know thy race are skilled in magic, and are children of the Demon Mechoa. Who doth know of it save thyself?'
`The gardener.'
`And he is a Tlascalan?'
`He is my father, and a priest of Mechoa.'
`Thou art of an accursed race,' said the prince, with loathing; `nevertheless thou hast skill, and I must make use of it when love fails me. I would thou hadst brought it an hour since. But,' he added instantly afterward, `it may be best as it is. Take it to my chamber, and there await my coming. The fragrance is wonderful. Hath it no danger?'
`To none but maidens, prince. This flower the gods created for their own pleasure, and forbade the first man and woman to touch it, as it was sacred to them. Yet the woman, tempted by its fragrance, lingered about the otol tree till the Spirit Mechoa bade her pluck it, and place it on her forehead, promising her it would make her immortal. Forgetting that she was then immortal, she did so, and from that instant became mortal. The flower has ever since been sacred to Mechoa, and fatal to every virgin who, tempted by its beauty, places it in her bosom.'
`And placed on her heart, it creates irresistible love?'
`Yes, my prince, or death.'
`I have heard of the wonderful properties of the otol, but did hold it, as I half do now, but an idle tale. I will have present opportunity to test its peculiar virtue. Take it with thee, and await my coming.'
`I know not what relentless maiden, prince, you wish to punish —'
`Nay — silence! Thou hast had full license already.'
`I would tell thee, noble prince, of a maiden, fair as the brightest virgin the sun ever bore from the altar of sacrifice to his bridal chamber.'
`I have no humor for thy tale,' said the prince, though not so decidedly as to defeat the Tlascalan, who continued —
`She is the loveliest virgin in the empire. Her eyes are like stars, when the evening dews are falling; her cheeks like the roseate tinge of the summer sky that lingers when the sun hath set. Her lips are like the flower of the Fatziza tree, and the matchless statue of the goddess Vichu hath not more symmetry than her person. If thou hast heard the tsi singing to its mate in the groves of thy Hontal gardens, thou wilt best judge of her voice; and if thou hast seen the dark flow of the river Itsima at midnight, thou wilt know something of the hue of her wavy hair.'
`By the goddess Vichu! I must see this maiden. Who is she, and what is her degree?'
`A serf's daughter. She lives by the water, in the net-makers' street, and hath a lover who hath hot blood enough in him for a noble.'
`I did half guess it,' said the prince to himself. `Where hast thou seen her?'
`Within the hour, upon her balcony.'
`'T is the same! Why didst thou note her? What purpose hast thou in view here? I see the glitter of thy restless eye. Out with it.'
`I did, on discovering her charms, but offer her a flower of a bunch I had also gathered in the garden, when a youth, who was in converse with her, rudely seized me by the throat, and thrust me from the walk. I did then swear to avenge myself on both!'
`Tlascalan! I do find no man, not even a slave, doth good service for another unless self-interest lie to the bottom. I see that thy wrong will bind thee truer to my own purposes. I know this maiden, and love her — for never have my eyes looked on such beauty.'
`Not even the Princess Eylla,' said the slave, in an under tone of raillery.
`Name the Princess Eylla, vile slave, and I will slay thee,' cried the prince, angrily.
He walked away a few paces, as if under the influence of the feelings the words of the slave had rekindled. `This haughty princess,' he said to himself. `Yes, yes! I would have tried the virtue of this flower, which she hath never seen, and placed it in her bosom to kindle her cold affections into love for me! But that is past — that is past! She shall die! Then the throne! But the Emperor! He, too, shall cease to live! Then, then am I monarch! I will let this course be first tried ere I draw the sword of treason with which I menaced her. I might, if this otol have the power attributed to it, make her love me. But I scorn her love. She shall die!' The last words were spoken aloud, and in so determined a tone, that the Tlascalan started with surprise and fear.
`Thou dost mean the youth, prince,' he said, referring the words to another. `She is too fair for death.'
`Thou knowest not what thou art saying, Tlascalan,' said the prince, pleased that the eunuch was at fault. `But I need not thy service in this matter at present. I have already sent one to manage it for me. So, on thy life, meddle not with it. Nor dare avenge thy own wrong on this young bondman who seized thee by the throat. Higher revenge than thine hath appropriated this victim. Go, see to it. Go, now, and bear the flower to my chamber. I shall soon be there, and command thee further.'
The Tlascalan made a low obedience, and passed the prince in the direction of the entrance to his apartments.'
`There goes a useful villain to me! When Casipeti, the mascal of the palace, shall have brought the maiden hither, he will then do me good service. 'T is strange, now I think of it, this mascal should undertake this matter so readily; I knew not he was so ready to serve me, having himself some daughters, I am told, that are growing up to womanhood.'
`Save you, prince,' said a stout-built person, in a rich dress, half military, half civie, who crossed the court at the instant; and pausing as he went in front of him to make a dignified reverence, he was continuing on his way to an opposite door, when the prince, looking up, fixed his eyes upon him steadily, and then cried —
`Sir mascal, is it thou?'
`I am Casipeti, the mascal of the palace, at your service, your highness,' said the individual.
`When didst thou return to the palace, and wherefore hast thou delayed to visit me?'
`Return! your highness,' repeated the officer, with surprise.
`Nay, come aside, where the splashing of the fountain will drown our voices. I did forget we might be overheard, and do prejudice to thy character. '
`I do not understand your highness,' answered the officer, with some alarm.
`Art thou not Casipeti?'
`Yes, your highness.'
`Is not thy office that of steward of the palace?'
`It is, your highness.'
`Then why dost thou presume to trifle with me, fellow?'
`Nay, my noble prince,' cried the man, falling on his knees before him, and trembling; `I do not trifle with thee.'
`Did I not see thee, disguised at a waterman, in the square of the temple, at evening sacrifice?'
`No, my prince.'
`Didst thou not propose to me a scheme for my own pleasure and revenge, and proffer thy services?'
`Never, noble prince.'
`Didst thou not receive from me my signet, villain?' demanded the prince, laying his hand upon him.
`Never, merciful prince, never! I have not left the palace in three weeks.'
The prince gazed on his face for a few moments, with the penetrating and inquiring glance of suspicion, and then released him.
`Some one hath imposed on thee, my prince,' said the steward, rising, and shaking with fear.
`I do see it plainly, now I have looked at thee well. The man I took for thee had an eye thine would quail beneath. He had thy height and breadth of shoulder, and something of thy air; but thy slavish spirit and his bold one were not kindred, I'll be sworn. Go. Stay! Is there another of thy name in Mexico, who hath thy air and step?'
`One, I have heard, called Casipeti, the waterman.'
`It is he,' said the prince, decidedly. `Go about thy business — nor speak of what hath now passed.'
The mascal hastily availed himself of the permission to escape. The prince stood thoughtfully gazing upon the sparkling waters as they fell in the glancing moon-beams like showers of silver drops, into the basin near which he stood.
`I have been betrayed!' he cried, after a few moments' reflection. My signet is in a traitor's hands, and mischief will come of it. He hath some plan to save this maiden and her lover, and hath thought to keep me quiet until he had effected it. Yet why should he speak of an insurrection, in which, being a serf, he must of course bear a part. It was done, doubtless, to keep me near my troops. I see I have been a tool of this waterman. But nay, it may not have been the waterman, Casipeti, the mascal hath spoken of. It may be some noble who hath taken this means to beguile me of my beauteous prize. Whoever it be, I will defeat his schemes by under-taking, if not too late, my own affair in person. By the gods! I have just conceived a scheme that will punish this haughty princess! It shall be carried out, or I know not how to avenge myself on a disdainful woman.'
With these words the prince was proceeding towards his apartments, when a page, who had been sometime waiting at a distance, met him, and said hastily,
`The emperor begs leave to speak with your highness.'
The prince muttered an impatient word or two, and then followed him to the right, across the court. They descended a magnificent flight of marble stairs, every step adorned with the statue of a god, to a vast central rotunda below, the lofty roof of which was supported by three score columns of polished marble, seventy feet in height, while the architraves and compartments of the ceiling were adorned with beautifully sculptured imagery, interspersed with exquisite paintings, in the most brilliant and ever-during colors. Crossing this rotunda, the page led the prince to a low flight of semi-circular steps, that led to a pair of ivory doors inlaid with silver. These he threw open by the slightest touch, and then retired behind the prince, who entered and found himself in a large chamber of the most dazzling splendor. Its sides were lined with plates of Itzli, that multiplied his person a thousand times. Every panel was set in a gold border, and supported by two pillars of silver. The floor was laid with precious stones and the ceiling was covered with pearl. At the extremity of this room was a throne of solid gold, supported by two gigantic black eagles of polished ebony. Above the throne was a golden sun with rays composed of diamonds. On the left of the throne, which was vacant, was a couch or divan, of the most sumptuous description, covered with a canopy of azure silk, and hung with curtains of silver tissue. The emperor was reclining upon this couch, in a rich evening robe, a silken scarlet cap covering his white locks. Beside him, within reach of his hand, was laid his crown, which literally blazed with jewels. Upon it was laid his ivory sceptre, distinguished by a diamond of great size and wonderful brilliancy, playing in the lights with the most dazzling prismatic splendor. At a respectful distance around him knelt slaves in rich dresses, and on his left hand stood his prime minister, and two or three of the upper officers of his household. The emperor himself, appeared about sixty-five years of age, of commanding stature, and an aspect kingly. His features had been shaped by nature to wear a benevolent expression; but absolute power, and the unchecked indulgence of will and passion, had added to them a refined expression of cruelty, to the existence of which in his breast, his oppressive government but too well bore testimony. His eyes were stern and imperious in their character and sparkled black and fiercely beneath the gray, thick brows that shaded them. His lower lip was the least disagreeable feature of his face; it always seemed to wear a gentle smile, as if the lingering spirit of natural kindness, driven from point to point, had retreated there. His upper lip was ever curled with haughty imperiousness; so that his mouth seemed constantly to wear a double expression, which, save those diplomatic courtiers who had studied his face well and closely, was dangerously deceptive, as well as perplexing, to every one else who sought to guide his conduct from the temper of mind it seemed to indicate. And often was the cruel disappointment of a victim, whose hopes looking to the better, rested only on the smile, who was doomed to endure the bitter woe of a sentence he dreamt not of.
The prince entered with a free, careless step, as if he had purposely assumed it to disguise the sterner feelings of his bosom, and, approaching the emperor, half kneeled on one knee in the form of reverence, kissed his hand, and instantly resumed his erect attitude.
`I have not seen thee to-day, nephew,' said the emperor, with a smile; `doubtless Eylla hath made large claims on thy leisure.'
`I have seen the Princess Eylla but once to-day, your majesty, and then but for a brief space,' answered the prince, with a frown.
The emperor looked up sharply at this reply, and observing that his nephew's brow was disturbed, he waved those about him to retire. When he was alone with the prince he said gravely,
`I did send for thee, nephew, to talk with thee respecting this union I have so much at heart. When the cycle of my reign ends, I would have the throne at once receive its legitimate emperor and empress.'
`There need be but short conference then, your majesty,' said the prince bitterly. `The princess hath already settled this matter of espousal to her own liking, I doubt not.'
`Ha! is this thy humor?' said the emperor, laughing; `so thou hast had a lover's quarrel. Heed it not, prince! Matrimony will soon heal all such trifles. What hath the minx done to anger thee?'
`Your majesty,' answered Prince Palipan, with a kindling eye; `I do not feel that I can jest upon this subject. It may be mirth to your majesty, but it hath little that is merry in it for my humor.'
`By the gods' sceptre! then thou art in truth vexed! So, I am sorry. What hath come to pass?'
`The princess can best tell your majesty herself. I care not to speak of my own shame.'
`Now, by the black eagle of Aztec! I will know this matter from thy own lips,' cried the emperor imperatively. And he half rose from the couch to his feet.
`The princess, then, hath declined my suit.'
`And thou art making all this matter,' he said, sinking back again upon his pillow, and speaking in an indifferent tone, `because a silly girl hath said she cannot love thee. If thou wilt let a woman rule thee now, thou art not fit to rule an empire, nephew.'
`Your majesty, the Princess Eylla hath shown a strong and unconquerable dislike to me. She hates me, and hath this evening told me she will never consent to wed me.'
`And who asks the girl's consent, nephew,' said the emperor, in the same unmoved tone that so irritated the prince. `Thou hast mine .'
`She scorns me.'
`Pay her back with love.'
`She hath insulted me.'
`Avenge thyself upon the lips, then.'
`By the sacred Temple! your majesty is inclined to be facetious,' cried the youth fiercely. `I crave permission to take my leave.'
`Nay, stay, boy! There is something deeper in this than I had thought,' cried the emperor quickly. He then said in a serious tone,
`Tell me just what hath happened?'
`The Princess Eylla hath just said to me, in a way not to be misunderstood by any man in his senses, that she will never share the throne with her cousin, the Prince Palipan.'
`Doth she say it in truth and earnest? demanded the emperor with impetuosity. `Did you mark her eye, as well as her voice; for they sometimes, in woman, play at countercheck?'
`I did, your majesty,' answered the prince calmly, now that he had moved the emperor.
`And parted you thus?'
`We did, your majesty.'
`'T is passing wonderful. What did you, to anger her, prince?'
`Sing beneath her lattice a song, in praise of her beauty.'
`That's it. These are times when pretty women will anger at praise of their charms, as if, like the overloaded bee, they get sated with their own sweetness. Thou didst take her in this mood. Go to her while she is soured with her displeasure, and, my crown, she will listen to you, and be as well pleased as but now she was ill-pleased.'
Thus spoke the emperor, whose passionate fondness for his child would lead him to seek palliation for her treatment to the prince. He would not at once make up his mind to exert towards her that authority which he felt he held securely in reserve, and desired, if possible, to bring her to obedience to his wishes, without severity.
`May it please your majesty,' answered the prince decidedly, `I fully acquiesce in the princess' decision, and shall no longer trouble her with my presence.' And he paced the floor moodily.
`Say'st thou! By the gods! I have two of ye to deal with! Thy words rung well, but didst thou mean them?'
`I did, your majesty,' said the fiery prince. `The Princess Eylla hath wounded me beyond forgiveness. If she would now come forward, and plead for my hand, I would give it to her Peruvian slave Tzitzis first.'
`By the bright sun! young man, this speech had lost thee thy head, wert thou other than thou art. As it is, I have a mind to send both of you to prison, till you come to your senses. This hath become a serious matter! Treason in my own palace. My daughter and nephew traitors!'
`Your majesty, I am no traitor.'
`Thou dost refuse the hand of the princess.'
`She hath refused mine.
`She hath no power to do it. It is mine. And though thou dost not deserve it for thy hasty spirit, yet lest the empire fall to pieces for want of a head, I do give it to thee. She shall obey me.'
`The Princess Eylla, may obey thee, but the Prince Palipan is his own master.'
`Ho, guards! seize the traitor!' shouted the emperor.
Instantly issuing from a hitherto invisible recess in the rear of the throne, half a score of the emperor's body guards stood in his presence. Their captain looked silently at him and at the prince, and looking round and seeing no one else, asked,
`Whom, your majesty?'
The politic prince had, in the meanwhile, thrown himself upon one knee before the emperor, and said in a low tone, `pardon, uncle.' The emperor made no reply to the officer, but remained a moment silent and thoughtful. At length he waved his hand to the guards to retire.
`Go — not now! But shouldst thou hear me call again, delay not to ask who, but seize him, whoever he be, thou findest present with me.'
`Thy rank, prince, hath saved thee! Had they not hesitated, and laid the first finger on thee, thou shouldst have known the comforts of our imperial dungeon, and the cost of an emperor's anger. Thou dost repent, then?'
`I do.'
`Then leave me, for I am little in the mood for thy company. I shall send for my daughter, and have this matter put to rest. Beware how thou darest to trifle with me or her, as thou hast done this night. I would be alone.'
The emperor waved his hand impatiently as he spoke, and the prince took his leave, without offering the usual homage of the knee.
The emperor looked after him as he strode from the audience chamber, and shook his head.
`He will make a good monarch, but I fear me a bad husband for my poor Eylla. But the sacrifice must be made, both by herself and me. I would save her from it. But I cannot let the imperial line of the Aztecs end in my person. No — the princess must wed her cousin. I will send for her! Nay — I will visit her alone, in her own chamber. I would see her without the face she will make up to meet me with, if I send for her here. I would find her in her mood.'
With these words, the emperor rose from his couch, and leaning on the arm of his prime minister, who re-entered as soon as the prince departed, bade him proceed by a private gallery towards the apartments of the princess. '
[2] It would appear from the Aztec annals, that their monarchs reigned, each, exactly fifty-two years. But this singularity arose from a provision of their law, by which no monarch was suffered to reign for a greater or less period. If he completed the cycle upon the throne, he immediately resigned the crown, and another was elected; but if he died before the cycle expired, the nobles assumed the government, which they administered in the name of the deceased, during the remaining years. Ulyd ascended the throne at the age of fifteen, and being now nearly sixty-seven years of age, his cycle would shortly expire.
Montezuma remained sometime in deep and perplexed thought, after the departure of the conspirators, endeavoring to foresee the ultimate tendency of the revolt. His mind was vibrating between his regard for the princess, who he felt must be involved in the consequences, whatever they might be, and his love for his country.
`Brother,' said the soft voice of Fatziza, who, descending from her room, had stolen to his side after having for sometime tenderly watched the dark aspect of his countenance. `Brother,' was a second time repeated in still tenderer tones, before he looked up.
`Sister,' he said with a smile, touching her cheek playfully.
`Thank the gods for that word and smile!' she said, fervently. `I did believe another spirit than thine had possessed thy bosom. Thou art my brother again.'
`I am ever thy brother, dear Fatziza,' he said affectionately. `What dost thou wish?
