History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 1/Chapter 16

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XVI.

MEETING WITH MONTEZUMA.

November, 1519.

Something of the City — The Spaniards Start from Iztapalapan — Reach the Great Causeway — They are Met by many Nobles — And presently by Montezuma — Entry into Mexico — They Are Quartered in the Axayacatl Palace — Interchange of Visits.

From Iztapalapan the imperial city of the great plateau could clearly be seen, rising in unveiled whiteness from the lake. Almost celestial was its beauty in the eyes of the spoilers; a dream some called it, or, if tangible, only Venice was like it, with its imposing edifices sparkling amid the sparkling waters. Many other places had been so called, but there was no other New World Venice like this.

Sweeping round in sheltering embrace were the green swards and wood-clad knolls on the shore, studded with tributary towns and palatial structures, crowned with foliage, or peeping forth from groves, some venturing nearer to the city, and into the very lake. "We gazed with admiration," exclaims Bernal Diaz, as he compares with the enchanted structures described in the Amadis their grand towers, cues, and edifices, rising in the lake, and all of masonry.

 

Let us glance at the people and their dwellings; for though we have spoken of them at length elsewhere, we cannot in this connection wholly pass them by.

Two centuries back, the Aztecs, then a small and despised people, surrounded and oppressed by enemies, had taken refuge on some islets in the western part of the saline lake of Mexico, and there by divine command they had founded the city which, under the title of Mexico Tenochtitlan, was to become the capital of Anáhuac. The first building was a temple of rushes, round which the settlement grew up, spreading rapidly over the islets, and on piles and filled ground. The city was enlarged and beautified by successive rulers, and when first beheld by the Spaniards it had attained its greatest extent — one it never again approached — and was reputed to be about twelve miles in circumference. This area embraced a large suburb of several villages and towns with independent names, containing in all sixty thousand houses, equivalent to a population of three hundred thousand.^[1]

Four great avenues, paved with hard cement, ran crosswise from the cardinal points, and divided the city into as many quarters, which were again subdivided into wards.^[2]

Three of the avenues were connected in a straight line, or nearly so, with the main land by means of smooth causeways, constructed of piles filled rubble and débris. The shortest of these was the western, leading to Tlacopan, half a league distant, and bordered all the way with houses. They were wide enough for ten horsemen to ride abreast, and were provided at intervals with bridges for the free flow of water^[3] and of traffic. Near their junction with the city were drawbridges, and breastworks for defence. A fourth causeway, from the Chapultepec summer palace, served to support the aqueduct which carried water from the mountain spring in that vicinity.

Round the southern part of the city stretched a semicircular levee, three leagues in length and thirty feet in breadth, which had been constructed in the middle of the preceding century to protect the place from the torrents which after heavy rains came rushing from the fresh-water lakes of Xochimilco and Chalco. This levee was the chief resort of the people — during the day for bustling merchants and boat crews, during the evening for promenaders, who came to breathe the fresh air soft-blown from the lake, and to watch the setting sun as it gilded the summits of Popocatepetl and his consort.

Traffic, as may be supposed, was conducted chiefly by canals guarded by custom-houses, lined with quays, and provided in some places with docks. Upon these abutted narrow yet well lighted cross streets, connected by bridges, and leading to a number of open squares, the largest of which were the market-places in Tlatelulco and Mexico proper, wherein as many as one hundred thousand people are said to have found room.

Viewed architecturally and singly, the buildings did not present a very imposing appearance, the greater portion being but one story in height. This monotony, however, was relieved to a great extent. by the number of temples sacred to superior and local deities which were to be seen in every ward, raised high above the dwellings of mortals, on mounds of varying elevations, and surmounted by towering chapels. Their fires, burning in perpetual adoration of the gods, presented a most impressive spectacle at night. The grandest and most conspicuous of them all was the temple of Huitzilopochtli, which stood in the centre of the city, at the junction of the four avenues, so as to be ever before the eyes of the faithful. It formed a solid stone-faced pyramid about 375 feet long and 300 feet broad at the base, 325 by 250 feet at the summit, and rose in five superimposed, perpendicular terraces to the height of 86 feet. Each terrace receded six feet from the edge of the one beneath, and the stages were so placed that a circuit had to be made of each ledge to gain the succeeding flight, an arrangement equally suited for showy processions and for defence. Surrounding the Pyramid was a battlemented stone wall 4800 feet in circumference, and through this led four gates, surmounted by arsenal buildings, facing the four avenues.^[4]

The pyramid was quite modern, and owed its erection to Ahuitzotl, who for two years employed upon it an immense force of men, bringing the material from a distance of three or four leagues. It was completed in 1486, and consecrated with thousands of victims. The rich and devout brought, while it was building, a mass of treasures, which were buried in the mound as an offering to the gods, and served subsequently as a powerful incentive for the removal of every vestige of the structure. The present cathedral occupies a portion of the site.^[5]

