I 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 § 
 
 “ RARY- 
 
 it may be renewed, however, by applying to 
 the Librarian, provided it be not required 
 by any other member. 
 
 Any member who loses, defaces, or 
 otherwise materially injures a book, shall 
 replace it, or, if one of a set, the whole 
 set. 
 
 THE LIBRARY SHALL BE OPEN ON 
 
 SUNDAY AFTERNOONS, from 3-30 to 4-0 o’clock. 
 MONDAY EVENINGS, „ 7-0 to 7-30 ., 
 
 WEDNESDAY ,, ,, 7-0 to 7-30 and 
 
 I 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 § 
 
BY 
 
 M. MICHEL CHEVALIER 
 
 SENATOR, AND MEMBER OP THE INSTITUTE, OP PRANCE 
 
 TRANSLATED UNDER THE AUTHOR’S SUPERINTENDENCE 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS ALPASS 
 
 TOR MAST YEARS FOREIGN EDITOR OF “THE MORNING CHRONICLE” 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 
 YOL. I 
 
 LONDON 
 
 JOHN MAXWELL AND COMPANY 
 122, FLEET STREET 
 MDCCCLXIV 
 [All rights reserved. ] 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Events have spoken for themselves since this 
 volume was published in Erench. The author 
 believes he does not exaggerate in saying that in 
 most points they have shown him to be in the 
 right. 
 
 The Erench arms have justified the superiority 
 he attributed to them. The city of Puebla, 
 which the Government of Juarez made their bul¬ 
 wark and centre of resistance, was taken after a 
 siege that did honour to its defenders, for it was 
 necessary, as at Saragossa, to carry the place 
 house by house; but it did greater honour to the 
 besiegers. Thanks to the ability and firmness 
 with which the operations of the siege were con¬ 
 ducted, the fall of that city may be said to have 
 terminated the campaign, by opening to the 
 Erench the gates of Mexico. After that glorions 
 
IV 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 feat of arms, the Mexican troops nowhere 
 showed a front; and at the present moment 
 Guanaxuato, Valladolid, Guadalaxara, San Luis 
 de Potosi, Acapulco, and the whole of Yucatan, 
 are occupied by French detachments. The party 
 represented by Juarez is master solely in a few 
 inaccessible retreats among the mountains. The 
 populations, contented that the honour of their 
 country has been saved, and full of hope in a 
 new regime , everywhere receive the French as 
 friends, and as their future mainstay. 
 
 The facts now accomplishing attest also the 
 re-awakening of that monarchical sentiment which 
 the author had noted as still vivacious in the 
 hearts of Mexicans, and as that which would 
 rally round it the great majority of the Liberal 
 or Republican party, provided Monarchy pre¬ 
 sented itself under the esoort of a group of public 
 liberties suited to the intellectual and moral 
 state of the country. Every day brings the 
 adhesion to the new regime of some of those 
 chiefs who fought under the orders of the Juarez 
 Government. 
 
 The Archduke Maximilian accepts the burden 
 of the crown of Mexico with a noble courage. 
 The resolution is a grand one, but not unlooked 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 V 
 
 for by those who observed him in Italy. He is 
 sensible that he will have to repeat more than 
 once the words of a former Emperor of Mexico, 
 “that he is not on a bed of roses.” Every¬ 
 thing seems to indicate that the Mexicans are 
 going to welcome and treat him, not as an am¬ 
 bitions individual, led away by an immoderate 
 passion for sitting on a throne, but as a high- 
 souled man, who devotes himself to their cause, 
 and has undertaken the lofty task of saving a 
 nation subject of old to the authority of his 
 family. 
 
 The Archduke will arrive in Mexico, not with 
 a staff of Germans, military and administrative, 
 but (as the author anticipated) alone, with his 
 portfolio under his arm. He will have two 
 armies to guard his throne—one composed of 
 Mexican troops, the other formed and disciplined 
 by Erance, and commanded by French officers, 
 with a large number of French soldiery in its 
 ranks. It cannot be denied that the latter will at 
 first be the chief protection of the new throne; but 
 why should not the Mexican army, when better 
 directed, return to those traditions of fidelity to 
 the Sovereign for which Mexico was formerly 
 conspicuous among all the other Spanish colo- 
 
VI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 nies ? The rivalry of the generals was what led 
 the Mexican army astray. It will come hack to 
 sentiments of duty when it sees authority per¬ 
 manently concentrated in the hands of a firm 
 and enlightened Prince, around whom has rallied 
 every individual of importance. 
 
 On one important point, the author gave utter- 
 ance to hopes in regard to which there is now 
 reason to entertain and express doubts. It 
 seemed to him that, on the Mexican question, 
 the interest of the North of the American Union 
 was mixed up with the object proposed to herself 
 by France, when sending her sons to combat at 
 Vera Cruz and Puebla. He believed the Ame¬ 
 ricans of the North would rejoice at the esta¬ 
 blishment of a stable Government in Mexico, 
 that would convert that country into a respected 
 state. “Of what import,” he wrote, “is it to 
 the North to extend the boundaries of the 
 Bepublic ? The territory she possesses is so 
 vast, that she cannot but be contented, however 
 ambitious she may be. What concerns her is n 
 that a limit should be prescribed to slavery, and 
 that this sentence should be intimated to the 
 peculiar institution: ‘Thou shalt go no further.’ 
 The expedition to Mexico cannot therefore be 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Vll 
 
 annoying to the North; it responds to her no¬ 
 tions, it agrees with her policy.” But there is now 
 reason to fear that, once victorious in her struggle 
 with the South—as events appear to promise she 
 will he—the North may look at the affair in 
 quite a different light. It is not impossible but 
 that, in the vast Bepublic of America, ambition 
 and the spirit of domination, excited by the 
 mischief-working influence of bidders for popu¬ 
 larity, may stifle the voice of reason and justice. 
 There will be no lack of tribunes to urge that 
 powerful democracy to seize on the territory left 
 to their unfortunate neighbours, whom they have 
 already despoiled of half the space they occupied. 
 The author’s opinion may therefore have been 
 an illusion; but he excuses himself by the recol¬ 
 lection that, if he was mistaken, it was from 
 having imagined the success of what was reason¬ 
 able and just. 
 