`I scarcely know. Strange events are ripening all around, and evil seems to threaten those I love. Sismarqui hath come in and gone forth, hastily, and is mailed like a knight. The house has been thronged with deep-voiced, stern-looking men, and I have heard fearful talk of bloody contests, death, and conflagration. What hath happened, brother, and how art thou involved? '
`I will tell thee, sweet. Sit by me on this settle. Thou shalt hear, for thou art a sensible woman, as well as an affectionate sister, and will one day be a loving wife. Nay, blush not so quickly. I did speak of what should be each maiden's pride. Here is our father. He hath waked from his afternoon nap, to be in happy ignorance of all that hath transpired. Let him not hear it bluntly. He shall tell thee now what else I would have explained. I got it from him in my boyhood.'
As he spoke a venerable and dignified man, in the full vigor of green old age, with an erect figure and a firm countenance, entered from the shop in the rear.
`Good even, children!' he said kindly. `Thou hast had many of thy young friends in to see thee, son, judging by the noise of voices that at length drove sleep away. But 't is time I were up to supper.'
`'T is ready, father,' said Fatziza.
`First, sir,' said Montezuma, `tell Fatziza the tale of the origin of our empire. She hath heard it not from thee. I would she should hear it now for a certain reason.'
`'T is what thou shouldst know, daughter, that thou mayest worship rightly. Our race is descended from the Great Spirit, the sun, the creator of all things. After the world was filled with inhabitants, the people became so wicked, that Avandu ordered Tezpis, the only good man living, to build a ship on the mountain of Colhuacan, and dwell in it.'
`Nay, father, I am impatient. Speak of the Aztec,' said Montezuma, interrupting him.
`I will, son, I will, when I come to it. When Tezpis had got safely into the ship with his wife,' continued the old man, who related his story in his own way, `the sea came up suddenly over the whole earth, drowning every soul, and floating the ship upon the top of the mountain. After drifting about many months, Tezpis saw the sun appear, and heard the voice of the Great Spirit from it command the waters to withdraw. He then sent a vulture forth to see if he could find land. But the bird, finding dead bodies to feed on, did not return. He then sent an eagle; and then a humming-bird, which returned, holding in its beak a small branch covered with leaves. Tezpis then looked forth, and saw that the earth was verdant, and left his ship and sacrificed to the gods. After this he had fifteen sons, who, quarrelling one with the other, a dove brought them an olive branch having fifteen leaves, saying, if they plucked those they should never quarrel more. Each of the sons plucked a leaf and ate it, when, finding they spoke no longer intelligibly to one another's ears, they dispersed, each man his own way. The eldest of these sons was called Cohuala, and he spoke the only tongue of the fifteen the gods could understand. He grew to be a great nation, and, wandering over the earth, came into this country of Mexitla, and founded an empire.'
`And is the Emperor Ulyd descended from him?' asked Fatziza.
`No; but thou art, and all the Mexitili,' answered the net-maker. `The empire flourished under the favor of the Great Spirit for nearly a thousand years, and so peaceful and happy was the land, `that war and the art of war had been forgotten. Not a sword nor armor of offence or defence was known. We were a blessed nation, and the sun was our father and our benefactor. At length, an intractable nation of warriors, clad in steel, and whose trade was war, hearing of our happy country, poured from the north upon us, under their prince, Aztec, and conquered us, slaying our kings and all the royal family. This fierce conqueror was Aztec the First. His race has sat on the throne seven hundred years, and the descendants of his steelclad warriors are our nobility.'
`And what became of the original, happy race of Mexitili, father?' asked Fatziza, with interest.
`They became slaves to their new masters, and remain so to this day. I am one of them, daughter,' said the old man, with some feeling.
`And I am one,' repeated Montezuma, suddenly rising, and speaking with stern impetuosity. It is this I would have had my father tell thee, sister, that thou mightest know wherefore my brow is dark and my thoughts heavy. `This night,' and his voice was deep and solemn, `our ancient race are to rise in their strength, as one man, and throw off the yoke of their masters.'
`Son, what is this thou sayest?' cried the net-maker, with surprise, his eyes shining with delight.
`It is as I have told thee. Within the three hours thou hast been sleeping, old man, a nation has awaked from a sleep of centuries.'
`Brother, thou hast not roused the people?' cried Fatziza, laying her hand upon his arm.
`I have not, but the gods have! I am but their instrument.'
`And Sismarqui?' she gasped.
`Is another. We are banded together, we and those thou hast seen here, to deliver our country.'
`Son, dost thou speak truly?'
`In three hours thirty thousand Mexitili will be in arms. The revolt hath ripened into full fruit from the seed, without stalk or leaf.'
`I would I had a good sword!' cried the vigorous old man. `I would not be behind the best youth among ye.'
`Thou shalt have one, father. Sister, quell this rising fear in your bosom. Remember you are my sister, and for my sake be firm. Neither Sismarqui nor I will come to harm. Thou must wait at home here patiently the issue. Father, I am now going forth to mark the spirit of the people. I will return with arms for thee.'
`Do my old senses dream this? Am I awake? Hath it come at last?' he cried, as he embraced his son. `The gods go with thee, noble boy! Thou art worthy of the celestial race from which you sprung.'
Montezuma left the dwelling, and at the threshold met Casipeti entering.
`Casipeti, how goes the city?'
`The different quarters are well organized, and the most surprising unity and discipline seems to pervade all hearts. Every man will be at his post at the first glare of the signal light; and so well instructed are they, that if no signal should be given till dawn, not a foot till then would stir forth. I have in person visited each quarter.'
`I was going now for this very purpose. I do feel a new spirit burn in my bosom at this intelligence. I feel anxious about the citizens of the quarter of the Lapidaries. I have had no communication with them since the sun set, and fear they are indifferently organized. I will go thither now. Accompany me, good Casipeti? On my return I will look in upon the band of brave youth whom I have chosen to take possession with me first of the hill and Temple of War.'
`I would go with thee, Montezuma; but I came hither now but to tell thee, — what I forgot at our meeting, — take heed to thy fair sister.'
`Wherefore, Casipeti?'
`The masked knight who saluted her cheek is none other than the prince.
`How knowest thou this?'
`I will tell thee. I was witness to the fray, and followed the knight, inventing in my mind the while some plausible scheme to serve him, and my purpose to learn who he was, for twice hath the same knight, in different guises, — but I knew him by his steed and air, — been to my own dove-cote. I found occasion, after the sacrifice in the court of the temple, to draw near him, scarce with any formed design, save that I did intend to offer him my aid in prosecuting his amour.'
`With my sister?'
`Pardon, good youth; 't was to feel his pulse where I thought it throbbed the truest. He confessed his love and passion, and at once entered into my plans. Unskilled in deceit, I unintentionally gave him my name, Casipeti, when he demanded it, and he instantly asked if 't was Casipeti, my name-sake, the mascal of the palace. I stammered, yes, and he then frankly gave me his confidence. I promised to favor his views here, and the better to deceive him as to my person, for I thought he once suspected the cheat, I hinted of insurrection, and advised him to be on his guard.'
`This was rash.'
`I did not then think insurrection so near at hand, though hoping for it, or I should have been more guarded. But he will scarce heed it. At length I promised to bring thy sister captive to the palace; and he, to give me admission to his presence, took from his finger this signet and gave it me. He then lifted his mask, and I saw, to my surprise, what I had not suspected, that 't was the prince.'
`'T is indeed the prince's crest,' said Montezuma, surveying the gem. `Thou hast taken great liberties with my sister's name,' added the young man, in a slight tone of displeasure.
`Pardon me, for the honesty of my purpose toward thee and her. I did but practice with his own weapons, the better to foil him.'
`I see thy intention, Casipeti, and thank thee. This signet will be of use to us.'
`I have thought so. Its possession is the key to the palace.'
`Such was my thought, when you placed it in my hand. Take it, Casipeti, and use it as the night's events shall dictate.'
I have brought it hither to give to thee, as thou art our chosen leader, and should hold the power this gives thee.'
`Casipeti!' cried Montezuma, so suddenly as to cause his companion to start.
`I pray thee, what?'
`A thought has struck me. Hast ever seen this Casipeti of the palace?'
`Often — but not to speak.'
`Thou shouldst resemble him, to deceive the prince?'
`I do think so in height, and manner something. I once, in sport, tried on his captan, left at his tailor's near my shop, and it fitted me bravely.'
`Canst thou find, then, an entire suit of such garments as is worn by that officer?'
`I can, I think.'
`Then thou wilt serve our cause best by at once getting admittance to the palace with this signet, under such guise. There, in the best way thou canst, bring all the servitors over to our side. Methinks, were I a half hour within the palace under a safe disguise, I could get possession of it without striking a blow. This I desire to do, if possible. Go and see what thou canst do, and if in thy power play the mascal till the signal blaze.'
`If I meet the mascal himself?'
`Then trust to the gods and thy own wit. This signet was not given thee to no purpose. 'T is the key of the palace, and I intrust it to you. Haste, good Casipeti. If thou dost corrupt enough of the palace slaves to answer thy end, send me word.'
`If thou leave thy sister another day beneath thy roof, she is lost. The prince, trusting to me, will rest easy till to-morrow,' said Casipeti, as he left him.
`Another day,' said Montezuma, proudly, `Fatziza will be beneath protection, — in the grave or above it, — surrounded by a hundred thousand brave patriots, who dictate to emperors and nobles.'
He was about to reënter the dwelling to speak to Fatziza, and warn her to remain within, when the shadow of a man darkened the side-walk. He looked hastily up, and beheld a soldier approaching the house from the water, with the faltering step and inquiring air of one who is seeking some particular place to which he is a stranger. Montezuma awaited him, with his hand still upon the latch of the door.
`Is this the abode of Mahco, the net-maker?' demanded the soldier.
`It is. What would you with my father?' answered the young man, haughtily.
`Then thou art Montezuma, his son,' said Elec, quickly. `If thou art, I have an order to guide thee to the palace.'
`To the palace?' repeated Montezuma, with astonishment.
`Yes, master. But not to make love to any of the princess's pretty maids,— ah, oh, ah!'
`What dost thou mean?'
`I suppose you do n't think it much matter to kiss a maiden what is betrothed, and so do n't mind such trifles. I mind 'um.'
`Pray, what is your business with me?' demanded Montezuma, sternly.
`I have a message to thee from the princess — not from her maid.'
`What know I of her maid?'
`Thou hast kissed one o' them, by my buttons!'
`Thou art drunk with new wine, fellow. Take care of thy life, if thou proceedest further up the street, unless thou canst cry "tyrant, down!" to those who challenge thee.'
`Nay, master, I am not drunk,' said Elec, doggedly; `but I am jealous. I will settle this matter with thee another day. Come with me now, for I must hasten back.'
`Go, then.'
`But I must take thee with me?'
`Hath the princess sent for me, sayest thou?'
`She hath, master.'
`What proof have I of your truth?'
`This signet, which I was commanded to show you.'
The young man examined the gem by the light of the moon, and then seemed to deliberate for a few moments. At length, his thoughts were audible.
`There are nearly three hours to midnight. I will see the end of this. 'T is strange the princess should send for me. There may be treachery in it. Yet, should it be true, I dare not refuse to obey. Soldier!' he said, turning towards him abruptly, `lead on to the palace. I follow you. But, I warn you against treachery. You yourself will be the first victim.'
`There is no treachery on my part, master,' said Elec. `If there be treason any where, it be between thee and my sweetheart.'
`Lead on, to the bridge.'
`I came by a boat.'
`Then to the boat. I have little time for delay,' said Montezuma, imperatively.
The two men were soon seated in the boat, which shot swiftly on its way across the canal in the direction of the palace stairs.
The princess Eylla remained seated thoughtfully at her lattice, long after the prince had left her, with her eyes often turned towards the moonlit waters, with anxious expectation. She had quite forgotten him in the contemplation of her interview with the young man who had so singularly interested her. At length one of her female slaves entered from the anteroom, and said, in a low tone, as she stood at a distance: —
`The emperor, princess.'
`My father!' she involuntarily exclaimed, in the deepest confusion; `doth he come in anger, child?'
`He is now here,' answered the slave, disappearing; and, at the same instant, the emperor entered alone. The princess hastened towards him and affectionately kissed him on the forehead.
`Dearest father, I do feel honored with this kind visit. Thy cheek is pale. Art thou ill?'
`Nay — girl! I am better,' he said, with a smile, observing her anxiety. `I will sit with thee by thy lattice. 'T is long since we have conversed together, with the affairs of government drawing so largely upon the time I would else devote to thy sweet society.'
The princess conducted him to the seat which she had just vacated, and sat beside him, with her hand held in his. She was embarrassed. She felt that this visit was untimely, and had a deeper object in view than mere idle pastime. Her thoughts flew to the Prince, and then to the young citizen, for a solution of it. She could not fix upon any conjecture, and sat silent, and not without alarm, waiting for him to speak. She stole a glance at his face, and saw that, beneath all the paternal kindness his love for her had called up, there dwelt a seriousness that foreboded an interview the character of which she felt she could anticipate, and which she feared to encounter. If possible she determined to divest his mind of any thing touching herself and the prince, which she began to feel convinced weighed upon it, and said in a lively tone: —
`Father, shall I send for my dancing slaves, and let them entertain thee. They have learned some new and graceful steps since last you saw them.'
`Nay — daughter. I would rather be alone with thee,' said the emperor gravely.
`Wilt thou that I shall sing to thee. I know thou lovest to hear the song, composed by the lord Cuiri, to the evening star. See, it shines with a gentle, smiling beam, as if inviting our adoration.'
`Another time, another time, daughter. Why choosest thou songs of the lord Cuiri? where are those I did hear thee sing, composed by thy cousin?'
`I have not sung them of late,' answered the princess falteringly.
`Come, then, I will hear a song from thee of the prince's making. Thou didst once know many.'
`Indeed, father, I do confess I have forgotten them. I was a child then.'
`Forgotten them! Didst thou learn them as a child, to forget them as a bride? How is it the Duke Cuiri hath more favor with thee than the Prince Palipan?' demanded the emperor, something sharply.
`He hath not, father,' answered the princess sincerely.
`Then why dost thou bear his compositions in thy memory, and voluntarily offer to sing them to me, when thou canst ne'er recollect a line of the prince's, when I command thee to sing? How is this of Lord Cuiri?'
`Indeed, father,' cried the princess with pain, `I do not hold the Lord Cuiri in better favor than other nobles of the court. I did but think of his song at the moment, among many others of other knights. It was yonder star, to which it was addressed that brought it to mind.'
`So thou canst remember songs of Cuiri and other knights, but, when thou art asked for one of the prince's, who hath written many in thy praise, thou hast lost thy memory;' said the emperor with irony. `This, methinks, is passing strange, and thou betrothed to him, and now to become his wife. But, doubtless, fashions have changed with virgin princesses, since I wooed the empress, your mother.'
`My dear father!' cried the princess, casting herself at his feet. She tried to speak further, but utterance failed her, and burying her face in her hands, she laid her head upon his knee, and wept passionately, for a few moments, while he gazed down upon her in silence, with a countenance expressive of mingled sorrow and displeasure. At length she lifted her face to his, and said firmly, yet imploringly: —
`Father, if you love me, sacrifice me not. I can never love the prince.'
`I pray thee, child, calm thyself!' he said, taking her hands kindly.
`Save me, father!' she cried, still kneeling.
`Nay, rise up, my daughter. Let me talk with thee?'
`Not of him — no — no!'
`I command thee, rise up and listen to me,' said the emperor, in displeasure. `I love thee, and will do thee no wrong. I would talk with thee on this subject, which seems, all at once, so hateful!'
`No, not all at once; I have never loved the prince.'
`Yet thou hast endured him, and wert passive, at the least. Wherefore, then, all at once, this bitterness against him?'
`I have no bitterness towards the prince, father. I do honor him as my cousin.'
`This is folly. What hath occurred to-day between you? What hath he done, to make thee of thy present mood? What hath changed thee?' he interrogated.
`I cannot love him, father,' answered the perplexed and distressed princess, earnestly; for she could scarcely answer to herself the question.
`Dost thou love me?' he asked, in a tone of sudden tenderness.
`Indeed, I do, dear father.'
`Then, if thou canst not love him, and dost truly love me, as thou sayest, love him for the love you bear to me.'
`Father, I implore thee, do not make me miserable! I can never love the prince.'
`Be it so. Keep thy heart, and let him have thy hand. He will be content with even that, such is his love for thee.'
`He would be content without me altogether, sir, could he but get the throne,' answered the princess, with spirit.
`How mean you, child?'
`That the prince regards me but as the step which he must press beneath his foot, ere he can ascend to thy seat.'
`Thou dost judge thy cousin falsely, daughter! Some prejudice hath been placed in thy mind against him, and thou wouldst believe him guilty of every wrong!' said the emperor, with angry feelings. `Thou knowest my heart is set on thy union with thy cousin. The stability and preservation of the empire demand it. There is a prophecy, that when a female shall become heir to the Aztec throne, the sceptre shall pass into the hands of a slave.'
`Is there such a prophecy, father?' asked the princess, with surprise.
`It hath hung over our house for centuries;' answered the emperor, solemnly. Thou art the first woman of our race on whom the crown hath descended. It becomes me, therefore, to save the kingdom by the —'
`Sacrifice of thy child,' she said with feeling. `Father, 't is an idle tale! I love my country, but I love it too well to give its destiny into the hands of my cousin.'
`Daughter, will not thy love for me lead thee to obey me?' he asked, with affectionate entreaty.
`My dearest father,' she answered, fervently, while the tears flowed fast; `the gods know how much I love thee! Night and morning my prayers ascend with the smoke of the sacrifice, for blessings on thee. I willingly will lay down my life for you. Give the throne to thy nephew, if thou wilt, and offer me up a sacrifice on the altar of our deity, and I cheerfully yield myself the victim. But ask me not to wed prince Palipan.'
The emperor listened to this eloquent and painfully-thrilling appeal, and seemed to be deeply moved, while he wondered at the unconquerable aversion to the prince, which had suddenly taken possession of her soul. He saw that she was too firm in her purpose to be pressed further upon the subject now, and too full of feeling upon it to render it safe. He looked upon her a few moments in silence, while she kneeled before him, awaiting his decision, with a drooping head, flushed cheek, and tumultuous heaving of the heart, as if prepared to hear from his lips the sentence of the doom she had chosen. At length he bent over her, extended his arms, and lifted her to his heart.