The appearance of the city was likewise improved by terraces of various heights serving as foundation for the dwellings of rich traders, and of the nobles who were either commanded to reside at the capital or attracted by the presence of the court. Their houses were to be seen along the main thoroughfares, differing from the adobe, mud, or rush huts of the poor, in being constructed of porous tetzontli stone, finely polished and whitewashed. Every house stood by itself, separated by narrow lanes or by gardens, and inclosing one or more courts. Broad steps led up the terrace to two gates, one opening on the main street, the other on the back lane or canal. The terrace platform was particularly spacious in front, where occasionally a small oratorio faced the entrance. The façade was adorned with elegant cornices and stucco designs of flowers and animals, often painted in brilliant colors. Balconies were occasionally to be seen, supported on monolith columns without base or capital, though with incised ornamentation; but they were not common, owing to the prevalence of flat roofs surrounded by battlemented and even turreted parapets. Behind them rose flowering plants, arranged in pots or growing in garden plots, and aiding to render the spot attractive for the family gathering in the evening. Flower-gardens might be seen also in the courts, with a sparkling fountain in the centre. Around ran the shady porticos, lined with suites of apartments, the larger reception rooms in front, the stores and kitchen in the rear, and other rooms and chambers, with the never failing temazcalli, or bath, arranged between them, and provided with wicker screens or curtains in lieu of doors.

Courts as well as rooms were covered with flags of stones, tessellated marble or cement, polished with ochre or gypsum; and the walls were decorated not infrequently with porphyry, jasper, and alabaster, and hung with cotton tapestry adorned with feather and other ornaments. The furniture on the other hand was scanty, consisting chiefly of mats of palm leaves, cushions, low tables, and stools.^[6] It was in the morning of the 8th of November that the Spaniards mustered for the entry into Mexico. Not far from Iztapalapan they came upon the longest causeway, two leagues in extent, which with the exception of a short angle near the shore led in a straight line northward to the heart of the city.^[7] They passed several towns, some on the shore, others touching the causeway,^[8] and supported to a great extent by the manufacture of salt from the lake water. The causehad been reserved for the passage of the troops, way out of deference to the desire manifested to keep the natives at a respectful distance,^[9] but both sides were lined with canoes bearing an eager crowd of sightseers. About half a league from the city the causeway formed a junction with the road from Xochimilco and Coyohuacan, at a spot called Acachinanco,^[10] where a stout battlemented wall, fully ten feet in height, and surmounted by two towers, guarded the two gates for entry and exit.

Entering here the Spaniards were met by a procession of over one thousand representative people from the capital,^[11] richly arrayed in embroidered robes, and with jewelry of pendent stones and gold. These passed before the visitors in a file, touching the ground with their hand and carrying it to the lip in token of reverence. This ceremony occupied an hour, after which the march was resumed. At the juncttion of the causeway with the main avenue of the city was a wooden bridge ten paces wide, easily removable, inside of which Cortés halted to await the emperor, then approaching.^[12] On either side of the strect, closely along by the houses, came processions of nobles, headed by lords and court dignitaries, all of whom marched with bare feet and bowed heads. This humility was owing to the presence of the emperor, who in almost solitary grandeur kept the centre of the road, borne in a richly adorned litter on the shoulders of his favorite courtiers, and followed by a few princes and leading officials.^[13] Three dignitaries preceded him, one of whom bore aloft three wands, signifying the approach of the imperial head of the tripartite alliance, so that all persons in sight might lower their heads in humble reverence till he had passed.

On nearing the Spaniards Montezuma stepped from the litter, supported on either side by King Cacama and Cuitlahuatzin, his nephew and brother, and followed by the king of Tlacopan and other princes. Four prominent caciques held over his head a canopy profusely covered with green feathers set with gold and silver, and precious stones, both fixed and pendent, and before them attendants swept the road and spread carpets, so that the imperial feet might not be soiled. The monarch and his supporters were similarly dressed, in blue tilmatlis which, bordered with gold and richly embroidered and bejewelled, hung in Ioose folds from the neck, where they were secured by a knot. On their heads were mitred crowns of gold with quetzal plumes, and sandals with golden soles adorned their feet, fastenings embossed with gold and precious stones.^[14]

Montezuma was about forty years of age, of good stature, with a thin though well-proportioned body, somewhat fairer than the average hue of his dusky The rather long face, with its fine eyes, bore an expression of majestic gravity, tinged with a certain benignity which at times deepened into tenderness. Round it fell the hair in a straight fringe covering the ears, and met by a slight growth of black beard.^[15]

With a step full of dignity he advanced toward Cortés, who had dismounted to meet him. As they saluted,^[16] Montezuma tendered a bouquet which he had brought in token of welcome, while the Spaniard took from his own person and placed round the neck of the emperor a showy necklace of glass, in form of pearls, diamonds, and iridescent balls, strung upon gold cords and scented with musk.^[17] With these baubles, which were as false as the assurances of friendship accompanying them, the great monarch deigned to be pleased, for if every piece of glass had been a diamond they would have possessed no greater value in his eyes. As a further expression of his good-will, Cortés offered to embrace the monarch, but was restrained by the two princes, who regarded this as too great a familiarity with so sacred a person.^[18] The highest representative of western power and grandeur, whose fame had rung in the ears of the Spaniards since they landed at Vera Cruz, thus met the daring adventurer who with his military skill and artful speech had arrogated to himself the position of a demi-god.

