CHAPTER XIX.
MONTEZUMA A CAPTIVE.
Seventeen souls had passed through fire to the realms beyond. Outraged justice was to be yet further insulted, buffeted, and trampled upon. During the burning of the Mexicans, Montezuma had been kept in irons. Fetters had been placed upon his ankles. Stupefied with grief and shame, he had uttered no protest, then he broke down utterly and wept; his spirit was entirely broken, the iron had entered his soul. His abasement was such, that when the tyrant entered his apartment to remove the irons, boasting of his clemency in not taking his life, Montezuma fell upon his neck with expressions of gratitude! Knowing that he had the king fully in his power, Cortez offered to allow him to return to his palace; but this he would not consent to do, well aware that the offer was insincere, and of the danger possible to his life from his incensed and disgusted nobles. Though constantly guarded, Montezuma was allowed to go wherever he liked; to the lake to fish for water-fowl, to the woods of Chapultepec to hunt, to the temple to consult his gods. Two vessels had been built, with iron from Vera Cruz and wood from the royal forests, and one day the king and his party went in them to an island in the lake kept as a preserve, where they had great sport with deer and rabbits, and enjoyed the swift sailing of the great boats, which left the Indian canoes far behind. The royal prisoner was kept amused by parades of the soldiers and by means of conversation with a page in the