`My dear Eylla,' he said, in the tenderest accents of sympathy, `I will not vex thy wounded spirit longer with this hateful theme. I could wish thy cousin dead, ere the mention of his name had given thee such sorrow. Kiss me.'
The maiden, who had been waiting for a burst of wrath from a displeased parent and angered monarch, was wholly overcome at this unexpected kindness, and fell, weeping, upon his neck.
`My own dear father, how can I repay this forbearance?'
`Ask thy own heart, my child,' he answered, in a low voice of tender reproof.
`Let me be a few days, sir — I know not what may transpire — it may be — that — that —' and tears checked her utterance.
`I will speak to thee no more of it,' said the emperor, with a smile of success. `I do leave all my heart's wish to thy filial love. Thou mayest sing to me now — that song of the lord Cuiri?'
`Indeed, father, I cannot sing.'
`Then go to bed, love. I will leave thee to repose.'
The emperor rose to go, when she caught his hand, and said, earnestly and solemnly: —
`Father, I feel thou dost hope too much. If any thing could win me, it would be the kindness I have this evening experienced. I have only bid thee wait, but not to hope.'
`I shall both wait and hope, sweet daughter,' he said, playfully. `But,' he added, confident that her love for him would overcome her dislike for the prince; `I do promise thee I will never mention thy cousin's name to thee again.'
With these words the emperor bade her good night, and quitted her apartment. As he returned to his own chamber, it was with confidence in the good sense and filial obedience of his daughter, and through these, of the ultimate success of his hopes. His knowledge of the avenues to Eylla's heart had led him to suppress his displeasure and indulge her when he deemed the severest censure and punishment were due. And he reëntered his apartments, assured that a few days' reflection, on the part of both the prince and the princess, would bring them to regard each other with more favor than ever, and ultimately, by their union, realize the long-cherished hopes he had formed for their happiness and the prosperity of the empire.
Eylla had scarcely time to collect her thoughts or compose her sad features, after the departure of her father, ere Tzitzis entered. Without a word, she stole softly to the feet of her mistress.
`Well, Tzitzis?' asked the princess, eagerly.
`He is without.'
`Whom didst thou send for him?'
`Elec.'
`Thy lover?'
The Peruvian colored, drummed on the floor with one of her pretty feet, and was silent.
`What said he, when bidden?' asked the princess.
`I asked not what he said to Elec; but when I received him at the court-stairs, I asked him if he knew who had sent for him to come to the palace?'
`And what answer made he?' demanded the princess, with quickness.
`He had come by the command of the fair princess, Eylla!'
`Said he fair?'
`He did, and much more words of praise of thee than it becometh me to repeat, or thee to hear. But I asked him, if the emperor had sent for him, if he would have come?'
`Thou wert forward? What answered he?'
`With much spirit, that he feared not to obey the emperor's commands, and so did speak some other words I would not the emperor had heard for any thing.'
`Go, bring him hither. I would speak with him at once.'
The Peruvian left the room, and the princess, who had seated herself upon a divan, arranged her robes in a more graceful manner, and with a palpitating heart, and an air of mingled majesty and condescension, prepared to receive the young man. The next moment the slave ushered him into her presence.
After Montezuma had entered the palace, he began to suspect treachery might be concealed beneath all this form of a message from the princess; and the light question put to him by the Peruvian, as to the supposition of having been sent for by the emperor, strengthened this idea. The part he had taken in the fray occurred to him then for the first time, so much had the thought of the princess filled his mind, and before he entered the wing occupied by her, he fully believed he was about to be led before the emperor. He made up his mind, therefore, to act with fearlessness, and to let his courage and self-possession retrieve his error in putting himself, the leader of the revolt, at such a crisis, in the power of his foe. As he entered the apartment of the princess, therefore, his port was haughty, and his eye flashed round defiance, as it seemed to seek out the person of the emperor; but seeing instead the lovely form of the princess before him, his whole bearing changed. The eye lost its fire and assumed a softer light; the lip its curl of haughty defiance, and his whole stern aspect and lofty port were converted into an air of devotion and gentleness; and he knelt reverently before her. The princess marked the instantaneous change, and a blush of gratified pleasure added to her loveliness. For a moment both were silent,— he, awed, as it were, with her wondrous beauty, and with the dignity of her presence, — she, bewildered with her own feelings. At length she summoned calmness, and said, in as cold a tone as she could assume, though her voice trembled,
`Thou art called Montezuma, the son of Mahco, the net-maker.
`I am the low-born slave thou hast named, lovely Princess Eylla,' he answered, with bitterness.
The princess marked his manner, and instinctively interpreted the feeling from which it sprung.
`Methinks,' she continued, in a voice that she meant should partake of indifference in its tones, `methinks thou wert the cause of certain tumults in the streets to-day.'
`Noble princess,' said Montezuma, lifting his face to hers, and addressing her in a firm and respectful tone, but in which she detected something of sadness, `inasmuch as you judge me to have done wrong, I do confess my error.'
`Nay — but didst thou not do wrong?' she said, gazing with admiration upon his fine, manly countenance, and again experiencing the same thrilling emotions in her bosom that the first sight of him from the chariot had caused.
`Pardon me, Princess Eylla,' he answered, firmly; `but neither I nor they who died to protect my poor life have done wrong against the tyrant.'
`Tyrant!' she cried, starting nearly to her feet.
`Forgive me, princess. I had forgotten, looking on thy gentle face, thou wert his daughter. But if I offend thee,' he added, with tenderness, `thou hast only to order me to the block. Death from thy hands were far better than life with thy father's foot upon my neck.'
`You are over-hasty, Montezuma,' said the princess, with a slight reproof. `I would ask of thee how, so young and of thy degree, thou hast now gained such influence over the hearts of men as I have this day witnessed? Who would die thus for the emperor? None.'
`The emperor, when he needs men's lives, takes them. Many men have died for the tyrant Ulyd; but not of their own will.'
`Ha! this to the daughter?'
`It should have been said to the sire.'
`Thy spirit is too quick. It becomes not thy station. If my father has injured thee, let me atone,' she said, in a touching tone of voice. `What can I do for thee? I can and do sympathize with thee.'
`Nay, speak not to me so gently, — I cannot bear it,' said the young man, with emotion.
The princess was moved, and looked on him with the deepest interest, as he buried his face in his hands, for the moment wholly overcome by the few kind words of sympathy she had uttered. The whole plan of conspiracy against her rushed like an overwhelming flood upon his mind. Suddenly he fell at her feet and cried,
`Your gentle sympathy, noble princess, has saved your father's empire, — perhaps his life.'
`Speak quickly — what mean you?' she cried, with the intensest alarm.
`I will confess all to thee, and avert the calamity, if possible, and then die, happy in the consciousness of not having struck the blow that would have made you wretched.'
`Speak, I implore thee!'
Montezuma glanced at the Peruvian, who remained near the door.
`Tzitzis, wait in the anteroom!' commanded the princess; and the next moment she was left alone with the young conspirator. Montezuma was for a few minutes silent, and paced the room several times, as if forgetful of her presence. At length he stopped before her and said:
`Gentle Princess Eylla, your image has ever been present to me in this matter, and bidding me spare the empire for thy sake. I had well nigh listened to it, and lived on a slave. To-night you have conquered. It may be too late to avert the blow, but I shall feel happy in having confessed to you my part in it.'
`I do pray you to speak, and let me learn the worst,' she intreated.
`Listen, princess, and forgive, for we have borne much from thy house. Thou knowest the wrongs, — yet do the twentieth part of them come not to thy ears, — that we endure from the nobles, and, pardon me, from the emperor.'
`I do; and my heart hath bled for the innocent.'
`There is not a Mexitilian slave of thy empire, that knows not thy sympathy. But, even thy gentleness could little avail us. We have endured until endurance is no longer a virtue, even in bondmen.'
`What new oppression hath fallen upon thee?'
`None other than is common to our condition, and to each passing day. I have long felt keenly the degradation of my race. Thou knowest, noble princess, that we once were a free and happy people; that we are now slaves to conquerors, and these are your father's house.'
`I know all this; but methinks this government should be regarded as thine own — 't is of many centuries standing.'
`Time can never sanction wrong. If your emperors had given us a portion of civil liberty, we should have been content, perhaps, to have endured their rule. But they have kept us in bondage. We hold no rights, not even that of our lives. The insolence of the nobles, and the blood-thirsty tyranny of the emperor, have at length roused the people to resistance. '
`To revolt?'
`At this moment, princess, there are thirty thousand men disciplined and marshalled, under daring leaders, who wait but a signal from me, to rise and overturn the present dynasty.'
`Traitorous slave!' cried the princess. `Ho! thou shalt die for it! Ho!'
And she was hastening towards the door to give the alarm, and call upon the palace guards to seize him, when, with gentle firmness, he caught her hand, and restrained her.
`Be angry with me, but hear me,' he said. `I swear to thee, princess, one word from thee will have power to allay this rebellion,' he said, boldly.
`Name it,' she said, suffering him to detain her.
`It is a promise.'
`Name it!'
`That you will not wed thy cousin, the Prince Palipan, but reign alone.'
`Ha! Is this the promise thou wouldst have, sir rebel?' said the princess, between pleasure and surprise.
`It is. The people, then, will hope to obtain from thy clemency what now they would have at the steel's point. And he loves thee not.'
`Thou art bold, sir.'
`It is thy goodness and my country's fate that makes me so.'
`What wouldst thou have beside my father's head?' she asked, sternly.
`No. I have told thee, lady, the elements of rebellion are in motion. Within two hours, the signal of revolt is to light the summit of the Temple of War, and before dawn half the city on the other side of the canal, with gates, armor, and military towers, will be in our hands.'
`Thou dost both terrify and fill me with resentment. What dost thou here, rebel, in the presence of thy princess? Wilt thou make me the first victim of thy rebellion?' And she stood before him with a proud and kindling eye.
`Nay, princess, I am here by thy command. I have heard thee speak, and thy voice has melted my soul. From the rebel chief, — who, two hours hence, was to shake the throne of the empire with the vast flood I was to let loose against it, — I am thy slave, obedient to thy slightest wish.'
He bent his knee before her, and seemed to await her commands. The princess walked the chamber rapidly, and was for some time silent. She then stopped and spoke. Her anger was gone, and grief, rather than displeasure, marked the intonations of her voice.
`I know, young man, thou and thy race have borne much. I have trembled at the contemplation of this very result. I had a prophetic intimation, that one day the injustice of the nobles and — and — I will be frank — and of my poor, misguided father, would fall back upon their own heads. This hour has now come. You are the instrument chosen by the gods to guide the event. I should be false to my own feelings, — to my own heart, — did I say I could do less than admire the noble spirit that burns in your bosom. I should feel like you were I in your condition. Though born a princess, I can feel with my subjects. But,' — and now her voice became firm and solemn, — `this evil must be stayed. `'T is not too late. Thou wilt, oh! thou wilt avert the destiny that hangs over my father's head!'
She clasped her hands together and implored him, with the silent eloquence of her tearful eyes. Montezuma was deeply affected. He pressed the princess's hand to his lips, and said fervently,
`I do call the gods to witness that, if in the power of mortal man to stay this revolt, it shall be done. I did purpose this, from the moment the sympathy of thy tone fell upon my heart. But, noble and dear princess, the people are in arms for privileges. My voice alone will not stay them. Let me bear to them the promise that what they seek they shall have, the day you ascend the throne.'
`What do they ask?'
`Liberty of lives and property. To be freemen, and not slaves.'
`How can I rule a nation of freemen?'
`By justice, gentleness, and mercy.'
`I do promise. Fly, and save the empire! Oh!' she cried, with eloquent distress, `avert this stroke, and I will bless thee!'
`It may be too late to suppress the revolt in every quarter, but I will try, or lose my life in the attempt.'
`Nay, — I beseech you, risk not your own life rashly,' she cried, earnestly.
`Dost thou care, then, princess, for the life of one so humble as I?' he asked, deeply moved.
`Thou art no longer humble. Thou art a leader of a nation seeking its freedom. The gods have ennobled thee.' And the eye and manner of the princess bore testimony to the existence of the feeling in her breast, to which she gave utterance.
`Alas! alas! what wrong have I been wilfully plotting against you?' he said, bitterly. `Oh, that I had met thee yesterday — had but known that so bright and glorious a spirit dwelt beside the throne of a tyrant. I do feel I have been warring against heaven.'
`'T is not too late to retrieve thy error, noble youth!' said the princess, unconsciously laying her hand upon his arm under the influence of the tender and pleased emotions his impassioned words had awakened. `I will at once send news to the emperor of this fearful storm ready to burst upon his head, and have him march troops at once to all parts that are immediately menaced. This will intimidate the insurgents, and perhaps prevent the revolt. What sayest thou?'
Montezuma turned away and walked across the apartment, and stood by the window, in deep and anxious thought. Conflicting feelings struggled for the mastery in his bosom. At one instant, his country's degradation held the upper place in his mind; the next, the beauty, gentleness and sympathy of the princess, governed him. He felt that this moment was the crisis of his life. It was either his country or the princess. There was no medium. He balanced his honor against his — love. Yes! the heart of Montezuma, of the serf and bondman! of the net-maker's son, was enslaved by the charms of the princess. He felt it, but dared not confess it to himself. But he felt that for her he was ready to make any sacrifice. `Shall I sacrifice my country?' was the naked question his honor put to him. `No,' was the faltering response. `Shall I sacrifice the princess?' `Never!' came strongly from the depth of his heart. He stood a moment like a statue, with his eyes fixed upon the floor, and her suggestion remained unanswered. `Shall I be a traitor to my friends and country?' His conscience thundered in his ears, `shall I be branded with infamy for my daring ambition, in presuming to lift my thoughts to the princess? Am I mad? Let me remember that I am Montezuma, the net-maker — a serf — a slave — a low-born bondman! What have I to do to let a princess, who would scorn and laugh at my feelings, did she know them, weigh against the love of the thousand hearts that are now beating with warm affection for me! Shall I be false for a phantom? Shall I be a traitor, because yonder fair star smiles upon me? Shall I dare woo it? Fool, fool! 'T is a temptation of the evil spirit! I will be true to my country, and strike the first blow for her liberty.'
`Montezuma!' spoke a sweet reproving voice near him, and he felt a soft hand gently placed within his own.
The blood rushed from his heart, and the strong man trembled like a leaf. He buried his face in the drapery of the window, and his chest heaved strongly and violently. That single word, like the charm of some skillful sorceress, had revolutionized his whole feelings. The princess had read rightly his thoughts, and she had obeyed the impulse of feelings she could not herself control, in approaching him. Her heart, she felt, had become his; and she felt that it was in vain longer to attempt to disguise from herself its condition. She knew, too, with all a woman's skill in reading the heart of man, that the youth loved her. She knew that love, the deepest and most worshipping, unknown to himself, governed every motion, every movement of his eye, every expression of his countenance. She therefore obeyed unhesitatingly the promptings of her own heart — for love knows no reasoning but its own impulses.
`Montezuma,' she repeated a second time, in tones that went to his heart. They were irresistible.
He fell down at her feet and cried, with the strongest emotion,
`Princess, I can but confess my daring passion, and prepare my mind for death.'
`Thou art forgiven, Montezuma,' she said, in a voice that made his heart leap with life. He lifted his bowed head and she met his glance of wondering delight, with a smile that told him he was loved.
`Do I dream? or hath my mad ambition turned my brain?' he said, pressing to his lips the hand she resigned to him.
`Nay, fair youth,' she said smiling, `if thou dost know not whether thou art sleeping or waking — 'T were best —'
`Pardon me — forgive me — this bliss is too exquisite to be real.'
`Montezuma,' she said, with a sweet dignity that became her. `I discovered thy love, closely, as you sought to hide it from yourself, beneath reverence and duty — but I had not detected it unless I had first felt a kindred interest in you.'
`In me, lady?'
`To-day,' she continued, with ingenuous frankness, `when I beheld thee in the conflict, in the street. Thy manly resistance to oppression, and thy proud spirit, kindled my own, which scarcely less than thine, spurns wrong and tyranny. I met thy grateful glance for my intercession, and, brave Montezuma, I felt from that moment, Heaven had formed us for each other.'
`Sweet Princess Eylla,' said Montezuma, with modest dignity. `I am unworthy.'
`Nay — thou art worthy,' she said, proudly and touchingly, `or the emperor's daughter would not have felt an interest in thee. When I look upon thee,' she said, surveying his noble person, `and remember thy courage and spirit, I do feel that it is not the princess that hath stooped to thy rank, but that the gods have elevated thee to hers. From this moment, let there be confidence between us. Those whose hearts are united by the will of the gods, should be but one in feeling. Whatever we may appear to each other in outward bearing before the world, Montezuma, from this moment we ourselves know no inequality. Forget thy birth and condition, for from this hour, my love ennobles thee.'
Montezuma listened to the spirited address of the lovely princess, and caught the spirit of her independent mind. Well worthy had nature made him, in face and form, to win a princess's regard, and richly had she filled the noble casket with the jewels of all that is bright and elevated in the human character. No sooner did Montezuma find that his love, — for such it was he now felt, that had from the first inflamed his regard for the princess, — was so singularly reciprocated, than his soul,—like the young eagle, which, nurtured by a water-fowl, all at once feeling his power and strength, suddenly expands his pinions and soars to his native skies, to burnish his wings in the sun, — rose with the first feeling of its original powers, to the native dignity of its true station. He was changed by her love, as if a spell had passed over his spirit. He rose freely to her regal height, and stood beside her — her equal. He forgot that he was a slave — he only remembered that her love had made him a prince. She saw the instant change that followed her words, and felt that she had not indeed descended from her station, but had placed her love on one most worthy to receive it.
`Princess,' he said, with a tone and manner singularly becoming the moral elevation to which love had raised him, while the deepest and most reverential love beamed in his eyes, `I knew not what bliss was in store for me. From this moment, my heart and life are yours. It shall be my study to make myself worthy of your regard. From this hour, I do identify myself with thy truest happiness — and should death tomorrow be the penalty of my ambitious love, I shall welcome it with joy, with the recollection that I have been loved by thee.'