After an interchange of friendly assurances the emperor returned to the city, leaving Cuitlahuatzin to escort the general.^[19] The procession of nobles now filed by to tender their respects, whereupon the march was resumed to the sound of drums and wind instruments. At the head were scouts on horseback, followed by the cavalry, under Cortés, who had by his side two large greyhounds; then came the infantry, with the artillery and baggage in the centre; and last, the allies.^[20] The streets, which had been deserted by the people out of deference to the emperor and to the requirements of his procession, were now alive with lookers-on, particularly in the entrances to the alleys, in the windows, and on the roofs.^[21]

At the plaza, wherein rose the great pyramidal temple surrounded on all sides by palatial edifices, the procession turned to the right, and Cortés was led up the steps of an extensive range of buildings, known as the Axayacatl palace, which faced the eastern side of the temple inclosure.^[22] Here Montezuma appeared, and through a court-yard shaded by colored awnings and cooled by a playing fountain he conducted him by the hand into a large hall. An attendant came forward with a basket of flowers, wherein lay "two necklaces made of the shell of a species of red crawfish," so they said, and "much esteemed by the natives, from each of which hung eight crawfish of gold, wrought with great perfection, and nearly as large as the span of a hand.^[23] These the emperor placed round the neck of the general, and presented at the same time wreaths to his officers. Seating hin upon a gilt and bejewelled dais,^[24] he announced that everything there was at his disposal; every want would be attended to. Then with delicate courtesy he retired, so that the Spaniards might refresh themselves and arrange their quarters.

The building contained several courts, surrounded by apartments, matted and furnished with low tables and icpalli stools. Everything about the place was neat and of a dazzling whiteness, relieved by green branches and festoons. The finer rooms were provided with cotton tapestry, and adorned with figures in stucco and color, and with feather and other ornaments set with gold and silver fastenings. Here and there were vases with smouldering incense diffusing sweet perfume. So large was the place that even the allies found room. The halls for the soldiers, accommodating one hundred and fifty men each, were provided with superior beds of mats, with cotton cushions and coverlets, and even with canopies. Cortés was glad to find the building protected by strong walls and turrets, and after arranging the men according to their corps, he ordered the guns to be planted and the sentinels posted, issuing also instructions for the considerate treatment of the natives, and for intercourse generally. Meanwhile the servants had spread a dinner, which Bernal Diaz describes as sumptuous.^[25]

In the afternoon Montezuma reappeared with a large suite. Seating himself beside Cortés,^[26] he expressed his delight at meeting such valiant men, whose fame and deeds had already aroused his interest during their visits in the two preceding years at Potonchan and Chalchiuhcuecan. If he had sought to prevent their entry into the capital, it was solely because his subjects feared them, with their animals and thunder; for rumors had described them as voracious beings, who devoured at one meal what sufficed for ten times the number of natives, who thirsted for treasures and who came only to tyrannize. He now saw that they were mortals, although braver and mightier than his. own race, that the animals were large deer, and that the caged lightning was an exaggeration. He related the Quetzalcoati myth,^[27] and expressed his belief that they were the predicted race, and their king the rightful ruler of the land. "Hence be assured," said he, "that we shall obey you, and hold you as lord lieutenant of the great king, and this without fail or deceit. You may command in all my empire as you please, and shall be obeyed. All that we possess is at your disposal.^[28]

Cortés expressed himself as overwhelmed with these kind offers and with the many favors already received, and hastened to assure the emperor that they were not misplaced. He and his men came indeed from the direction of the rising sun, and their king, the mightiest in the world, and the ruler of many great princes, was the one he supposed. Hearing of the grandeur of the Mexican monarch, their master had sent the former captains, brethren of theirs, to examine the route, and to prepare the way for the present commission. He had come to offer him the friendship of their great king, who wished in no wise to interfere with his authority, but rather that his envoys should serve him and teach the true faith.

The reference to Montezuma's grandeur led the emperor evidently to suppose that the rumors concerning him current in the outlying provinces might have reached the ears of the Spanish king, for he now alluded to the tales which raised him to a divine being inhabiting palaces of gold, silver, and precious stones. "You see," he added with a sad smile, wherein seemed to linger regrets arising from his departing glory, "that my houses are merely of stone and earth; and behold my body," he said, turning aside his vestment, "it is but of flesh and bone, like yours and others. You see how they have deceived you. True, I possess some gold trinkets left me by my forefathers; but all that I have is yours whenever you may desire it.^[29]

Cortés' eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he expressed his thanks. He had heard of Montezuma's wealth and power, and had not been deceived in the expectation, for a more magnificent prince he had not met with during his entire journey. Such fine words must be rewarded. At a sign the attendants came forward with a rich collection of gold, silver, and feather ornaments, and five thousand to six thousand pieces of cloth, most fine in texture and embroidery.^[30] Being asked what relationship the men bore to one another, Cortés said that all were brothers, friends, and companions, with the exception of a few servants.^[31]

Montezuma afterward elicited from the interpreters who the officers and gentlemen were, and in conferring favors he sent them more valuable presents through the mayordomo, while the rest obtained inferior gifts by the hand of servants.^[32] At his departure from the Spanish quarter the soldiers with redoubled alacrity fell into line to salute a prince who had impressed them both with his gentle breeding and his generosity, and the artillery thundered forth a salvo, partly to demonstrate that the caged lightning was a fearful reality.^[33]

The following forenoon Cortés sent to announce that he would make a return visit, and several officers came to escort him. Arrayed in his finest attire, with Alvarado, Velazquez de Leon, Ordaz, Sandoval, and five soldiers, he proceeded to the residence of Montezuma, in the new palace as it has been called, situated in the south-east corner of the great temple plaza.^[34] If they had admired the palace forming their own quarter, how much more charmed were they with this, "which has not its equal in Spain," exclaims Cortés.