`Nay, Montezuma,' said the princess with tenderness, `there will, I trust, be a better crowning to our love than death. Save to thyself and me, 't is secret and sacred. It should be thus, until the hour arrive when I shall call thee to my side. Let us in the meanwhile be happy in our mutual regard. From this hour I live only for thee! Thou hast won a true woman's heart,' she said, smiling upon him, `and thou wilt find love makes even a maiden bold, where her heart is given.
Montezuma, encouraged by her smile, and emboldened by his accepted love, pressed her unresistingly to his manly heart. For a moment both were silent under the weight of the feelings that naturally rushed upon their minds at such a moment. For an instant the princess' head dropped upon his shoulder, and tears of feeling started to her eyes. The thought that her woman's heart had found a refuge from the persecuting love of the prince, nearly overcame her. The lover pressed a light kiss upon her pure forehead, and truly felt himself above all men favored of the gods. Here was indeed a singular and most extraordinary spectacle to human eyes — a princess and a peasant, vowing to each other, love unchanging, love undying, love eternal! Here were two noble and congenial spirits that nature and fortune had sundered widely, brought together by the magical power of love. Well hath Maria del Occidente sung — `Nature never formed a soul Without its own peculiar mate.'
The princess was the first to speak.
`We have forgotten, in ourselves, noble Montezuma, the dark cloud ready to burst upon the empire,' she said, releasing herself blushingly from the support of his arm, and speaking with the spirit that became the startling theme.
`It shall be stayed,' he said resolutely.
`How?' she demanded eagerly.
`By my own influence, and the use of thy name.'
`Dost thou mean my promise to grant them all they desire?'
`I fear nothing else will save the empire,' he said, decidedly.
`Use it, then. Go! Shall not the emperor be told that he may strengthen the threatened posts?'
`It were best not. The troops, once in motion, would not rest until their thirsty swords were slaked in blood. Leave it to me, dearest Princess Eylla, nor be alarmed at any signal lights or uproar you may hear in the city. Some lives will doubtless have to be sacrificed, but it shall be quelled.'
`I do fear they will hold thee as a traitor, with the first word you utter, and sacrifice you to their vengeance,' she said, with anxious alarm.
`Fear not, dearest princess. I know the temper of my countrymen well. I pray thee be at peace, and trust all to me,' he said, preparing to go.
`The gods aid thee! I will indeed redress their wrongs when I have the throne! Oh that I could speak to them in person. My presence — my voice! it might allay the upheaving of this human sea!'
`Nay — believe me, princess, thy name alone shall appease it. Farewell. '
`Come hither, if thy life is spared, as soon as you can assure me the empire is safe. Alas, what evil hath my father's severe rule brought upon his own head! Take this signet. It will secure your readmission to the palace. Fly, now, ere it be already too late. 'T is within an hour of midnight. Oh that Heaven would return thee safely. My place will be at yonder altar, till thou come back and tell me the throne of my father's house is saved. Tzitzis! '
The Peruvian entered and knelt before her mistress.
`Rise, and reconduct this youth to the water. See thou address him not; and hasten thy return.'
Montezuma respectfully pressed to his lips the hand the princess extended towards him, and instantly left the apartment with his guide. The princess flew to a little altar near the window, and cast herself on her knees before it, and for sometime, gave indulgence to the rush of strange and new thoughts that agitated her bosom, rather than to devotion. How much had transpired since she knelt before that altar in the morning! How wonderful the revolution in her feelings. How sudden, bold, and effectual, had been Love's victory. A glance, interchanged with a peasant, had kindled admiration into tender interest. A few moments' interview had ripened interest into love, and her heart was no longer her own! How wonderful the power and dominion of love! No rank is too high for his daring aim; no degree too low, to which he will not stoop to launch his arrow.
Only a few minutes had elapsed after Montezuma had been taken in charge, on his first arrival at the palace with Elec, by the fair Peruvian slave, ere another boat appeared at the palace stairs. A single individual, richly dressed in some official costume, with his face carelessly half-concealed in his short cloak, leaped on shore, and, ascending the steps, crossed the moonlit court, to a gate, at the extremity, which led into the body of the palace. A sentinel was at the gate, who merely said as he passed by,
`Ah, master steward! Thou art abroad late.'
`I have great business on my hands, friend,' answered the officer; `mine is a weighty occupation.'
`It is, if I may judge by thyself. Methinks thou dost gain a pound of fat a day.'
`And thou dost lose a pound. This standing by the hour on cold stones, locked up in steel, is, methinks, no pastime. How, think you, the nobles would like it?'
`The nobles have no need. I am but a poor man-at-arms, and like must like with me.'
`Art thou an Aztec by birth?
`Ah, mascal, thou art merry. Am I a noble, forsooth?'
`Wouldst thou change places with one?'
`Aye, that would I.'
`Who bade thee stand here from morning till night, cased in armor?
`The captain, surely.'
`Who bade the captain hold the guard here?'
`His noble.'
`Who gave the noble his power?'
`The emperor.'
`And whence had the emperor his?'
`From the gods.'
`Thou dost lie, there, Huri,' boldly spoke a soldier, from a recess near him. `He got it by conquest, and has held it by tyranny.'
The stranger started with an exclamation of surprise and pleasure.
`It were well the emperor got not wind of thy speech, Baqueti,' said the soldier. `Ever since one of his guard took up on his spear-point thy little boy, because his shout had started his horse, thou hast been growling. Thou wilt have a spear thrust through thy tongue, yet.'
`Soldier, give me thine hand,' said the stranger, approaching; `I and thou are of one mind. When thou seest a flame rising on yonder hill of the temple, know that the days of the tyrant are ended.'
`Who art thou?' asked the soldier, drawing him aside to the moonlight. `Thou art not Casipeti, the mascal.'
`No. I am Casipeti, the slave.'
`I have heard of thee. Thou wert in my thoughts that moment you came up. What dost thou here?'
Casipeti saw he was to be fully trusted, and in a few words explained to him the conspiracy. `Now,' said he to him, `I leave you to persuade your comrade, and such of the guard as hold this gate, to join us.'
`I pledge my life to the cause,' answered the man firmly. `Whither go you now?'
`Into the palace, to feel the pulses of all its inmates that I fall in with.'
`Thou wilt find many that throb rightly,' said the soldier, as Casipeti passed on and entered upon the inner terrace of the palace.
He passed leisurely along the corridor, not forgetful of his assumed character, towards the battlement, where Tzitzis had met Elec. Ere he reached the winding steps, he was accosted by two or three servitors passing to and fro, and once or twice, from his ignorance of the affairs upon which they addressed him, he was in danger of betraying his true character. At length he reached the platform of the tower, where the sentinel was stationed. It was Elec himself, who had but a short time before relieved the post. A group of soldiers were near him.
`Bless me!' said one, `if here is not the mascal climbing the stairs for the first time in a twelvemonth.'
`Hast thou come up to shoot skylarks for the princess's dinner?' asked another, laughingly.
`Elec, he hath seen thy sweetheart here an hour since, and hath come up to make love to her,' added a third.
`Casipeti, an' thou hast come up hither for that, I will hold a quarrel with thee,' answered Elec, stoutly. `No man hath aught to say to her, but I have something to say to him.'
`Nay, good youth. I did come here but to hold a moment's discourse with thee and breathe the cool air, ere I went to bed for the night. A good bed for thee were better than a long night-watch. Nevertheless, I would I wore a soldier's sword for one good hour.'
`Wherefore, stout mascal? wherefore?' asked several, in tones of raillery, crowding around him as he stood, his features indistinctly seen in the shadow of the battlement that towered above their heads.
`Wherefore?' repeated the disguised waterman, stoutly; `that I might lay it down at the emperor's feet and say, — take that thou gavest me not.'
`He would be sure give it thee in thy body, an' thou didst,' answered Elec.
`How is it he gave it to thee not?' asked one of the soldiers.
`How can a man give that which is not his to give?'
`But,' said one of the soldiers, `the sword is the emperor's, with which he arms you — the power is his — you are his. Methinks you are in a fair way of cutting your own weasand with your sword.'
`These are dangerous words?' said another.
`Dangerous words!' echoed Elec; `shall I put him under arrest, comrades, for speaking such words against the emperor?'
`Nay,' said the first soldier. `The maseal hath taken wine, and come up here to cool himself. I advise thee, Casipeti, if thou keep thy mouth open the while, keep thy tongue still. These are words that it will do to talk to the thoughts, and not to the winds, to be borne on their wings to the ears of our masters.'
`What is thy name?' asked Casipeti of this man, eagerly, and speaking in a tone only to be heard by him he addressed.
`Hast thou forgotten Thenul?'
`Then thou art he I seek. Dost thou know a fellow-soldier called Baqueti?'
`Well.'
`Dost thou know well the mascal?'
`I could not paint thy face on canvass, sir steward, but I have seen it oft. Let me look at thee again, and I will know thee better, if thou desirest it.'
`Look at me well,' said Casipeti, advancing a step into the light of the moon, where it shone down upon the battlement between two turrets. He then threw back his cape, and looked the soldier steadily in the eye.
`By the beard of Hapu! thou art not the mascal?'
`No — hist! I am a friend of Baqueti. He bade me say this to thee. Dost thou understand me?'
`I do. But what is the fruit of this?'
`It matters not, if he and I and you have been wronged by the tyrant.'
`We shall be wronged again; and wherefore should we grieve? We are slaves, and must endure. 'T is dangerous to speak of this, and Baqueti hath been foolish to make the noise he hath done. He will lose his head.'
`There is redress for thee and him and me,' answered Casipeti, impressively.
`Who, then, art thou?' demanded the man, starting at the depth and earnestness of his voice.
`I am Casipeti, the waterman.'
`The same who struck the noble?'
`I am.'
`Thou art not safe here,' cried the soldier, with anxiety for his safety.
`I venture my life here for my country's good. Listen to me, for I see thy soul is rightly prepared for what I would pour into it.'
With these words, he led him further from the group of soldiers, and opened to him, as he had done to Baqueti, the whole conspiracy. Thenul listened to the spirited relation, and when he had ended, embraced him.
`Learn, brave Casipeti,' he said, impressively, `that my spirit, I know not how, hath had some intimation that liberty would yet visit us. It may have been the spirit of my twin-brother, who was wantonly slain by a displeased knight, that hath whispered it.'
`Wilt thou be answerable for this post,' asked Casipeti, `that it shall give admittance to such as Montezuma shall appoint to take possession of the palace?'
`It shall be on our side to a soldier. They need but little to bring them to turn their swords against the throne. Alas! the princess Eylla.'
`Alas! the sweet princess, indeed,' echoed Casipeti. `If she were alone upon the throne, she would grant her people liberty. Not a sword would be drawn against her. But there stand two between her, — the emperor, and the scarcely less tyrant, Prince Palipan.'
Thus speaking, Casipeti, feeling sure that two of the gates of the palace, and its principal entrances from the water-side, would be held by friends, to give the insurgents admittance, left the soldier, and assuming the gait and air of the steward, proceeded towards the interior of the palace by the vaulted corridor, through which the lovely Peravian slave had come to diliver the message of the princess to her lover. At the opposite extremity he beheld the courtiers Tzitzis had seen, still lounging in the central portico, through which it was necessary for him to pass to reach the head-quarters of the palace-guard beyond, one or two of the soldiers composing which were known to him. Covering more of his face with the ruff of his silken cloak, and pressing forward with the busy pace of one not wishing to be interrupted, he had got near the end of the gallery, when Sulukis, the jester, beholding him, hastened to meet him.
`Ah, good Casipeti, I am glad to see thee! The knights yonder will none o' my company, and ha' bid me go seek fools to talk with. The gods ha' sent thee to their bidding.'
`Nay, good sir fool, I am in haste.'
`Thou shouldst never be in a hurry, gossip,' said Sulukis, taking him by the cloak. `If thou art fat, — as thou art, — it maketh thee lean; if thou art lean, it but worketh the bones through the skin. It is bad before dinner, in that it taketh in wind upon the stomach; it is bad after dinner, in that it hindereth digestion. 'T is bad of a morning, because one should never begin the day in a hurry, lest he hurry through it; it is bad at night, as now, because —'
`I do pray thee, let me pass, good friend; I have business of moment,' said Casipeti, anxiously.
`Therein again thou showest thy folly. Thou shouldst have no business left undone at this hour. If't is business of moment, it should ha'been done earlier, and by neglect of it thou hast forfeited thy stewardship, and I will apply for it. If —'
`Do not detain me, fool!' said Casipeti, sternly, thrusting him aside, and endeavoring to pass on.
But Sulukis was too securely fastened to the waterman's cloak to be shaken off.
`How! gossip Casipeti! dost thou treat the emperor's friend and council thus? If thou hadst not lost thy wits thou wouldst keep friends with him who hath the emperor's ear,' said Sulukis, importantly. `Two words in it, and I'd hang thee. Say thou didst evil in thrusting me aside. Did not yonder knights bid me come and talk with thee?'
`If thou wilt talk, then come with me,' said Casipeti, desirous to get beyond the portico, into which the gallery led, trusting that in crossing it he should get rid of his annoyer in the crowd.
`Art thou going to give orders to the butler about the emperor's wine, to-morrow? '
`Yes, yes!'
`Then I am with you, gossip,' said the fool, delightedly. And thus saying he passed his arm familiarly through Casipeti's, and walked along with him.
The waterman hastened as they came among the courtiers, and strove, by keeping behind the columns, to avoid their notice. But Sulukis had no such motive in view, and as he came among them cried,
`Gramercy! gentle knights! I ha' caught a fool, an' he hath turned out a wise man.'
`How so, good fool?' asked the very nice and very youthful Count Arispe, whose gallantry had been defeated by the more skillful Peruvian maiden, walking up towards the pair, and gently, the while, fingering his incipient mustache. `Resolve that for us.'
`First, he is a fool, in that I found him making haste, and no wise man doth make haste, for reasons I have but now laid down to him for his future profiting.'
`And how turned he out a wise man? Have us that?'
`Not as thou art likely to do, gossip,' said Sulukis, pertly.
`How is that, Sulukis?'
`He said he would nothing with me, nor would he listen a word; and I had to hold him by his cloak to get the point o' his ear. Therefore hath he proved himself a wise man, by not earing to listen to a fool.'
`Go to, knave. Thou art more saucy than witless.'
`And there be knights o' the court more witless than saucy,' answered the jester, sharply.
`By the head of my father! I will lay my sword upon thy shoulders,' answered the youth, angrily, half unsheathing the weapon.
`Wouldst know, gentle knight, asked Sulukis, adroitly getting Casipeti between himself and the youth, `why he doth swear by the head o' his father?'
`Wherefore, fool?' cried the young nobles about him.
`Because he hath no beard o' his own to swear by.'
Sulukis had no sooner given utterance to this than, to escape theire of the fiery young man, he let go his hold of Casipeti, and made a leap in the opposite direction, but at the same instant bounded back with a yell of terror and surprise. Before him he had beheld advancing a second Casipeti, in all points the counterpart of the Casipeti he had just sprung from. He stood midway between the two, his head turning with the rapidity of lightning, from one to the other, while he seemed bewildered between ludicrous terror and the most perfect wonder. The waterman, whose situation before this had been sufficiently critical, was not much less surprised, though he had been in a degree prepared for such a denouément. The surprise of the surrounding courtiers was great, but the thorough astonishment of the mascal himself, who it was in proper person that chanced to cross the hall at that instant, may not be pictured. He stopped as if converted into a statue, and held up both his hands in speechless amazement. The other Casipeti did precisely the same thing, and betrayed equal amazement. Sulukis, at this, was thrown into an ecstasy of astonishment, and began to caper, first to one and then to the other, bowing and gesticulating in the most extraordinary manner. His little remaining wit seemed to have left him, and he appeared perfectly bewitched. The knights conceived it to be some privately understood masquerade, but were puzzled to distinguish which was the true Casipeti, the mascal. At length the fool found his tongue.
`Two fools, masters! Sulukis hath company! Two fools! Hi, hi! ho, ho! Are you gossip, or are you gossip? Was it you going to see the butler, or you going to see the butler?' And he turned, as he spoke, from one to the other, alternately, in the most ludicrous manner, while his face expressed mingled humor and fear.
`He is an impostor,' said the mascal, trembling with fear and rage. Thereupon Sulukis ran up and shook his fist in the waterman's face.
`He is an impostor,' repeated the other in the same tone. Sulukis returned and shook his fist in his face, with a menacing look.
`He lies!' cried the mascal, advancing a step.
`He lies!' cried his counterpart, also advancing a step.
`I am the true Casipeti,' said the mascal of the palace.
`I am the true Casipeti,' said the waterman.
`He hath stolen my robe and cloak,' cried Casipeti, the steward, approaching two steps nearer.
`He hath stolen my robe and cloak,' cried Casipeti, the waterman, also approaching two steps.
`What is this?' demanded an old nobleman, approaching; `a broil within the emperor's hearing! How is this? Is it thou? What art thou here for, sir mascal?'
His eye, as he spoke, rested alone on the waterman, the other being partly hidden by a column and the intervening persons of the amused and puzzled courtiers.
`The gods, having forgot to give Casipeti brains when they made him, have made another, and now neither know which is which,' said the jester. `Put me to the questioning o' them both, and I'll prove you the new one, and show if the gods ha' bettered their work.'
The noble beheld then the counterpart, and gazed from one to the other, with surprise. `What is this mummery?' he asked, sternly.
`My Lord,' said Casipeti, the waterman, `I know not, save that this good fool and I were walking together across the hall, when we encountered this impostor.'
`Yes, I'll swear to it. We were going to get the emperor's wine,' said Sulukis, decidedly.
`'T is false! my Lord Vepotani,' cried the other, with indignation. `I was coming from my own office to —'
`Listen not to him, my Lord,' said the waterman, in a bold tone. `I pray you have him punished.'
`He should be hanged!' cried the mascal. `I will appeal to the emperor. '
`Now, by mine honor, I do not know which of ye is the true man,' said Lord Vepotani, with perplexity.
`Leave me to test it, gossip?' said Sulukis; `I will show thee which is the ass, an' they be not both asses.'
`It is my opinion, my lord,' said one of the knights, pointing to the water-man, `that this is Casipeti, the true mascal.'
`Indeed, my Lord,' said the mascal, intreatingly, `I am the true Casipeti.'
`Friend,' said the waterman, who felt his situation had become by no means safe or pleasant, and who knew that only the most finished address and boldness could release him from it; `friend,' — and he approached close to his counterpart,—`I know that you think you are the true Casipeti, the mascal of the palace. But indeed you are deceived. You labor under one of those delusions that sometimes afflicts men's minds. Although you have, under this idea, assumed my dress and office, I will let it pass; and, as the injury is only mine, trust these noble knights will overlook it, if you will retire in peace.'
`But I am the mascal,' said the steward, faintly, actually beginning to question his own identity, seeing the cool decision and honest assurance of the other.
`I tell thee thou art under an illusion. If thou wilt go — go in peace. My Lord, I beg you will let him go unpunished. I do assure you he will in the morning come to his right mind. It is an unhappy hallucination, by which he mistaketh himself for another.'
The steward appeared perfectly bewildered. He looked down upon his habit, then examined one sleeve of his caftan, and then the other, surveyed his fingers, stroked his beard, and finally, as if perfectly satisfied of his proper identity, shook his head with a decided air.
`My lord, I am myself,' he said confidently.
`Wilt thou hang thyself,' said the fool, going up to him. `Hath not gossip convinced thee thou art a hallucination, which is something between a fool and a wise man?'
`Surely thou dost know me, good Sulukis,' said the mascal, coaxingly.
`Was I going with thee to the butler's just now to get me a cup o' the emperor's wine?'
`No.'
`Then thou art a hallucination. Condemn him, righteous lord Vepotani.'
`By the black eagle! I would not swear but both should be condemned. Who here present knoweth truly Casipeti, the mascal of the palace?'
While the latter part of this scene was passing, Montezuma, on his way from the princess, conducted by Tzitzis, had approached the head of the marble flight of stairs leading down to the hall. He at once detected the true position of affairs, and saw the imminent danger in which his friend and compatriot had involved himself.
`Tzitzis,' he said, pointing beneath to the group, `I pray thee, do me and yonder man a service. Go down and mingle with the crowd, and if opportunity offer to bear testimony to the true Casipeti, bear it against him thou knowest to be the mascal of the palace, and in favor of the other. Do me this service, and I will not forget thee. I trust to thy wit to get him free from the dilemma in which he seems placed.'
`It will be a falsehood,' she said, hesitating.
`Thou must use deceit to save his life, which else is forfeit.'
Tzitzis obeyed, and the next instant was standing, silent and unobserved, within a few feet of the old noble.
`If any one know the face of the mascal,' repeated he, `let him decide between the two.'
`I do know Casipeti, the mascal, as well as any one in the palace,' answered Tzitzis readily, presenting herself.
`Wilt thou abide by her decision?' asked the noble of the steward.
`Indeed I will,' said the steward, cheerfully. `If Tzitzis, whom I have known from a child, cannot judge between me and yonder impostor, I will believe I am under an illusion.'
`What sayest thou, pretty maiden?' asked the nobleman, pointing at the mascal. `Is that the steward of the palace?'
Tzitzis advanced towards him, and deliberately surveyed him from head to foot, Sulukis precisely imitating her. She then shook her head doubtingly, and approached and took off his green silk bonnet, and looked him long and earnestly in the face. She then replaced the cap, and again shook her head gravely. Sulukis made the same scrutiny of his features, jammed his cap down over his eyes, and also shook his head dubiously, though it was plain, from the peculiar expression about his mouth, that the fool knew well that he was the genuine Casipeti.
`My Lord, it is not Casipeti, the emperor's steward,' she said decidedly, and with a sober air of certainty that was irresistible and convincing, even to those who had thought they had really recognized the steward.
`My lord, there is not a hair o' his eye-brows that is the same color o' the true Casipeti,' said the fool, in his turn.
The wretched mascal clasped his hands together in despair, and seemed ready to fall to the ground; but his anxiety to learn the decision in the other case sustained him.
`Now, Tzitzis, approach this fellow's counterpart, and see if he be the mascal — for neither may be what he professes to be.'
The maiden advanced towards the waterman, who, after the judgment passed on the real official of the palace, began to feel a degree of confidence that enabled him cooly to prepare for the scrutiny. Though the resemblance between the two was sufficiently striking to render it easy, in similar dresses, to mistake one for the other, even by those in the habit of passing the mascal daily, yet when the two came to be compared, there was little trace of the general likeness. The mascal was very portly, with short gray locks and a full gray beard — while his face was exceedingly red, or of a bright ruby color. The waterman, who was similarly built, and broadly shaped about the shoulders, was far less portly, and had light brown hair, but slightly mixed with gray; while his complexion was browned by exposure to the winds and waves.
Tzitzis surveyed him from head to foot, as deliberately as she had done the counterpart to him, and then nodded her head very assuredly. Sulukis made the same careful survey, and also nodded his head with approbation. She then came up close to him, as he had done to the other, removed his silken cap, and looked closely in his face. She then turned to the nobleman, and said confidently and unhesitatingly,
`This is the mascal, my lord.'
`I will swear to him, cousin Vepotani,' said the jester, stoutly.
`Then let this fellow be seized,' cried the nobleman, sternly.
`My lord, my good lord,' cried the steward, falling on his knees, `I do beseech thee, mercy.
`Thou art an impostor. Away with him!'
`Send for my wife,' he added, in despair. `If she do not know me, then I were better hanged.'
`It were no test, my lord Vepotani,' cried the jester; `an she be a woman she will swear to him who is not her husband, that she may get a new one. Ne'er trust to a woman in such a matter, gossip.'
`Why art thou lingering here?' said Tzitzis, in an under tone, to the waterman. `Haste and leave the palace! All are now regarding the steward! Haste!'
The disguised waterman, taking advantage of the diversion she had created in his favor, slipped from the crowd, and following her, she conducted him to where Montezuma stood.
`Art thou here?' exclaimed Casipeti, with surprise.
`Come with me,' said Montezuma quickly and cautiously. `Lead on, maiden. It were time we left the palace.'
She conducted them by a private passage, to a small postern, opening into the court by the water side, and letting them forth, was closing it, when Montezuma arrested her hand.
`Sweet maiden, I will not forget thy good services to-night. Commend me to thy mistress, and tell her thou hast seen me safely to the portal, and that I go without delay, to obey her commands. I pr'y thee, show me the secret of this postern.'
`I dare not,' she said, laughing. `'T is known only to the princess and myself, and the emperor.'
`I have to return again to the palace to-night,' he continued, in a gently entreating tone.
`Then be it so. If the princess blame me —'
`I will take the censure, and shield thee.'
`Thou hast confidence in her grace, methinks,' she said, archly.
`Thou art too forward, pretty maiden,' he answered, in a similar tone. `Wilt comply with my wish?'
`I am afraid to — but I will.
She then showed to him a private slide, that covered a secret bolt shutting into the lintel, and explained to him its use. Then closing the postern upon them, she disappeared within.
`What hast thou done in the palace, Casipeti?' asked Montezuma, as they crossed the paved court in the shadows of a row of lime trees. `I have much to tell thee.'
`Why art thou here?' demanded Casipeti, in reply.
`Listen, my brave friend,' said Montezuma impressively, stopping beneath a tree that shaded the stairway to the water. `The Princess Eylla sent for me on account of my affray to-day, and her messenger conducted me secretly to her apartments, and was reconducting me to this spot, when I saw your difficulty with your counterpart, the mascal.'
`And did you thus, and at such a time, venture yourself in the palace?' asked Casipeti, with surprise.
`I did. I anticipated something, I knew not what, would grow out of it, favorable to our cause.'
`And what is the result?' asked the conspirator quickly.
`She received me with that sweet urbanity that hath won all hearts. Then spoke of our oppression by the nobles, and said she grieved at it, and mourned over her father's cruel and vindictive disposition.'
`And yet she is ready to betroth herself to a man no less cruel by nature, and whose breast is burning with a thousand imagined wrongs, to revenge upon the people.'
`Casipeti,' said Montezuma, solemnly and decidedly, `the princess will never wed with her cousin.'
`No?' exclaimed the conspirator with surprise and doubt. `'T is said, indeed, she loves him not. But the emperor hath commanded it. It is as settled as the throne itself.'
`If it be then by the emperor's command, and she love him not, good Casipeti, censure her not. But I tell thee that the princess hath said to me, she will never wed the prince.'
`To thee?'
`To me, who am unworthy to speak in her presence. Listen, but hold thy feelings. I unfolded to her the whole of our conspiracy.'
`Betrayed us?' cried the insurgent leader, with fierce surprise. `Traitor! '
`No, Casipeti,' answered Montezuma, calmly. `The princess spoke of our wrongs, and said she would redress them, when she came to the throne. I reminded her of her husband, the prince, who would then hold the power. Her eye flashed, and she said in the most spirited and decided manner, she would never espouse the prince; that the happiness of her subjects was too dear to her, and she would reign for them. At these words, Casipeti, I remembered what we were contemplating, and filled with remorse, and subdued by her gentle virtues, I cast myself at her feet, and told all.'
`Go on,' said Casipeti, who seemed to be struggling with the strongest emotion.
`She was overwhelmed with grief and terror. She demanded what we wanted. I told her — to be free.'
`What answered she?'
`That if I would stay the revolt in its birth, she would grant all we asked.'
`All?'
`Every thing that human liberty contends for.'
`Save her sceptre and her throne, her body-guard of nobles, and her whole imperial power,' answered Casipeti, with irony.
`Wouldst thou overthrow the throne, Casipeti? Was it not understood, that the empire should remain in unity, and only the chains that bound us to its wheels, be broken. Thou wouldst not live in anarchy?'
`No, Montezuma. If the power of the throne could be checked by a balance of power with the people, it might stand. This proposition of the princess should be considered.'
`There is but little time. It is either revolution and anarchy, or freedom, with a healthy government, Casipeti! I trust to your patriotism and wisdom in this crisis. If I get not your influence on the side I have espoused, I shall deeply grieve, and give up my country as lost: for I shall fear, indeed, that you love a dangerous power of your own creation, better than the true happiness of your country.'
`Montezuma,' cried Casipeti, embracing him, `you are right. I am with you in heart and hand. But I fear 't is too late to turn back the tide. 'T is near midnight. Let us hasten and see what can be done. If the gods give us bloodless liberty, then it will be far dearer to us. How shall we proceed? '
`Let us every where proclaim the princess' promise, and be ready to offer ourselves hostages for its performance. We have kindled the elements of conflagration — we must do our best to smother them, ere they burst into a blaze. What have you done in the palace?'
`Obtained many willing ears. I will hasten to the gates and battlements, and but whisper, we are discovered, and bid them keep all quiet. I will then follow you to the other side. I fear there will be more difficulty there than we imagine. Depend upon my faithfulness, and life, if need be — for I am convinced I should sacrifice it as much for my country in seeking to suppress, as if I should lose it in leading on the revolt. Farewell. The gods be with us.'
The two chiefs of the insurrection parted, and the next moment, Montezuma was in a boat on his way to the scene of revolt. It was now within less than an hour of midnight, and all the city seemed to be buried in deep repose. But as he approached the opposite shore at the foot of net-makers' street, he distinctly heard a low deep murmur, like that of bees disturbed in their hives. The waterman hastened towards the gate, to seek, by giving the alarm of the discovery of the conspiracy, to render harmless the seeds of it, he had there scattered.
As Tzitzis, on her return towards the apartments of the princess, came to the end of the gallery of the postern by which she had conducted Montezuma from the palace, the Tlascalan glided from behind a column of the corridor and confronted her.
`What dost thou want with me, Gueicha?' she said, shrinking with disgust and fear.
`The prince would speak with thee, pretty Peruvian!' he said, in an unpleasant and repulsive tone.
`Is it of moment?' she said, hastening to obey.
`I have but delivered his commands,' said the Tlascalan, gliding away with the noiseless step peculiar to his race, and disappearing in the shadows of the corridor beyond.
`I do tremble at meeting this fierce prince. He perhaps has heard or suspected something of what hath transpired to-night. Or it may be for the hundredth time to ask me of the state of the princess' heart, and why it is she loves him not. Indeed I could not love him.'
While these thoughts were passing through her mind, she was following the Tlascalan, and soon came to a door of polished ebony leading from the extremity of the corridor to the first of the suite of rooms occupied by the prince. Gueicha was waiting for her upon the step, and as she came near, entered first and held the leaf of the door open for her to pass in.
She found herself suddenly amid a resplendent blaze of lights reflected from panels of silver, that surrounded the ante-chamber. The floor was of ivory, curiously inlaid with ebony, and the arched ceiling overlaid with mother of pearl. On the farther side of the room was an alcove, the sides richly hung with silken tapestry, on which were pictured the conquests of the first Aztec king over the Mexitili. The Tlascalan silently pointed through this alcove into a larger apartment visible beyond, the walls of which were hung with rich armor and banners; while from the centre of the dome blazed a sun of virgin gold, supported by the extended pinions of the black eagle of the House of Aztec. The floor was overlaid with rich rugs to protect the feet of the occupant from the cold, polished marble.
The prince was reclining on a sort of divan of piled cushions, when she entered. He immediately rose as if expecting her, and smiling, advanced a step. But his smile was forced, his face was flushed, and his eye restless and stern. From the moment he had left the emperor, and reached his own room, he had been sternly pacing his apartments, thinking over his reception by the princess, and also his interview with the emperor. Schemes of guilty ambition floated uppermost in his revengeful thoughts. At one moment he burned with the fiercest resentment against the princess, and vowed her death. At another, his love for her overcame this feeling, and he again dwelt upon the union which the emperor had so much at heart. The idea of seizing the throne, and establishing himself upon it by the power he could summon as commander of half the imperial army, at length, after various struggles, got, and seemed likely to maintain, the ascendency. The beauty, and virtues, and the hereditary rights of the princess, pleaded to his generosity, to his honor, and to his heart; but he had only to remember that she had scorned his love, to make the tottering fabric of his vicious ambition settle more firmly upon its base. The age and paternal kindness of the emperor, and his dearest and long-cherished hopes for the union of the cousins, and, through it, the perpetuity of the empire, also pleaded loudly for a hearing. But he excused his treason by accusing the emperor of wishing to make him emperor only as the tool of his own imperial ambition, and not for any love he entertained for him. At length, he conceived and matured his purpose. It will develop itself.
`No, no,' he cried, casting himself, wearied, upon the divan; `I will neither be the father's tool, nor corner-stone of the daughter's throne. My haughty cousin shall repent her scorn of my true love. The blood of the Aztec race throbs in my pulse as well as hers. It shall be done! By tomorrow's dawn the Aztec blood shall flow alone in my veins. Gueicha!'
`Your highness.'
`Thou hast that otol flower?'
`It is in yonder vase, prince.'
`Let it remair. Come hither, closer.'
The slave knelt at his feet, in an attitude of the most servile submission to his will, and his glittering eye burned with the native evil lurking in his heart. He anticipated being the actor in wickedness, and his eyes, as he listened, wore unconsciously the look of a serpent's, as he prepares to uncoil his folds for the deadly spring.
`Gueicha, thou hast hitherto been faithful to me. Hadst thou not been, thou well knowest thou wouldst not be here to hear it. I now need subtilty, secrecy, and wisdom, as well as faithfulness. May I depend on thee?'
The Tlascalan bent his neck to the floor, and passed his hand across the back of it, in token of his willingness to lose his head if he proved otherwise.
`It is well,' said the prince; `but if thou fail me, sirrah, thy miserable life would not atone for the evil. Know, Gueicha, I have been scorned by the princess,' added the prince, as if accustomed to speak unreservedly to his slave.
The Tlascalan smiled inwardly, and a faint gleam of secret pleasure shone in his eyes. The prince detected it, and said,
`I know thy wicked spirit rejoiceth at this. Thy race are not like others. You alone feel delight in human woe and evil. Look less fiendish, I command thee!' he cried, fiercely, and with a half shudder, as he met a darker expression in his face. `I loathe thee, villain!'
`What of the princess?' said the unmoved slave, adroitly.
`Thou hast it. She hath refused my hand. She is lost to me forever.'
`Thou dost mean, thou hast lost the throne.'
`Thou art deeper than I took thee to be. If I abide by the princess' decision, I have lost the throne. But I do not intend to, worthy Gueicha,' he added, in a deep, sardonic tone. `Dost thou understand me?'
`No, prince.'
`Then thou art duller than an Ottomitish swineherd.'
`Thou wouldst not compel the princess to espouse thee?'
`Compel her? No, no! I would not wed her, slave, did she kneel at my feet as thou now art doing, and implore me to accept her hand and throne. Canst thou not divine my purpose?'
`Wouldst thou harm her?'
`Why dost falter? out with it.'
`Death?' whispered the Tlascalan, fearfully.
`Now thou hast it. Death!'
`And the emperor?'
`Death!' repeated the prince, in a low, stern voice.
`And the empire?'
`Will become mine,' cried the prince, with vindictive animation.
The Tlascalan was for a moment silent, under the weight of this disclosure, and then said, quietly.
`'T is well conceived, prince.'
`And shall be well executed. Thou must now know thy part in it. For the emperor, prepare me forthwith a subtle and invisible poison; I will mingle it with his wine. For my fair cousin, I have a less rude death.' And the prince cast his glance towards the vase of water that contained the otol in freshness and bloom.
`I did think it was but to excite affection,' said the Tlascalan.
`I sent for it for this purpose, Gueicha. But these later events with my haughty princess, have transpired since the sun set, and I now shall make use of it for its more fatal virtue. If it fail me, you lose your head.'
`My head, prince, is not mine, but thine. The virtue of the otol flower can never fail,' said the Tlascalan.
It shall be tested.'
In what manner?' asked the slave, alarmed.
`On the person of one of the princess's female slaves.'
`It exerts its virtue but once,' answered the Tlascalan.
`Is it so, ha?'
`So saith the legend.'
`It must be tried. I will pin my faith on no legend at such a crisis,' answered the prince, decidedly.
`I shall have to get another flower, then, for the princess,' said the slave.