The exterior presented an irregular pile of low buildings of tetzontli, raised upon high foundations, and communicating with the square by twenty doors, over which were sculptured the coat of arms of the kings of Mexico. The buildings were so arranged as to inclose three public squares, and contained an immense number of rooms and halls, one of them large enough to hold three thousand men, it is said. Several suites were reserved for royal visitors, envoys, and courtiers, while others were assigned for the emperor'z private use, for his harem and his attendants. Large monoliths adorned the halls or supported marble balconies and porticos, and polished slabs of different kinds of stone filled the intervening spaces or formed the floors. Everywhere, on projections and supports, in niches and corners, were evidences of the artist's skill in carvings and sculptures, incised and in relief.

After being conducted through a number of courts, passages, and rooms, partly for effect, the Spaniards were ushered into the audience-chamber, and removed their hats as Montezuma advanced to receive them. Leading Cortés to the throne, he seated him at his right hand, the rest being offered seats by the attendants. Around stood with downcast eyes a number of courtiers, who in accordance with etiquette had covered their rich attire with a coarse mantle and left their sandals outside the room.^[35] The conversation fell chiefly on religious topics, the favorite theme with Cortés, who aside from his bigotry was not averse to use the faith as a means to obtain a secure hold on the people. In any case it afforded a shield for other objects. He explained at length the mysteries of Christianity, and contrasted its gentle and benevolent purposes with those of the idols, which were but demons intent on the destruction of their votaries, and trembling at the approach of the cross. Aware of the inefficiency of himself and his interpreters as preachers, indicated indeed by the passive face of the proposed convert, Cortés concluded by intimating that his king would soon send holy men, superior to themselves, to explain the truths which he had sought to point out. Meanwhile he begged the emperor to consider them, and to abandon idols, sacrifices, and other evils. "We have given him the first lesson, at any rate," said Cortés, turning to his companions.^[36]

The ruler of a superstitious people, himself a highpriest and leader of their bloody fancies, was not to be touched by this appeal of Cortés. The prejudices of a lifetime could not be so easily disturbed. He had well considered the words, he replied, transmitted already from the sea-shore by his envoys, and had found many of the points identical with those held by his people; but he preferred not to dwell on the subject at present. The god depicted was doubtless good; so were their own, for to them they and their forefathers owed health and prosperity. Suffice it that he believed his guests to be the men predicted

"As for your great king," he added, "I hold to come. myself as his lieutenant, and will give him of what I possess." As a tangible proof thereof, he again before dismissing them distributed presents, consisting of twenty packs of fine robes and some gold-ware worth fully one thousand pesos.^[37]

 

 

1. The ruins of the old city, clearly traced by Humboldt, showed that it must have been of far greater extent than the capital raised upon its site by the Spaniards. This is also indicated by the size of the markets and temple courts. The reason is to be found partly in the former prevalence of one-story houses with courts inclosed.
2. For ancient and modern names of quarters see Native Races, ii. 563.
3. Cortés believed that the waters ebbed and flowed, Cartas, 102-3, and Peter Martyr enlarged on this phenomenon with credulous wonder. dec. v. cap. iii.
4. For a description of the interior see Native Races, ii. 582-8.
5. Ramirez and Carbajal Espinosa define the limits pretty closely with respect to the modern outline of the city, Hist. Mex., ii. 226-9, and notes in Prescott's Mex. (ed. Mex. 1845), ii. app. 103; but Alaman, in his Disert., ii. 202, 246, etc., enters at greater length into the changes which the site has undergone since the conquest, supporting his conclusions with quotations from the Libro de Cabildo and other valuable documents.
6. For further description of streets, buildings, and people, see Native Races, passim. Also Ramirez, Noticias de Mex., etc., in Monumentos Domin. Esp., MS. no. 6, 309-50; Dávila, Continuacion de la Crónica, etc., MS., 296; Viagero Univ., xxvi. 203-6; Libro de Cabildo, MS., 1, 5, 11, 62, 105, 201-2; Sammlung aller Reisebesch., xiii. 459-60, 464-67; Las Casas, Hist. Apolog., MS., 17-27; L'America Settentrionale, 88-207; Mex., Not. Ciudad, 1-8. Venecia la Rica is the name applied to the city by some of the Spaniards. Carta, in Pacheco and Cárdenas, Col. Doc., xiii. 339.

   A curious view of Mexico is given in the edition of Cortés' letters issued at Nuremberg in 1524, which exhibits six causeway connections with the mainland. Both in situation, with respect to the surrounding towns, and in the general plan, it accords very fairly with the descriptions of the conquerors. The temple of Huitzilopochtli occupies an immense square in the centre of Temixtitan, as the city is called. Round the south-east comer extend the palace and gardens of the emperor, other palaces being scattered on the lake, and connected with the suburbs by short causeways. Less correct in its relative position is the view presented in the old and curious Libro di Benedetto Bordone, which has been reproduced in Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, 81, so famous for its cuts, and, of course, with considerable elaborations which by no means promote the correctness, however much the beauty of aspect is improved

   

   Very similar to this is the view given in some of Solis' editions, that of Antwerp, 1 704, for instance, wherein is also found a view of Mexico with its surrounding towns, as Cuitlahuac, Iztapalapan, and others, all grouped closely together within the main lake! A native plan of the capital, said to have been given by Montezuma to Cortés, accords little with Spanish descriptions, and is difficult to understand from its peculiar outline, illustrated with Aztec hieroglyphics. Alaman doubts its origin and correctness. See Prescott'a Mex. (Mex. ed. 1844), ii. 157. A good copy of it is given in Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 221.

   The view in Libro di Benedetto Bordone, Nel quall si ragiona de tutte l'sole del Mundo, Vinegia, 1528, 73 leaves, is accompanied by an interesting description of La gran citta di Temistitan, remarkable from being perhaps the first sketch of any value given in a cosmographic work. It occupies the greater part of folios vi. to x., devoted to the terra da Ferdinando Cortese. Five more folios describe the West Indies and Venezuela region, the only portions of America known to Bordone when he wrote his book. It was completed in 1521, according to its pontifical license, although not issued till 1528. The versatile author, who figured both as artist and professor, died in 1531, and the later issues of the Libro, henceforth called Isolario, are by editors whose endeavor to keep apace with the demands of the times is instanced by the edition of 1537, wherein appears a letter on the conquest of Peru. In the mappemonde of the first edition before me, the smaller northern part of the new continent is called terra del laboratore, while the southern part bears the inscription ponēti môdo nouo. The two are separated at the Isthmus, in about the latitude of the Mediterranean, by a long strait, at the eastern mouth of which, on the sectional map of folio vi., is written, stretto pte del mõdo nouo. Farther east lie the islands Astores, Asmaide, and Brasil. The numerous sectional wood-cut maps and plans bear the conventional outline of a series of concave segments, and of the ten referring to different parts of the new world, seven apply to the Antilles.

   The clearest account of Mexico given by any of the conquerors is to be found in Relatione d'alcvne cose della Nuoua Spagna, & della gran città di Temistitan Messicò, fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese, wherein the description of the natives, their manners and customs, their towns, the resources of the country, and above all, the capital city, is to be found in concise form, arranged in paragraphs with appropriate headings, and illustrated by a cut of the great temple, which appears far more correct than those given by most subsequent writers. A view of the capital is also appended,showing the surrounding country, and according very nearly with those of the Nuremburg type, except in the faulty relative position to the neighborhood. Nothing is known of the author, who is generally referred to as the Anonymous Conqueror, but the opinion has been hazarded that he was Francisco de Terrazas, mayordomo of Cortés. His account was evidently written in Spanish, but did not see the light till Ramusio issued it in Italian under the above title. It forms one of the most valuable documents for the history of Mexico to be found in this prized collection of voyages and travels, the first large work of its class. No branch of literature obtained a greater stimulus from the discovery of Columbus. He it was who broke the barrier which had confined the ardor of voyagers, and who led the revival of maritime enterprise, creating a curiosity among the stayers-at-home that could be satiated only with repeated editions of narratives relating to expeditions and conquests. The number of these narratives became, within a few years, so large as to require their grouping into special collections for the sake of cheapness and convenience. The earliest is probably the Paesi Nouamente retrouati, Et Nouo Mondo da Alberico vesputio; By Fracanzo or Fracanzano da Montalboddo, Vicenza, 1507, mentioned by Tiraboschi, Storia della literatura italiana. This was roproduced in 1508 by Madrignani, at Milan. According to Panzer, Ruchamer issued the same year a somewhat fuller collection at Nuremberg, under the title of Newe Unbekanthe landte Und eine Newe weldte, with eight pieces, among them the voyages of Columbus, Ojeda, Pinzon, and Vespucci. A similar work was issued by the Italian Angiolelo, in 1519.

   The best known of these early collections, and by many regarded as the first issued in German, is the Novvs Orbis Regionvm ac Insolarvm Veteribes Incognitarvm; Basilece apvd I_o Hervagivm, Mense Martio, anno m.d.xxxii., 4to, 584 pages, beside unnumbered leaves. 'La plus ancienne de ces (Latin) collections,' says Boucher, Bibl. Univ., i. 55. Although prepared by John Huttich, the canon of Strasbourg, it is better known under the name of Simon Grynæus, who wrote the introductory and revised it at the request of Hervagius, the publisher, a well known bookman, greatly esteemed by Erasmus. Meusel, Bibl. Hist., iii. pt. i. 221, gives it with punctilious fairness the title of Collectio Huttichio-Grynæo-Herragiana, while others apply only the middle name or the last two. The attribution to Grynæus is greatly due to his fame as a reformer, as the personal friend of Luther and Calvin, as the discoverer of Livy's lost books, and as the first of a long line of scholars celebrated under that name. It is an excellently printed volume, with quaint head-pieces, and containing as it does so many papers of which the original editions are now lost, the collection must be esteemed of great value. The nineteen pieces of original contributions, journals, and borrowed accounts, include the voyages of Columbus, Alonso, and Pinzon from Madrignani; Alberici Vesputij nauigationum epitome, and nauigationes IIII.; and Petri Martyris de insulis. The other narratives relate to Asia, to the Levant, and to Russia. With some copies is found a mappemonde, but the only genuine one, according to Harrisse, 204, bears the inscription Terra de Cuba, in the northern part of the new world, and in the south, Parias, Canibali America Terra Nora, Prisilia, with the word Asia in large type. Among the several editions the German of 1534, by Herr, is rarer than the above original, while the Dutch of 1563, by Ablijn, is the most complete.