`It cannot be got before morning.'
`But, noble prince, I told thee not how it was that it contained the principle of death.'
`Thou didst say,' said the prince, `that, placed but for one moment on a maiden's bosom, it would produce love, — laid there for awhile, death. Is it not thus?'
`It is, your highness.'
`Then, what mean you?'
`Permit me to bring the flower, and I will show your highness.'
`Go, and bring it hither,' commanded the prince, with curiosity.
The slave crossed the room, and carefully removed the otol from the vase, and brought it to him.
`'T is true, noble prince,' he said, `that this flower produces both love and death; but the principle of love is only inherent in the flower. Behold, coiled within the petals, like a green and gilded cup, a small, delicate, and wonderfully beautiful serpent.'
`I do,' exclaimed the prince, with admiration.
`This is the principle of death. Each of these flowers contains one such serpent. It appears to the unobserving a portion of the inner flower.'
`Wherefore didst thou not tell me this, villain? Wouldst thou have had me risk the princess' life, had I given it to her?'
`Pardon, your highness. I did believe you knew this property it possessed. '
`Not that there was a serpent in it.'
`This serpent, your highness, is harmless as the petal of the flower until warmed to life by contact with the bosom in which it is placed. It then becomes lively and most venomous, and in an instant strikes its needle-like sting into the breast that has warmed it into life. Instant languor ensues, and the victim falls insensibly into a sleep that knows no waking.
`Wonderful!' exclaimed the prince, gazing upon the beautiful and torpid animal. `Alas! the poor princess,' he said, in a light, bitter tone, which his words best describe; `thou wilt pierce a bosom, fair serpent, that my love has tried for years to penetrate. 'T is a rocky bosom, and thou must strike deep! Take back the flower, Gueicha! Thy hands will warm it into life too soon.'
`None but the warmth of a virgin's bosom hath the power to awake it from its lethargy.'
`It may be; but take care of it, and then come hither. Dost thou know the princess' Peruvian slave, Tzitzis?' he asked as the Tlascalan returned to him, after again depositing the flower in the vase.
`I do know her, and wish her as well as thou dost the princess.'
`Vile slave! dost thou name thyself with me, or her with the princess? cried the prince, angrily. `My free communication hath made thee forget thyself. By the gods! I will slay thee with my own hand.'
`Mercy, prince. I will not offend again,' pleaded the Tlascalan. `I do know the Peruvian.'
`Go and seek her; and if she can be found out of the apartment of her mistress, bid her come hither. Be speedy and secret.'
The Tlascalan left his princely master, and hastened to obey his commands.
`Ha! thou art come, then, pretty slave?' he said, rising from the divan, as he beheld the Peruvian maiden enter. `Come hither,' he added, returning and placing himself upon the seat from which, under the impulse of his feelings, he had involuntarily risen to meet her. `I have a word or two to say to thee. How fareth my royal cousin, thy mistress? I trust she is in her usual health and beauty. She was a something pale, when last I saw her.'
`She hath been sad of late,' answered the maiden, diffidently.
`What hath made her sad? Not love, I'll make oath, pretty one,' said the prince, lightly, and with a shade of irony in his voice.
`She is doubtless thinking of her bridal, sir,' answered the Peruvian, with much simplicity.
`Humph! Do maidens look sad at such times?'
`When they love not the one they are to wed, your highness?' replied Tzitzis, with such a just blending of artlessness and audacity in her voice and look, that the prince, after gazing fixedly upon her face for an instant, was undecided which to give credit for her speech.
`So, you think the princess hath little favor for me, Tzitzis?' he said, speaking in his usual tone.
`She hath never said a word to me, your highness,' answered the maiden, who had scarcely taken her large black eyes from the floor since she first entered the prince's apartments.
`You are an artful minx,' exclaimed the prince, petulantly. `Hath your mistress told you I honored her with a visit this evening?'
`She did not, my lord. I have been little with her. But I do remember I saw she had been weeping when I came in,' answered Tzitzis, with boldness so tempered by diffidence and real fear of the prince, that he knew not whether to get angry, or smile. He did both, however; and then, under the waning influence of the latter, said:
`Doth your mistress always weep after I have visited her?'
`Not always.'
`Not always. Does she sometimes?'
`Yes, your highness.'
`Come here; I would speak to you nearer. Hath the princess any one for whom she keeps her smiles?'
`She smiles on the emperor, and sometimes laughs with her pet birds, when they sing merrily.'
`You are as cautious as the prime minister. He feigns deafness, and you feign the most finished simplicity. Plainly; hath my cousin a favorite among the nobles of the court?'
`Among the nobles, your highness?' repeated the Peruvian, with an air of extreme surprise.
`Yes. The Lord Cuiri, for instance? I learn she hath called him once the court laureate.'
`She hath never thought of him, I can assure your highness,' replied Tzitzis, firmly.
`He hath writ her madrigals, and sung them to her as she walked the gardens, like a rustic swain?'
`A woman may hear songs and not much favor the singer,' said the maiden, dryly.
`Thou hast ne'er spoken, in thy life, truer word than that, Peruvian,' said the prince, quickly.
Tzitzis had unintentionally, and without aim, sent a shaft true to the butt. She made no reply, and the prince continued. `But she hath sung them, maiden?'
`So hath she sung thine, sir,' answered the slave, naively.
The prince bit his lip, and was for a moment silent. Tzitzis stole a glance to his face, and trembled at the expression that she saw at the instant upon it. He looked up, and caught her observing him, and instantly banished the dark aspect that had alarmed her, and said with a smile,
`I wonder no longer at the duplicity and art of the mistress, now that I have interrogated the maid. Pr'y thee, Tzitzis, doth my cousin love flowers when she is sad?'
`She loveth some flowers, sir.'
`What flowers doth she not love?'
`The llea and the colula, I believe.'
`The llea is crown-shaped, and the symbol of princely love; the colula signifies ambition, and is my maternal device, embossed on my shield. Thou art disposed to be witty, pretty one,' said the prince, darkly.
`Pardon, your highness,' said Tzitzis, with fear; `I meant no offence. But she would never have such flowers in her lattice.'
The prince forced a calmness of voice, and said,
`I would send my cousin a present of a rare and beauteous flower, if I thought she would accept it. I have sent for thee to bear it to her. We parted somewhat roughly this evening, and I would fain send her this in token of reconciliation. Thou wilt bear it to her with these words?'
`I will, your highness.'
`Tlascalan!' said the prince, and glanced with his eye towards the vase.
The slave brought the fatal flower, and, kneeling before the divan, presented it towards his master.
`Thou seest it. It is a beautiful flower, an emblem of her own unsullied purity.'
`It is, indeed,' said Tzitzis, gazing upon the pure, bell-shaped otol.
`With an outside like snow, its petals, thou seest, continued the prince, are lined, on the inner side, with delicate green, and deep within lies a fair circle, like a zone of gold bestrewn with emeralds.'
`It is, indeed, lovely,' cried the Peruvian, with delighted surprise.
`And its sweet fragrance, thou perceivest, is with the least motion wafted through the chamber.'
`I think the princess will accept this, your highness, if —' here she hesitated.
`If what? Speak it out.'
`If I tell her not it came from thee.'
The eyes of the prince betrayed the pleasure this thought gave him; for it harmonized most perfectly with his desire, if possible, to escape the princess' suspicion. But he was too politic to let his gratification be plainly seen.'
`No, no, Peruvian. Did I not say it was a gift of reconciliation? How can it be such, if she knows not that it was I that sent it?'
`I will tell her of it afterwards. It is a sweet and beautiful flower, and I would have my mistress see it; but, indeed, my lord prince —'
`Well—fear not.'
`She will not enjoy it if she knows it came from your highness.'
`I am flattered, truly,' said the prince, sarcastically. `Well, then, bear it to her, and tell her what tale thou wilt. But, Peruvian, thou hast incurred my displeasure this evening, and — nay, kneel not, nor turn pale — hear me. As the princess must not know from whose hand it comes, it is but fair I should know where it is to be placed.'
`How does your highness mean?'
`Place this flower, when the princess sleeps, in her bosom, for my sake. She will, I fear, never let the unhappy donor rest there. I desire, at least, that his little gift should lie there. It, perchance, will have the charm to convert her hate into love.'
The prince spoke with real or well assumed feeling, and Tzitzis' tender heart was moved.
`I will obey your highness,' she said, with warmth. `How long shall I let it remain?'
`Ten minutes will do,' said the Tlascalan.
`It shall be done, prince,' she said, hesitatingly.
`Then thou hast not only my forgiveness, but my favor. But beware thou take it not from the vase till she sleeps. Dost thou well heed me?'
`I do, your highness.'
`Then take the flower, and hie thee to my cruel mistress.'
`What is it called?' asked the maiden of-the prince, as the Tlascalan replaced it carefully in the small alabaster vase, and placed both in her hand.
`It hath no name,' answered the prince, hastily.
`It is called Curiosity,' answered the slave, with ridicule.
The Peruvian made no reply, save by an indignant flash from her dark eyes, and received the vase with the beautiful and fatal gift.
`See thou stay not on thy way, nor take it from the vase till the princess hath slept. Then lay it upon her bosom.'
`I promise to do so, your highness,' she said, hastening from the apartment. The prince attended her to the farther door of the anteroom, repeating his command; and after she departed, followed her with his eyes as she hastened along the corridor, until she was no longer visible.
`If that fail, there is the dagger, at last,' he said, returning to his room, not so much addressing the Tlascalan, as giving audible utterance of his thoughts to himself. `I think the Peruvian will do it. Gueicha!'
`Your highness.'
`I will not assassinate the emperor.'
`No?' cried the Tlascalan, with surprise.
`If the princess die, I take the throne as the next heir. My uncle stands not in my way to it.'
`If he suspect you of her death, he will gather the strength of the empire about him, even if his cycle be ended, and destroy you.'
`The secret is with me, and thee, and yonder Peruvian. She I leave to you. Let her not live to return from the princess' chamber. Thou must go, after midnight, and stand watch in some lurking-place near by, to wait the event. See to it. But, my uncle! I do not like his blood on my head.'
`Thou wilt not have a head three days longer, prince, if thou hesitate,' said the Tlascalan, boldly.
The prince stood reflecting a moment, and then said, in a decided voice,
`Be it so.'
`How canst thou, then, take possession of the throne?'
`The instant he is dead I will fill the palace with my own life-guard, and proclaim myself emperor. Men may talk, but all their talk will never bring the princess or the emperor back to life. I shall then be their monarch, and they must yield obedience.'
The prince remained some time indulging the reflections this bold expression of his purpose gave rise to. At length a new subject suddenly entered his mind, and he turned to his slave, and said quickly,
`This beauteous maiden of the net-maker's street. I have leisure for love till the princess' fate be known; the emperor I shall leave till then.'
`I did say I would seize and convey her hither.'
`Stay. I need thee to wait and keep watch on the princess' apartments. I will e'en have the winning of this lovely virgin in person. Let my secret chambers be ready to receive a guest.'
`And the lover?'
`He is beneath my regard, Tlascalan. I leave him to thee, inasmuch as I think you hold him some ill-favor.'
With these words the prince threw a mantle, woven of green feathers, over the rich undress he wore; put on a low, drooping cap, adorned with the plumes of the royal eagle, and placing a short sword beneath his arm, opened a side door hitherto covered by a large shield, and quitted the apartment.
On his way from his apartments through the palace, the prince glided within the shadows of the corridor with his cloak partly drawn over his features, as if to elude the observation of any one whom he might meet. His step was light and quick, and his whole air determined. He carefully avoided the rotunda, where the courtiers were in waiting before the door to the emperor's chambers, and by a circuitous route approached the stairs of the battlements, where Elec was on guard. As he came near him he saw that a group of soldiers, not far from his post, seemed to be in close and earnest conversation with the mascal of the palace. They instantly separated, on seeing a stranger advancing, and Casipeti, the waterman, having effected his purpose in smothering in its birth the treachery of the soldiers, would have hurriedly passed him, when he caught him by the arm.
`Ha! what dost thou here? Art thou the true mascal Casipeti, or an impostor? Methinks thy step is quicker, and thy bearing more decided than an hour ago.'
`I pray thee, my lord prince,' cried Casipeti, who immediately recognized the voice, and falling on his knees, as he felt sure his counterpart would have done, `be not angry with me.'
`Why art thou here with the soldiery?'
`Huitzil, the sergeant, is to marry Ana, my youngest daughter, and I was but settling the matter with him.'
`I do believe thou liest, and that thou art he, at last, to whom I gave my signet. But I will see to this to-morrow, and if thou hast been trifling with me, thou wilt rue it. Go into thy own apartment, and there remain the night. On thy life, tell no man thou hast seen me abroad.'
The waterman rose from his knees, and passed on a few steps, and then turning round, with a light laugh, cast something at the prince's feet, and fled. The prince sought for it a moment, and when he had picked it up, saw at a glance, by the light of the moon, that it was his own signet, which he had given, in the square, to the man in the guise of a waterman. With an exclamation of surprise and indignation, he grasped his sword, and turned in pursuit of the individual whom he was now convinced was not the mascal. But the waterman was already out of sight in the winding galleries of the palace; and recollecting, at the instant, his own desire to remain unknown, he replaced his sword beneath his arm, and, love and intrigue being paramount to curiosity and revenge, he kept on his way towards the stairs of the battlement leading into the court below.
`Stand!' challenged the sentinel, as he came up to him.
`An officer of the palace,' replied the prince.
`The countersign!' demanded the young man, resolutely, presenting at the same time his pike at the stranger's breast.
`The emperor.'
`Pass,' said young Elec, who showed himself to be a bolder soldier than wooer.
`Sentry?' asked the prince, in a low tone, `has the mascal of the palace been forth to-night?'
`He has, my lord,' answered the young man, supposing himself to be addressing one of the nobles.
`Are you sure it was he who just left here?'
`Yes, my lord.'
`How is it, that such as he has the countersign?'
`He gave no countersign, but showed me the prince's signet, saying he was on duty for his highness,' answered Elec, who had known nothing of the conspiracy divulged to his comrades.
`'T is as I believed,' said the prince, thoughtfully, to himself. `There is some treachery meditated, of which I am the intended victim. Soldier!' he said, sternly, and disclosing his features, `I am Prince Palipan. This man is a traitor, disguised. Arrest him, if he attempt to repass your post. If he escape from the palace, your head shall answer for it. And, hark you! Keep secret, that you have seen me to-night.'
With this warning and menace, the prince hastily descended the winding steps of the tower, and gained the court below. It was bordered by lemon-trees, which, with their thick branches, formed so dark a walk around its sides, that, although the moon poured a flood of unclouded light upon the court and its glittering fountains, one walking beneath them could not be seen. His object being secrecy, he turned to one side on reaching the area, and glided along beneath the trees with the stealthy step of an assassin. The path wound round an angle of the wing occupied by the princess, and as he came beneath her lattice he paused an instant, and, though it was thirty feet above his head, looked up, as if he could learn by the eye something of the result of his design through the mission of Tzitzis. A faint ray of light streamed through the casement, but all was still as the death his soul wished would soon reign there.
`At length, he was passing on with the same light step as before, when, within a few feet of him, on the opposite side of the buttress, he heard the low, thrumming of a zitzil, one of the sweetest stringed instruments known to the Aztee nobles, and the instant afterwards the deep, rich voice of a man singing a song of love. It was addressed to the princess, and every tone was full of the devotion and tender passion of the singer.
SONG OF LORD CUIRI TO EYLLA. I dreamed, in morning's slumbers, That in the heavens afar, Glowing with beauty, bright and clear, There was a queenly star, That from its vaulted canopy Looked kindly smiling down on me. That virgin star! to view it My frame and spirit fired With passion's maddening extasy, And all my soul aspired To gain that gem on Night's calm brow, When, lo! it changed, and it was Thou!The bosom of the prince burned with mingled jealousy and rage. The voice, he thought, was not unknown to him; and, drawing his sword from his cloak, he turned back, and noiselessly approached the spot. Beneath a tall, graceful atl tree, the feathery top of which shaded her casement, stood a youth, with his face uplifted to the window as he sang, the moonlight streaming between the branches full upon it. It was the young Lord Cuiri. The prince gazed on him for an instant, with the fiercest passions kindling in his breast. At length, maddened by the words he sung, he leaped from his covert, and, with his sword levelled at the noble youth's heart, ran against him. The weapon met a coat of mail, and shivered in his grasp. The noble staggered back a few paces, then recovered himself, drew his sword, and looked around for his antagonist. But he was gone.
The prince, seeing that his attempt on the life of his rival had failed, had instantly retired within the impenetrable shade of the lemon-walk, and hasted on his way towards the water-side with flying speed. He did not desire, by open contact, unarmed too, as he now was, to expose himself to his rival at such a time, inwardly resolving on the morrow to take his revenge in his own hands.
`It is for this noble, then, that the false princess has slighted my love,' were his thoughts. `It is for one beneath her rank she rejects one of her own blood. That she loves him, and has given him encouragement, is plain, or he would never have had the boldness to do what he hath done this night. Pray the gods she live till I cast this into her teeth. My Lord Cuiri, you and I have somewhat to do with each other on the morrow,' he added, with the bitter irony of tone in which he was accustomed to express the darker passions of his soul. As he came to the side of the bright water, its shores of palaces and temples casting vast shadows into the flood, its silvery bosom covered with a thousand still barges, save here and there a solitary one moving up or down the stream, he paused an instant, to see if he were observed, and then approached a small boat, shaped like a swan, in which, hitherto unobserved, reclined four men.
`It is he,' cried one, rising up in the stern. Instantly two others were at their oars, and a fourth sprung on shore, to receive the prince. This one, who was a stout, heavily-framed man, was habited in steel, like a soldier, as also was he who stood up in the stern. The other two were in the common blue and crimson-colored coarse garb of boatmen.
`We did begin to think you had missed us, your highness,' said the man, with equal respect and boldness.
`I have been detained, good Mictlan. Push off at once.'
The prince sprung into the boat, and in a few seconds, was moving swiftly across the water, towards the quarter of the net-maker's street.