   After Huttich the voyage collections increased rapidly in number and size, till they reached the fine specimen of Ramusio, forming not only the first large work of this class, but, for a long time, the most extensive which bears on America. Harrisse, 457, very justly observes that the publication of Ramusio's Raccolta may be said to open an era in the literary history of Voyages and Navigation. Instead of accounts carelessly copied and translated from previous collections, perpetuating errors and anachronisms, we find in this work original narrations judiciously selected, carefully printed, and enriched with notices which betray the hand of a scholar of great critical acumen.' The first issue appeared as Primo Volvme Delle Navigationi et Viaggi. In Venetia appresso gli heredi di Lveantonio Givnti, 1550, folio, 405 leaves. 'Les Juntes (le) publièrent. . . .sous la direction de Jean-Baptiste Ramusio.' Camus, Mém. Coll. Voy., 7. Neither in this, nor in the third volume, issued in 1553, nor in the second edition of the first volume, 1554, does the name of Giambatista Ramusio, Rannusio, or Rhamusio, appear as author, and it is only in the second volume that the publisher, Tommaso Giunti, resolves to set aside the modlesty of his friend, and to place his name upon the title-page. The publication of this volume had been delayed till 1559, owing to the death of the author and to the burning of the printing establishment.

   In the preface Giunti refers to the close friendship between them, and extols Ramusio as a learned man, who had served in foreign countries, acquiring in this way a perfect knowledge of French and Spanish. He had long been a devoted student of history and geography, inspired to some extent by the travels of his uncle, the celebrated Doctor Girolamo Ramusio. As secretary to the powerful Venetian Council 'de Signori Dieci,' he was in a position to maintain correspondence with such men as Oviedo, Cabot, Cardinal Bembo, and others, part of which is to be found in Lettere di XIII. Huomini illustri, Venetia, 1565. All this served him in the formation of the great work upon which he labored during the last 34 years of his life. He died at Padua, July 10, 1557, 72 years of age.

   The first volume relates chiefly to Asia and Africa, but contains Lettere due and Sommario by Vespucci, and four papers on Spanish and Portuguese circumnavigation. The contents of the set have been somewhat changed and increased during the several republications, but the best editions are those of 1588, 1583, and 1565, for the first, second, and third volume respectively. Vol. ii. of this set relates chiefly to Asia, but is of interest to American students for its narrative of the much doubted voyages of the brothers Zeno. Its small size indicates the loss it sustained by the events above referred to. "Et nõ vi marauigliate, se riguardando gli altri due, non uedrete questo Secõdo volume, si pieno & copioso di scrittori, come il Ramusio già s'haueua pposto di fare, che la morte ui s'interpose.' ii. 2. The third volume is entirely devoted to America, and contains all the most valuable documents known up to the time of its first issue, such as the relations of Martyr, Oviedo, Cortés, and his contemporaries in Mexico, Pizarro, Verazzano, Carthier, the Relation di Nvnno di Gvsman, in several parts, and the valuable Relatione per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese. The volume begins with a learned discourse by Ramusio on ancient knowledge of a land to the west, and of causes leading to the discovery. At the end of the 1565 edition is a map of America, showing Lower California as a wide peninsula, and Terra del Fuego joined to the land of the Circolo Antartico. The comparative crudeness of the wood-cuts and maps has not made the work much esteemed by collectors, but its value even now, for reference, is unquestioned. The set was dedicated to Hieronimo Fracastoro, the great poet and physician, born mouthless, yet so eloquent. Scaliger, Arœ Fracastoreæ. At the end of the Discorso sopra Perv, iii. 371, Ramusio says: 'Et questa narratione con breuità habbiamo voluto discorrere per satisfattione de i lettori, laquale piu distintamente legeranno nel quarto volume.' According to Fontanini, Bibl., 274, the material for this volume lay prepared in manuscript, only to perish in the disastrous fire of November, 1557.