Fatziza, the lovely bondmaiden, whose beauty, and indifference to his love, had inflamed the breast of the licentious prince, was alone in her brother's chamber. He had called in a moment, after his return from the palace, to bid her remain within, nor whatever commotion she might hear in the streets, to venture forth or to look abroad. He had just now parted from her, and left her in tears. The two dearest objects of her heart's affections, her brother and her lover, she knew, however they might attempt to disguise it from her, were in the greatest danger.
`He hath told me,' she said, `that the revolt will not take place — that the princess will grant all we desire, on her accession to the throne. Indeed, the sweet princess would do every thing for the happiness of her subjects — but Montezuma hath told me this to calm my fears. Alas, alas, why hath heaven so ordered it, that our hearts' dearest affections ever become the instruments of our greatest and bitterest sorrow! Deep love is but the arrow of deep grief, when the object of our love is endangered! My poor brother! my beloved Sismarqui! May the gods protect you both!'
She leaned her head upon her hand, and gazed sorrowfully upon the water. A boat gradually emerged from the shadowy line of the opposite shore, and approached towards the foot of the street. It filled her eye, and grew larger and more distinctly upon her vision; yet she saw it not. Men were in it, and their number and forms became visible, yet the object made no impression upon her brain. Her eyes were on vacancy, and her thoughts were sad, and with those she loved.
At length the boat darted from her unobserving gaze, into a recess of the shore, shaded by trees overhanging from a garden wall, and disappeared in the black shadows that obscured it. A single individual landed from the boat, and came into the street, near the house. It was the prince. He cautiously surveyed the dwelling, and approached the balcony, where he had seen the maiden seated in the afternoon. The moon shone down coldly and brightly aslant into it. It was silent and deserted. The street itself was quiet; but occasionally he would start at distant sounds within the town, that caused him to pause and listen. But as all was still about him, he continued his observation of the house. He placed his hand upon the low door beneath the balcony; but it was fast and resisted his strength.
`There is precaution here. I must scale the balcony! Ha! what sounds as of the roaring of the sea are there, in the distance! They have subsided. Perhaps it is the wind, mourning among the trees. There it is again! There is no wind! It sounds like the suppressed voices of a multitude!'
He listened attentively, with his face towards the quarter whence the deep sounds came, and in a few seconds all was silent again. As he was about to place his hand upon the light column of the balcony, his man-at-arms, Mictlan, came hastily from the boat.
`Your highness,' he said, in a low voice of surprise and alarm, as he reached the prince, `do you not hear strange sounds?'
`I did just now, but they are hushed,' answered the prince, again listening.
`I fear some tumult among the people.'
`They will have only each other's threats to cut,' said the prince, laughing. `There are no troops there to employ them. Yet,' he added, more seriously; `from what I have seen and heard this day, I should not be surprised if there were some attempt of the serfs to attack the garrisons. I hear it no longer. Be within call, and be ready to receive my charge, and push off at an instant's warning. There is something in those sounds more than I dare believe; nevertheless, I must not be driven from my purpose.'
He spoke in the prompt manner of one who suspects, but is indifferent to danger, and the soldier lounged slowly towards his boat, but keeping within sight. The prince then, taking another survey of the silent abode, assisted by the column, lightly ascended the balcony.
`I am within the works. Now to find my fair foe!'
He instantly dropped its curtain around it, to conceal himself from observation, and placed his hand upon the narrow door that led from it into the maiden's chamber. He gently pressed against it, but it resisted his steady strength.
`I would not break it in, lest I alarm where I wish to soothe,' he said, looking about for some other means to effect his object.
As he did so, he saw that the balcony communicated by a narrow terrace, with the water-side of the humble dwelling. He stepped lightly along it, and was passing around the angle of the building, when he suddenly arrested himself with a suppressed exclamation of delighted surprise. In the open casement of the room on that side, he beheld a round, white arm, shining in the moonlight, like turned ivory, supporting the cheek of the maiden. Her face was turned partly from him, presenting the outline of her profile, in all the softness of its exquisite finish. Her face was pensive, her eyes downcast, and he thought he could detect a tear, glittering on her check. He gazed with pleasure at the anticipation of success in his passion, but his heart was not untouched by her tender and gentle sorrow. He felt that she was far more lovely than he had imagined her to be, and that in the possession of her, he should be well repaid for any sacrifice. Twice he moved to approach her, but there was a holiness in her tearful beauty — a sacredness in her sorrow, that he dared not profane. His feelings, as he irresistibly lingered and gazed upon her, became still more and more interested, and love, or something tenderer and purer than the voluptuary's passion, that heretofore alone reigned in his bosom, was awakened in it. He continued to observe her for a few moments, and then drew back, as if intending to pursue a course in relation to her, different from that which he had at first contemplated. Casting his cloak upon the railing, and appearing in the rich and graceful dress he had worn in his own rooms, he placed his hat beneath his arm, and leaning forward to observe her, commenced, unseen by her, a song of the most touching tenderness. The air most sweetly harmonized with her feelings, and the words seemed spoken from the heart.
with, `that the dazzling diamond that now adorns the imperial diadem was found, seven centuries since, in the throat of a condor, which fell dead in the court of the palace. From the variety of its hues, and its sun-like splendor, it is supposed to have been brought from the glittering peak of Ix, the Star of the Burning Stone. As diamonds of this class are ever formed in pairs, it has been, it is well known, the ambition of numerous preceding emperors to obtain the mate to this; and it is estimated that more than a million of state's prisoners have perished in the course of ages, in endeavoring to purchase their forfeited lives by reaching the summit. Hitherto, no human foot has trodden it, and the diamond is yet unobtained. Now, inasmuch as Montezuma, son of Mahco, the net-maker, has been adjudged a traitor, he is hereby condemned to be conveyed from hence, closely guarded and in chains, to the foot of the mountain of Ix, and there released. If he do ascend the peak, and return again bringing the mate to this, or a diamond of equal size and beauty, he shall not only be pardoned for his treason and rebellion, but shall receive in marriage the Princess Eylla, and succeed the emperor on the throne. If he shall refuse to purchase life on these terms, he shall die the death by the axe of the executioner.'
`Long live the Emperor Ulyd, just and wise!'
Thrice the trumpets sounded when he had finished reading this proclamation: and amid the acclamations, murmurs of surprise, and adulating shouts of the audience of people, high above which rose the wild shriek of the princess, the emperor dissolved the assembled court, and retired with slow and stately dignity to his cabinet.
Night had scarcely began to veil the streets of the capital in gloom, when a private postern that gave access to the wing of the palace occupied by the princess, was cautiously opened, and a female figure came forth, with her mantilla, or huepilli, drawn closely about her form, and covering all her face, save one lively eye. But, with all her care, each passer-by knew her to be Tzitzis, the favorite slave of the Princess Eylla.
After surveying the ground about her, to see that she was not observed, she hastily darted across the street into the shadow of the temple, and crossing the bridge swiftly, pursued her way through many windings and across many squares, until she came to the ruins of the Axuzco palace. The moon was just rising as she reached it. With a hesitating, yet resolutely onward pace, she ascended the steps and entered the portal, and swiftly crossed the deserted hall. At its extremity she came to a low door, at which, after hesitating an instant, she knocked. A clear voice, of inexpressible sweet-was to fly; but his lowly attitude, his deep depression of manner, restrained her, though no longer detained by him. His releasing her operated also in his favor. She stopped, and from that instant the prince felt that his power over her was secured. He had at first determined to bear her off rudely to the palace; but the attitude in which he had beheld her first touched his heart, and changed his determination. He felt an interest in her that caused him at once to reject any thing like violence. This interest, as it ever does, made the object of it now sacred; he therefore resolved to try the power of gentleness, and to operate alone upon her heart, feeling, that if he could for an instant win her sympathy, he might awaken in her bosom an interest for him that would be most favorable to his views.
`If I can but make her feel,' he said within himself, reasoning like all successful wooers, `I shall afterwards find it easy to make her love me. Methinks her pure love were as well worth the seeking now that I have seen her again, as that of my proud cousin. But I shall have time to woo her only in my own halls. Once make the impression, and she will forgive me after. But take her away ere she feels awakened any interest in me, and I can never hope afterwards for aught but indignation and hatred.'
Such were his thoughts as he kneeled before her, with his head fallen upon his breast, like a suppliant for life awaiting the answer of his judge. She was evidently struggling between fear and feeling. At length the former prevailed, and she moved further from him, as if to quit the room. He lifted his head, and extended his hands silently and earnestly towards her. Her retreat was arrested by the silent appeal, and she came back a step. That step, the prince imagined, fixed the seal to the consummation of his fondest hopes.
`Noble sir,' she said, with dignity, `it is difficult for a youthful maiden, like myself, to witness, unmoved, the deep admiration of a noble youth. But I may not listen to you or remain with you. If I were free in heart and hand, the difference in our stations would make it crime in me to listen to you. As it is, I am a betrothed bride; and therefore it makes me doubly guilty.'
`Nay, leave me not, fairest virgin,' he cried, impassionedly, rising to his feet, and taking her hand, ere she was aware or could prevent it; `leave me not. I swear to you no man hath deeper or more devoted love for you than I have. You shall be my bride — my wedded wife.'
`Talk not thus, my lord; you know it cannot be,' she said, firmly.
`It shall be,' he said, imperatively.
She started at the stern tones of his voice, and became suddenly pale. The hand he held trembled like a frighted bird imprisoned in his grasp, and she seemed to be overcome by some sudden and fearful recollection. She nearly sunk to the floor, but by great exertion of mind sustained herself.
`What means this, trembler?' he asked, in a tone of tenderness as much unlike his late harsh ones, as his voice had been from the first moment she heard it on the balcony.
`My lord, my lord, I have been deceived,' she said, faintly. `Alas! why did I not suspect thee?'
`So you have discerned in me, pretty one, notwithstanding all my caution, the masked cavalier of this afternoon?' he said, playfully.
`My lord, you have come hither to render me miserable,' she cried. `I knew not your face. I recognized not, till now, your voice, or I should not have lingered.'
She instantly disappeared by a door hitherto unseen by Tzitzis, who remained with her heart throbbing between hope and fear. In a few minutes she returned, and put in her hands a small sealed package, saying—
`Place this in his hands, and leave the rest for manhood and lofty love to accomplish. I foretold him of this trial. He must first win the throne, and after prove his right to have inherited it. Depart speedily, as thou camest.'
Ere the Peruvian maiden could express her gratitude, or question as to the nature of the contents of the package, she had disappeared.
The succeding morning, a band of a thousand soldiers marched out of the northern gate of the city; their numbers serving rather to add dignity to their mission, than as necessary to guard the chained prisoner, who moved with a proud step and unbroken bearing in their centre. The first night they encamped within a league of the mountain. The youth slept in his guarded tent, and his dreams were of love and ambition; for a stout heart like his, that loved so truly, did not despair of success, even where his path was over the footsteps of a million who had gone before him, and left their bones bleaching on the mountain side. At midnight, his dreams of Eylla were disturbed by a slight touch on the shoulder. He started, opened his eyes, and beheld an indistinct figure gliding from the tent, without waking the tired and sleeping guards, who doubtless thought their prisoner's safety sufficiently secured by his heavy chains — and he, at the same moment, discovered that something had been left in his hand. Instinctively, he hastily concealed it in his bosom, and turning over with clanking chains, which roused his guardians, once more sank to slumber.
With the rising sun the camp was in motion, and, under a select guard of one hundred men, the prisoner was led to the foot of the mountain, and divested of his chains. Lord Esquitl then embraced him, for he had compassion on his youth and gentleness, and wishing him success, accompanied him a few paces on his way, and bade him farewell.
For the first two miles the ascent was comparatively easy. But at length the young man, of whom the soldiers never lost sight, reached the region of eternal snow, against which his dark form was but just relieved, appearing like a speck which, save that they had continued to keep it in their eye, could not have been detected.
When, after great hardship, Montezuma gained the region of eternal winter, the verge of which, far down the mountain, was artificially whitened with myriads of bleaching bones of those who had perished before him, but the sight of which made him no fainter hearted, he paused to survey the icy pyramid that pierced nearly a league higher into the skies, presenting to the eyes of those below one polished cone of glittering snow, crowned by the starry gem that had burned on its crest from the first day of creation. Notwithstanding the probable fatal end of the attempt, Montezuma, after gazing upward a while, and seeing many fissures in the sides of the glacier invisible to those below, resolved to make it. Lying down on the last spot of verdure to rest his weary limbs, he reposed for an hour, and then, with a bold spirit, and inspiring himself with the thought of the Princess Eylla, he began to scale the icy steep.
He had toiled two hours, and won but a twentieth part of his way, when, as overcome by the cold and exertion, he was about to admit into his mind despairing doubts of success, a small package fell from his bosom, and after sliding down a hundred feet, lodged in a deep cleft of the glacier. It recalled
`Oh Montezuma! Sismarqui! help!'
The prince cast her scarf over her face, and, leaping to the ground, bade him bear her to the boat. The men were at their oars, and, as soon as she was placed in it, the boat shot from the land towards the opposite shore with velocity. The maiden had fainted before reaching the boat, and they crossed the water in silence, the prince folding her in his arms, and gazing upon her marble brow with mingled pity and pleasure.
`Mictlan,' he said to his man-at-arms, `take a little water in thy hand and pour it on her temples. She may die.'
`Never fear, your highness,' said the man, bluntly; `I have seen 'um lay that way for hours. It's as nat'ral as sleep for 'um. Besides, if she come to, she'll give another alarm with her sweet voice.'
`It is very true. Row on, and reach the steps as soon as possible,' said the anxious prince, fanning her with his bonnet.
`Did you not hear a low, deep shout just now, as we were putting her in the boat?' said Mictlan. `It seemed as if a thousand men were growling at once.'
`I did hear it. There it is again. There is something in progress in the quarter of the armorers, from which direction it seems to come.'
`Do you see the diamond stone on the peak of Ix, your highness?' said the man, pointing over the city to the west, where the dark line of mountains that walled in the vale of Alcolo was distinctly visible.
`I do,' answered the prince, without lifting his gaze from the sweet, pale face that fascinated it.
`It burns red and bloody to-night. I noticed it an hour ago. It is a sign of wars. I should not be surprised if something were to happen soon.'
The prince looked up, at these words, and glanced his eye towards the peak of Ix. The blazing stone that reflected the moonlight did indeed seem to shine with a sanguinary hue, its color resembling that of a pale ruby.
`It is as you say,' he said, after watching it an instant, and then returning to survey the features of the maiden.
`It bodes something, your highness,' said the man, gloomily.
`Thou art superstitious, Mictlan. See, we approach the land. Guide the boat within yonder shadow, — then take up this lovely burden, and follow me.' The boat was soon at the palace steps, and the prince, taking his way by a different route from that by which he came forth, skirted the battlements by a narrow terrace, until he came quite to the rear of the palace, on a close street composed of courtier's lodges and pavilions, each adorned by marble porticos, and encircled by gardens of fruit and flowers. At the termination of the terrace was a small gate, that led into a court surrounded by a high wall. This gate he opened with a private key, and crossing the court, came to a door on the opposite side in the wall. This he unlocked also; but instead of leading through the wall, it opened upon a narrow staircase, that wound within it. Carefully closing it behind the man-at-arms, he led him to the top, where a second and more spacious door admitted them into a private gallery. This they traversed, when the prince stopped before a panel at the extremity, and pressed his hand against it. It rolled slowly aside into the wall, and exposed the interior of an elegant apartment, softly lighted by invisible lamps, which shed throughout the room a delightful fragrance. The prince pointed to an ottoman, upon which the man-at arms laid his lovely burden, and then retired by another door, with which he seemed familiar.
The day following the return of the troops that had conducted Montezuma to the Peak of Ix, a third embassy, from the Inca of Peru, who knew of the approaching accession of the princess, chanced to arrive at the court of the emperor, again to propose a union between her and the heir apparent to his throne. Under the existing circumstances, and in the mood in which the monarch was found by the embassy, the proposition, twice before declined, at once met with his approbation. The same objections he had formerly urged, ere he had decided on uniting her to her cousin, still remained, and occurred to his mind; but desirous of securing the princess from farther attachments of a like nature with that from which he believed he had rescued her, and anxious to have this question of succession settled, he did not hesitate to call the embassadors into his presence, and openly signified his consent to the proposed union. Having thus expressed his approbation, he sent for the princess to appear, and informing her of the proposal of the Inca, commanded her to prepare for the nuptials, to take place by proxy, on the day of her coronation, and also of the annual sacrifice to the Sun. The princess, to his surprise and pleasure, signified her consent and intention to obey her father! Faith was strong in her heart that Montezuma was safe, and she felt that there would be a diversion in her favor ere the fatal hour arrived. If not, she knew that she could die when all hope had expired! She quietly consented, received passively her father's embrace, and left the cabinet.
`Tzitzis,' she said, as she returned to her own apartment; `I shall in four days either be the bride of Montezuma on earth, or the companion of his bright spirit in the skies.'
`I do feel assured, my princess, that he is safe, and also victorious. I have not forgotten the words of that beautiful lady of moonlight. Believe me, he will soon return triumphant.'
`The gods grant it! but hope, maiden, hath nearly died,' she said, sadly. `I will prepare for this bridal, for if there be a bridal, and I the bride, the sovereign of my heart shall be the groom! I will be arrayed in my richest robes, and his hovering form shall receive to its arms a spirit-bride!'
`Oh, my sweet princess!' cried Tzitzis with fear, `thou wilt not take thy life, should he not appear to save you?'
`I said not what I would do, save that I would never become this Inca's bride,' she answered quickly and resolutely. Talk to me no more. I do feel sick at heart.'
The bridal day at length arrived. The throne-room, the proudest hall of the imperial palace, was gorgeously decked with banners and hangings of gold and crimson; innumerable stars composed of gems, blazed in the azure dome, in the midst of which was a sun of dazzling gold, the centre of a zodiac of the most brilliant mosaic of precious stones. The columns of the hall that supported the vaulted roof, were of single shafts of porphyry, resting on vast square pedestals of black marble. The pavement was inlaid with costly marbles of various hues, in the most beautiful manner. The
The Peruvian, on quitting the apartments of the prince, with the otol flower, flew swiftly towards the chamber of her mistress, from whom she had been so long absent. She liked not the manner of the prince, nor the tone of his voice, when he presented her with the gift to bear to the princess; and, though unsuspicious of danger lurking in the flower itself, she could not banish the suspicion that he meditated evil towards her mistress in taking so much pains to obtain a reconciliation with her. Nevertheless, she resolved to fulfil her promise, and afterwards warn her to be on her guard against future favors or advances from him.