7. It is still one of the main roads, known under Spanish dominion as Calzada de Iztapalapan, now as S. Antonio Abad.
8. Cortés names the well built Mexicaltzinco, Niciaca, and Huchilohuchico (now Churubusco), to which he gives respectively 3000, 6000, and 4000 to 5000 families. Cartas, 83-4. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 99, names Coioacan instead of Niciaea, and this change is generally accepted, for the latter name is probably a mistake by the copyist or printer. Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. iii.
9. 'Mandò que vn Indio en lengua Mexicana, fuesse pregonando que nadie se atrauessasse por el camino, sino queria ser luego muerto.' Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. v.
10. Also referred to as Fort Xoloc. 'En donde hoy la garita de San Antonio Abaul,' says Ramirez, in Prescott (ed. Mex. 1845), ii. 104.
11. Herrera, who is usually moderate, swells the figure to 4000.
12. The avenue is now called el Rastro. The suburb here bore the name of Huitzitlan. 'Vitzillan que es cabe el hospital de la Concepcion.' Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 23. At Tocititlan, says Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 439. Junto de la Hermita de San Anton.' Torquemada, i. 450. 'Segun una antigua tradicion conservada en el hospital de Jesus, el punto en que le encontró fué frente á éste, y por recuerdo del suceso se hizo la fundacion en aquel parage.' Alaman, Disert., i. 103; and Ramirez, note in Prescott (ed. Mex. 1845), ii. 103. The previous authorities indicate, however, that the meeting took place farther from the centre of the city.
13. Chimalpain mentions among others Tetlepanquezatl, king of Tlacopan, Yzquauhtzin Tlacochcalcatl, lord or lieutenant of Tlatelulco, captain-general Atlixcatzin, son of Ahuitzatl, and Tepehuatzin, son of Titotzin. Hist. Conq., 125. Sahagun differs slightly in the names. Hist. Conq., 24-5.
14. For dress, see Native Races, ii. 178 et seq. Cortés gives sandals only to Montezuma, but it appears that persons of royal blood were allowed to retain them before the emperor, as Ixtlilxochitl also affirms. Hist. Chich., 295; Oviedo, iii. 500; Purchas, His Pilgrimes, iv. 1121.
15. Cenzeño. . . .y el rostro algo largo, è alegre.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 67. 'Motecçuma quiere dezir hõbre sañudo y graue.' Gomara, Hist. Mex., 103; Acosta, Hist. Ind., 502-3. It is from this, probably, that so nmany describe him as serious in expression. A number of portraits have been given of the monarch, differing greatly from one another. The best known is Prescott's, taken from the painting for a long time owned by the Condes de Miravalle, the descendants of Montezuma; but this lacks the Indian type, and partakes too much of the ideal. Clavigero's, Storia Mess., iii. 8, appears more like him, though it is too small and too roughly sketched to covey a clear outline. Far better is the half-size representation prefixed to Linati Costumes, which indeed corresponds very well with the text description. The face in Armin, Alte Mex., 104, indicates a coarse Aztec warrior, and that in Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, 244-5, an African prince, while the native picture, as given in Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 6, is purely conventional. The text description, based chiefly on Bernal Diaz, is not inappropriate to the weak, vacillating character of the monarch. Clavigero makes him nearly 54 years old, and Brasseur de Bourbourg 51; but 40, as Bernal Diaz calls him, appears to be more correct.
16. Ellos y él ficieron asimismo ceremonia de besar la tierra.' Cortés, Cartas, 85.
17. 'De margaritas y diamantes de vidrio.' Id. 'Que se dizen margagitas.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 65.
18. Solis assumes that Cortés was repelled when he sought to place the necklace on Montezuma. The latter chides the jealous princes, and permits him. Hist. Mex., i. 370. 'Pareceme que el Cortès. . . .le daua la mano derecha, y el Monteçuma no la quiso, è se la diò el Cortès.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 65. This phrase, which applies equally to offering the right hand, has been so understood by those who notice it; but as this would be confusing, Vetancurt, for instance, assumes improbably that Marina offers her right hand to Montezuma, which he disregards, giving his instead to Cortés. Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 129.
19. Cortés, Cartas, 85. Ixtlilxochitl has it that Cacama was left with him; and Bernal Diaz, that the lord of Coyuhuacan also remained. According to Cortés, Montezuma accompanied him all the way to the quarters in the city, keeping a few steps before. Gomara and Herrera follow this version. But Bernal Diaz states explicitly that he left the Spaniards to follow, allowing the people an opportunity to gaze; and Ixtlilxochitl assumes that he goes in order to be ready to receive him at the quarters. Hist. Chich., 295. It is not probable that Montezuma would expose himself to the inconvenience of walking so far back, since this involved troublesome ceremonies, as we have seen, not only to himself but to the procession, and interfered with the people who had come forth to gaze. The native records state that Montezuma at once surrendlered to Cortés the throne and city. 'Y se fueron ambos juntos á la par para las casas reales.' Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 23-4. Leading Cortés into the Tozi hermitage, at the place of meeting, he made the nobles bring presents and tender allegiance, while he accepted also the faith. Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 440-1.
20. About 6000 in all. 'Nosotros aun no llegauamos á 450 soldados.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 65. Prescott places the number at about 350.