`If he were my cousin and lover,' she said to herself, `I should be afraid to take any thing from him. I would n't show him the least favor. I should do more than the gentle princess has done; I should tell him roundly I did not like him, nor would I like him. She has said something sharp to him to-night, he says. It must have been very sharp to have caused a quarrel on both sides. All I hope is, it may never be made up, nor shall it be, if I can help it.'
Thus far ran the little maiden's thoughts, when she reached the inner door of the princess' room. She tapped softly, and was admitted. The princess was reclining on her couch, with a silver scroll in her hand, on which golden characters were delicately traced.
`Where have you loitered, girl?' she asked quickly, as she entered. `'T is half an hour since you left me. Saw you him safely forth the palace by the private postern?'
`I did, my noble mistress,' answered the slave, with a low obeisance.
The princess paused and glanced again upon her scroll, which she had been reading; for there was something in the Peruvian maid's look at the earnestness with which she inquired after the young man, that confused her; and the conscious blush heightened her loveliness. She felt her confusion, and throwing aside the scroll, asked suddenly,
`What do you hold in your hand?'
`A flower, sweet princess.'
`Bring it hither.'
The slave knelt with it at her feet.
`It is a rare flower, indeed. How wondrously beautiful the shape! What fragrance! How delicate its petals! and within is an exquisitely formed cup, of green and golden dyes. T' is a fair flower, indeed.'
`Touch it not, my princess,' said Tzitzis, quickly, as Eylla laid a finger gently upon the snowy petals.
`Why not, maiden?' she demanded, withdrawing her hand, and fixing upon her a look of surprise and inquiry.
`I believe it has some virtue,' answered the Peruvian, hesitating, `that makes maidens love those they hate,' for in some such warning alone could she but faintly express her fears of mischief.
`Then the gods forfend! I will naught with it,' exclaimed the princess, starting back with a laugh half earnest — half credulous. `How came you in the possession of so dangerous a plant? and why did you bring it hither?'
The throng of courtiers about the emperor gave way involuntarily. The foremost, on reaching the temple portal, instantly knelt before the monarch, uncovered his head with one hand, and with the other extended towards him a single diamond of wonderful size and beauty. Every eye that beheld it instantly acknowledged it to be the counterpart of that on the imperial crown.
`Montezuma!' cried a thousand tongues, both of cavalier and bondman.
`I am Montezuma,' was the reply of the young man, rising from his bended knee, and glancing proudly around.
The shouts restored the princess to consciousness — to joy — to life! She beheld him living whom she believed dead! She beheld him victorious where death had ever before been conqueror! She was too exquisitely happy to move — to speak. Her heart would have flown to his embrace, yet her eyes, as his softening glance fell on her for whom he had achieved so much, were the only messengers and indices of her overflowing joy and love she could command! The emperor gazed bewildered; he seemed to doubt the convincing evidence of his senses.
I have returned, your majesty,' he said, turning again towards the throne, and speaking with respectful modesty, `to claim the reward of my success;' and here his glance fell on the princess. `Behold the twin diamond to that in the imperial diadem upon thy brow.'
As he spoke, he elevated it aloft, in juxtaposition with that on the crown, and held it to every eye in full comparison. A general exclamation from the assembled courtiers acknowledged the resemblance. Montezuma then placed it in the hands of the monarch.
Without a word the emperor rose to his feet, and taking the hand of the trembling and joyful Eylla, he placed it in that of Montezuma. The heart of every one present, not even excepting the emperor himself, as thus the princely pair stood together before the throne, confessed that Nature had formed them for each other, though hitherto Fortune had placed them widely apart. The loud acclamations that hailed this act of the monarch ceased at a wave of his hand. He then thus addressed Montezuma,
`Take her, Montezuma the First! The word of an emperor is pledged and is redeemed! The deity hath destined thee to become the founder of a new dynasty of kings. Long may thy race live upon the throne, and peacefully reign!'
The high priest then advanced, and while they kneeled together before him, he anointed them with sacred oil, and then joining their hands, performed the simple rite that united them forever.
`May the deity bless you, my children,' he said, lifting above their heads his aged hands. `The spirit of prophecy tells me that a thousand years will be the end of thy empire! that the last of thy name shall become the slave to a warrior whose advance shall be with the rising sun, and whose coming shall be from a world unknown to us.'
The bride and bridegroom then rose to their feet, and faced the assembled multitude, while the skies shook with the acclamations that hailed their union.
`Now let the sacrifice be offered, for 't is high noon,' said the emperor. `I will then resign my crown and sceptre, and give to the service of the gods the residue of my life.'
The high priest waved a silver wand, and the temple was suddenly filled
`What do you suspect, my noble princess?' asked the maiden, with alarm, on witnessing the glowing cheek of her mistress.
`I cannot tell — I dare not think. I may be wrong, and judge him. Place the vase here. The fragrance is too sweet and the flower too fresh to contain poison,' she said, examining without touching it.
`Poison?' repeated the Peruvian, with terror.
`Did he hold it himself in his hands?' she asked of the maiden.
`A long time.'
`Did he inhale the fragrance?'
`He did, and so did the Tlascalan.'
`Then I fear I have been uncharitable to my cousin. Send thy companion, Telitza, hither.'
Tzitzis left the apartment, and the princess once more bent over the vase and examined the beautiful gift of the prince, with mingled admiration and suspicion.
`I know not what all this means,' she said, aloud. `It is not courtesy; for after our parting he would be little likely to show it me. It is not to open the way for a reconciliation, (though a flower, as every one knows, were ever to me a most welcome messenger,) or why should he have been willing to let the donor's name be withheld. It hath something evil at the bottom of it. Perhaps it possesses the power Tzitzis spoke of, to convert indifference into love. I will at least test it. There is plainly — horrible though! but it will not out of my mind — no poison in its fragrance or touch, or they would not have held it. I will test its power to charm a maiden's heart, — for such purpose alone can he have sent it to me. Shame on the Prince Palipan! to seek by spells to win a true woman's love. I will prove its power at once — and, if it be proven — the whole empire shall ring with the baseness of this dishonorable prince. Not a maiden in all the land, but would cry shame on such a man; not a knight or serf but would deride such a princely wooer. Here comes my pretty Telitza. She hath been suddenly waked from deep sleep, and her large, lustrous eyes, look wild with the surprise and light.'
As she spoke, Tzitzis entered with a young Peruvian girl, who had scarcely reached her seventeenth summer, with a brown, beautiful face, and long and shining raven hair. Her figure was full and exquisitely rounded, and in its motions soft and pliant as those of the gracefully moving tapir of her own forests. Her large black eyes wore a startled look, like an alarmed deer's, while every other instant the heavy lids, on which sleep sat heavily, would droop over them till the curved fringe would rest on her cheek. She was of less stature than Tzitzis, and her beauty was far less spirituelle. The princess smiled to see her struggling between sleep and wakefulness, and said, kindly,
`Come hither, Telitza. I would show you a rare flower.'
The maiden's languor suddenly left her at the sound of her mistress' voice, and going forward, she kneeled beside the vase, and gazed upon the otol with an expression of admiration.
`Telitza,' said the princess, carelessly, `methinks you and the handsome page of my lord Cuiri are of late somewhat estranged. Hath there been a quarrel?'
`I never loved him enough to quarrel with him, my princess,' said the slave, blushing.
`Then my cousin and I should have well loved,' she said, aside. `But, empire of the Mexitili, which, for the sins of its kings, hath been punished for seven hundred years. The book of destiny is sealed again for a thousand years! Then new gods shall be worshipped on thy altars, and temples shall be dedicated to a virgin, instead of condemning her, a victim upon its altars. Priest! behold thy sacrifice. Heaven receive the oblation!'
Instantly the altar-pyre was supernaturally enveloped in lambent flame, which, after burning a moment, separated from the altar, and ascended with her, as it were, a chariot with eagles towards the sun, till lost to the eye in the dazzling glory of its noon-tide blaze.
The emperor then turning to Montezuma, said,
`Noble prince! May Heaven, that hath so many centuries kept your race in exile and obscurity, preserve you now that they have restored you to the throne. Thy sister is full fair,' he said, as the rescued virgin threw herself upon Montezuma's neck. `This Sismarqui should prove at least noble now.'
`I will make him noble, your majesty,' said Montezuma. `Come hither, Sismarqui. There is my sister's hand. Kneel both, and let the high priest perform for thee the kind office he hath done for me.'
One tremulous moment of mingled awe and delight, kneeling together, hand in hand, beneath the uplifted hands of the priest, repaid both for all past suffering.
`Now, we will return to the throne-room, where I will resign my crown and sceptre to my children, and bury the vexing cares of state forever in oblivion.'
The throne-room again was thronged, presenting, with its assembled courtiers, a similar appearance to that which it exhibited before the procession moved to the temple. But now, the emperor was seated on his throne, with his sceptre in his right hand, and his crown upon his head. Montezuma and the princess were standing before it. Silence reigned over the multitude. The emperor rose with dignity from the throne, and descended three steps, and taking the princess by the hand, led her to it. He also conducted Montezuma, and placed him beside her. Then, kneeling down, he removed the crown from his head, and placed it, with his sceptre, upon a cushion before the throne. Elevating the cushion in his hands towards heaven, he said, solemnly,
`From thee, shade of my imperial sire, I received this diadem and sceptre. Behold, I have fulfilled my destiny. I now transmit them to the successor the gods have given me, even as I received them from thee.'
Thus speaking, he rose and put the crown upon the head of Montezuma, and placed the sceptre in his right hand.
`Receive, Montezuma the First, these symbols of empire. As I leave them to thee, as I received them from my predecessor, so keep them as a sacred trust to those who come after thee. May heaven bless thee, Emperor Montezuma and Empress Eylla, and make your reign long and prosperous. '
`Hail, Montezuma the First!' cried the assembled nobles, and the cry flew from palace to square, and from square to street, till the vast city rung with the universal acclamation.'
`Hail, Montezuma the First!' cried the knight, who had appeared before the temple with him, advancing to the throne. Kneeling down, he raised his visor, laid his drawn sword at the feet of the young emperor, and added, in a loud, firm voice,
`It is not the prince's voice,' said the maiden, archly.
`You speak as if you knew it, maiden?'
`Listen, my mistress. Do you not recognize it?'
`The song is one of love. 'T is bold! I know not the voice. It may be the — the — Montezuma,' she said, hesitatingly. `List!' she exclaimed, quickly, as a tender strain rose to her ear. `I know the song and voice, now. 'T is my lord Cuiri.'
`I thought it strange, my princess, that you should have forgotten the noble and youthful Lord Cuiri, who thinks more of a glance from your eye, or of your shadow, than the haughty and cold prince does of your whole person.'
`I am sorry for it,' said the princess, with interest. `The song hath suddenly ceased. Ha! there is a ringing sound of steel, and now of conflict. Look forth!' cried the princess, with alarm.
Tzitzis was already looking down upon the scene, when spoken to, and cried, with surprise and indignation,
`I saw, my noble lady, the singer set upon by some one, who rushed from the lemon walk, and thrust at him with his sword. The sword broke against his mail, and the assassin has fled.'
`Hath my lord come to harm? Quick — tell me!'
`No, my lady,' answered the maiden, again looking down. `He staggered at the blow, but hath recovered himself, and now seeks the assassin.'
`Pray heaven, they meet not. 'T is the prince.'
`I thought so, but dared not speak it.'
`It can be none else.'
`There sounds the zitzil again,' cried the Peruvian, with delight. `Look, my lady! he hath returned, and taken his place at the foot of the tree, and resumes his song. A gallant knight, and brave. I do believe my lord Cuiri, besides being the handsomest man, the first noble, and the best knight in the empire, hath a truer and gentler heart, for a wooer, than any man in Mexico. Hark! my princess. How sweetly he sings, and how tenderly.'
SERENADE. [CONTINUED.] Thou beautiful and peerless, It was upon thy throne, That 'mid a world of rival queens, Didst rule the night alone, And with a radiance so divine, Their every ray was quenched in thine. I rose on fancy's pinions, To seek thy throne afar; But, lo! thy form was changed again, And thou wert now a star! Oh, that that peerless gem of light Would cheer again my spirit's night!`He is too bold maiden. Such words should not be addressed to a princess' ear from any noble. My lord Cuiri is too bold.'
`And he doth think so, it seems,' said the maiden, sadly, looking from the casement as the singer's voice ceased; `for he hath ended his song, and disappeared. His heart felt your displeasure.'
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him by this flower's aid. Let us see if it hath affected her aught in her sleep. Methinks, if it touched her dreams, and made her love Izcalli in them, she would wake.'
The princess approached, and knelt beside her as she spoke, and Tzitzis took her place near her. For a few moments, they watched her as she continued to sleep, with the deep and gentle respiration of an infant. The flower still lay there, like new fallen snow, upon her open bosom.
`It hath not harmed her. She sleeps like a child, that hath played itself weary. What is the time?'
`It hath been full ten minutes, your highness.'
`I will now take it from its sweet pillow, wake her, and see if the spell hath had its power. I do but have half faith in it, though I have heard of wondrous flowers with strange properties. There is one called, I think, the xical, that hath the power of bringing the dead to life, if held to the lips. There is another I have heard of called the otol, that hath some wondrous power, — I think, of death.
`Pray the gods this be not it,' cried the Peruvian, with anxiety.
`If it be, it at least hath failed to injure our sleepy Telitza, for the time is expired.'
With these words she bent over the maiden, and put forth her hand to remove the otol. As she did so, she thought she beheld the green and golden circle within it move and evolve, as if instinct with life. She looked a second time more closely, and then drew back her hand with an exclamation of surprise.
`Behold, Tzitzis! Do my own eyes deceive me?'
The Peruvian bent low over the flower, and the next moment started back with a cry of horror.
`It is a serpent, uncoiling itself.'
The princess, pale with fear and wonder, again looked into the flower, as it lay upon the gently rising and falling bosom of the Peruvian virgin, and did indeed, to her speechless horror and amazement, behold therein, instead of the beautiful little cup composed of minute concentric circles, a very small, slender serpent, with a needle-like tongue, moving within the petals with great rapidity. She perceived at once the fatal danger of the sleeper. But ere she could obey her first impulse to snatch the flower from her bosom, she saw the nimble little animal leave it for her breast, and thrice strike his sting deep into the bosom that had warmed it into life.
The flower instantly withered, and the serpent itself, coiling its graceful length upon the bloodless and scarce visible wounds it had made, at the same instant expired. The sleeper waked not, but sighed heavily; — smiled most sweetly for a moment, as if in a pleasant passage of some happy dream. Then a fearful shudder passed over her frame, and she was dead!
The princess and her attendant looked on with silent horror. The blood chilled in their veins. For several minutes neither could move nor speak. At length the princess slowly rose to her feet. She spake not a word. But grief, wonder, indignation, horror, were depicted on her pale and rigid visage. She stood awhile after she rose, and contemplated the victim as she lay at her feet. She felt the hapless Telitza had died in her stead. She saw before her the death she herself had wonderfully escaped. Tzitzis cast herself upon the ground, dissolved in tears, and then lifted her hands to heaven in gratitude for the princess' safety. The princess' heart was full. Tears would have come to her relief, also, but for the just vengeance that burned
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`I did not believe the prince, — wicked at heart, ambitious in soul as I knew him to be, — would have attempted such a thing as this. This is the way he would leap into the throne. Pray the gods, he hath not laid his hands on my father's life!'
She hastened towards the door of her apartment, as if she would fly to his chamber to see if he were in safety, when it opened, and Tzitzis, pale and trembling, ushered in the emperor, wrapped in his silken night-robe.
`My child, what is this alarm?' he cried, on beholding her flushed and indignant bearing.
`I have sent for thee, my father,' she said, assuming a calmness that she was far from feeling, `to ask thee if it is still thy purpose and wish that I should espouse the Prince Palipan, my cousin, and thy nephew?'
`Thou art a foolish child to call me hither at this hour to ask me what thou already knowest,' answered the emperor, displeased.
`Sit here, my father. I have a deeper reason than you conceive or scarcely will believe, when you come to know it, for sending for thee at this time. Nay — sit by me and hear me.'
`We are not alone,' said the emperor, struck by her impressive manner and deep voice of feeling.
`Tzitzis, child, retire to thy couch, if thou canst sleep. Be secret, as I have told thee, as to what thou hast seen. Nay, further, regard not the slave upon the floor, she sleeps too heavily to hear or heed.' `What wouldst thou say, my child? Thou art not well. Something hath disturbed thee.'
`My father,' she said, without regarding his words, `dost thou remember, in the history of your imperial line, there was an emperor who had twin sons?'
`I do. It was Acolhuatzin the Great, my seventh ancestor.'
`Which of those sons did he decree should possess his throne?'
`Both to be emperors equally.'
`Such was his decree; but what was the truth? Did not one twin, more ambitious than his brother, secretly slay him, that he might reign alone?'
`This is true, my child. But wherefore these questions?'
`Did he reign?' she asked, pointedly.
`No. The emperor slew him for the murder, and gave the throne to the heir of another branch.'
`Did the emperor well in slaying his own son?'
`All men have applauded his justice.'
`Wouldst thou have done the same, my father, had he been thy son?'
`Yes, child,' he said, sternly; `though thou thyself should have pleaded with tears for his life.'
`This is what I wish to know,' she said, with spirit, her eye lighting up with a smile of satisfaction.
`But what has this to do with the prince?'
`Thou knowest we had some difference the early part of the evening, and so parted.'
`Well.'
`An hour since he sent me, by my Peruvian slave, in this alabaster vase, a tall and stately flower.
`He hath, then, come to his senses,' said the monarch, pleased. `Thou didst accept it?'