21. According to Sahagun not a soul was to be seen, either upon the causeway or along the streets, the people having taken this manner to express their indignation at the semi-forcible entry of the Spaniards. Montezuma came to receive them purely out of a feeling of humanity. Startled at this solitude, Cortés fears dangers, and vows, if all goes well, to build a church. This was the origin, says Bustamante, of the Hospital de Jesus. Sahagun, Hist. Conq. (ed. Mex. 1840), 79-84. See note 12, this chapter. Brasseur de Bourbourg accepts this view. Hist. Nat. Civ., iv. 212-13. Still Sahagun describes the interview with Cortés as most cordial. He is in fact contradictory, and it is evident that the order issued to the people to keep the narrow causeway clear, and the etiquette which required them to give way to the emperor, have been hastily interpreted by the chronicler into 'deserted streets' and 'popular indignation.' Had the citizens objected to receive the strangers, the bridges could have been raised against them.
22. Au coin de la rue del Indio triste et de celle de Tacuba,' says Humboldt, Vues, i. 58, prudently, without attempting to give its extent. Ramirez and Carbajal do so, however, and in allowing it about the same length as the temple inclosure, they place it right across the eastern avenue of the city, which like the other three is admitted to have terminated at one of the temple gates. Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 222; Ramirez, notes in Prescott's Mex. (ed. Mex. 1845), ii. app. 103. 'Donde hoy las Casas de el Marqués del Valle,' says Lorenzana, in Cortés, Hist. N. Esp., 86, a statement disputed by later writers. Prescott quotes Humboldt, but evidently does not understand him, for he places the palace 'facing the western gate,' which is not only on the wrong side, but across the western avenue. Mex., ii. 79. 'Adonde. . . tenia el gran Monteçuma sus grandes adoratorios de idolos. . . .nos lleuaron á aposentar á aquella casa por causa, que cono nos llamauã Teules, é por tales nos tenian, que estuuiessemos entre sus idolos.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 66. The idea of being regarded as a god seems to have pleased the old soldier immensely.
23. They doubtless formed a double necklace, with gold setting and pendants. Cortés writes that on the way to the palace Montezuma halted to place them round his neck. Cartas, 83; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 100-1; Sahagun, Hist. Conq. 23.
24. 'A throne of gold,' is Peter Martyr's briefer yet grander term. dec. v. cap. iii.
25. Hist. Verdad., 65-6; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii, cap. v.; Sahagun, Hist. Conq., 25-6.
26. Bernal Diaz states that the emperor always addressed him as Malinche, and, indeed, it was common among Mexicans to address persons by a name given them in later life in connection with some peculiarity, deed, or incident. Hence Cortés, as master of the prominent female interpreter, received a name implying that relationship.
27. For which see Native Races.
28. Cortés, Cartas, 86. This is in substance the speech of Montezuma, as given by native as well as Spanish records; yet it appears improbable that the emperor should have been so ready, at the first interview, and in presence of his courtiers, to humble himself so completely before a few strangers whom he regarded as mortals. See note 19. Myself, my wife and children, my house, and all that I possess, are at your disposal,' says the Spaniard, even in our day, to the guest whom he wishes to impress with his hospitality. Perhaps Montezuma was equally profuse with hollow words, which have been recorded as veritable offers.
29. Cortés, Cartas, 86-7. Bernal Diaz introduces this paragraph during the next interview.
30. Id. 'À cada vno de nuestros Capitanes diò cositas de oro, y tres cargas de mantas de labores ricas de plumas, y entre todos los soldados tambien nos diò á cada vno á dos cargas de mantas.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 66; Gomara, Hist. Mex., 101-2; Peter Martyr, dec. v. cap. iii.; Duran, Hist. Ind., MS., ii. 441-2; Herrera, dec. ii. lib. vii. cap. vi.; Torquemada, i. 452-3; Ixtlilcochitl, Hist. Chich., 296; Peralta, Not. Hist., 107-8. Acosta implies that Cortés now reconciled the Tlascaltecs with the Aztecs. Hist. Ind., 521.
31. 'Eramos hermanos en el amor, y amistad, é personas mui principales,' is the way Bernal Diaz expresses it. Hist. Verdad., 66.
32. Gomara, Hist. Mex., 102-3. 'Los haçia proveer luego, assi de mugeres de serviçio, como de cama, é les daba á cada uno una joya que pessaba hasta diez pessos de oro.' Oviedo, iii. 500-1.
33. Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt. iii. 129. Sahagun, followed by Acosta, Brasseur de Bourbourg, and others, states that the artillery was discharged at night to startle the natives. Hist. Conq. (ed. 1840), 85.
34. It is so depicted in the old Nuremberg view of the city, already referred to. Ramirez, Carbajal Espinosa, and Alaman give the extent, and the latter enters into quite a lengthy account of its situation with respect to present and former outlines of the quarter. Disert., ii. 202, etc.; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., ii. 221-2; Ramirez, notes in Prescott's Mex. (ed. Mex. 1845), ii. app. 103. Humboldt places it opposite the southern half of the western temple side, Essai Pol., i. 190, but that site is assigned by all the above historians to the old palace of Montezuma, so called — not the Axayacatl where Cortés was quartered. The mistake is probably owing to his ignorance of the fact that the residence of the Cortés fanily stood first on the site of the new palace of Montezuma, whence it was moved to that of the old palace when the government bought the former.
35. The Spaniards were also 'costretti a scalzarsi, ed a coprirsi gli abiti sfarzosi con vesti grossolane,' says Clavigero, Storia Mess., iii. 83, but that is unlikely.
36. Con esto cumplimos, por ser el primer toque.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Verdad., 67.
37. 'Â nosotros los soldados nos diò á cada vno dos collares de oro, que valdria cada collar diez pesos, è dos cargas de mantas.' The rest went to their officers. Id.