 On another point the author bitterly regrets 
 having been too entirely right. He was con¬ 
 vinced of the obstacles that might be raised 
 against the establishment of the new regime by 
 the pretensions of the higher Mexican clergy, 
 supported by the ignorance and superstition of 
 the population. Those difficulties have already 
 
Vlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 presented themselves. France could not go to 
 Mexico to found there a new order of things 
 except with the condition of their being in 
 conformity with the spirit of the time. The 
 honour of France, the secret of her influence in 
 the world, is that she represents those immortal 
 ideas known as the principles of 1789, which 
 are the terror of oppressors and the hope of 
 nations oppressed, or conducted by incompetent 
 leaders astray from the paths of civilization. 
 France must therefore foster in Mexico those 
 liberal and progressive ideas which she has intro¬ 
 duced into her own policy with so much success. 
 With regard to Eeligion, her task was to cause it 
 to be respected; but it was also incumbent on her 
 to aim at making the relations of the Church with 
 the State in Mexico what they are at home ; to 
 insist that liberty of worship should be recog¬ 
 nised; that the clergy should not form a State 
 within the State; that the publication of docu¬ 
 ments emanating from the Court of Eome should 
 be subjected to the previous approval of the 
 government; that the clergy should cease to 
 be proprietors of the best portion of the terri¬ 
 tory ; and consequently that the laws formerly 
 passed for the sale of the clergy lands should 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 remain in force, on the condition of a suitable 
 provision being ensured to ecclesiastics. It is 
 true that, in that way, the influence of France 
 would be exercised in a mode that would respond 
 to the most ardent sympathies of the Liberal 
 and Republican party just ejected from power; 
 but where reason and the interest of the State 
 were comprised in the programme of that party, 
 nothing can be said against it. 
 
 Scarcely bad the French entered Mexico than 
 obstacles sprang up under their feet. A resistance 
 was organized against certain measures taken by 
 the French authorities, or determined on by their 
 influence. There placed himself at the head of 
 this reactionary faction, it is painful to say, a 
 prelate who, at Paris, had been loaded with atten¬ 
 tions from the Emperor and Empress—who, by 
 favour of the support of France, had been chosen 
 for one of the three members of the Regency 
 appointed to govern the country provisionally. 
 That prelate was the Archbishop of Mexico. 
 
 This sort of insurrection against French inter¬ 
 vention was exhibited apropos of two incidents— 
 the protest of certain members of the clergy, who 
 desired that sales of church property should be 
 declared null and void—sales effected under the 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 preceding regime in virtue of laws regularly 
 passed; and the opening of a chapel at Mexico, 
 in which such of the French soldiers as were Pro¬ 
 testants might practise their worship. 
 
 It must be remarked that, by way of con¬ 
 ciliation, the French authorities had consented 
 that the sales of the clergy lands should be 
 valid only after revision. It may be thought 
 that, in doing so, the spirit of concession was 
 pushed too far; not but that abuses were com¬ 
 mitted in these sales, but that, in fact, revision is 
 a remedy worse than the disease. So much con¬ 
 descension however did not disarm the reactionary 
 party; it is even possible that it encouraged them. 
 
 Be this as it may, the Archbishop of Mexico, 
 forgetting not only what he personally owed to 
 France, but also the services that French interven¬ 
 tion was rendering to Mexico and to Catholicism, 
 was eager to create a sensation. He resigned his 
 functions as a member of the Provisional Govern¬ 
 ment ; he issued a protest; and a little later he 
 distributed papers among the faithful, in which, 
 according to the terms of a letter addressed to 
 this high Church dignitary by General Neigre, 
 commanding at Mexico, “ appeal was made 
 to the most detestable passions against the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 XI 
 
 army of his Majesty the Emperor.” The cir¬ 
 cumstances of the case were such that the General 
 thought it his duty to address the prelate in these 
 words of severity towards the clerical party, and 
 towards himself, for having been weak enough 
 to take part in their manoeuvres :— 
 
 “Tell that party, Monseigneur, that we are 
 “ watching them, and are aware of their plots, and 
 “ that in union with the legitimate Government of 
 “ the country, the armies of France will maintain 
 “ tranquillity. Tell them, that though it is always 
 “ repugnant to us to employ violent measures of 
 “ repression, we shall yet, should circumstances 
 “ make the painful duty incumbent, know how to 
 “ thrust hack these real enemies of Mexico into 
 “ the obscurity from which they dare to issue 
 “their diatribes.” 
 
 This is the beginning of an embarrassment, 
 the seriousness of which it is impossible to under¬ 
 rate. We have here to deal not merely with the 
 clergy lands, nor with the opening of a chapel 
 at Mexico, in which the Protestants may worship 
 God in the form agreeable to their conscience: 
 the question is a far wider one. In reality, the 
 point to be settled is, whether the new Govern¬ 
 ment of Mexico shall adopt the mass of those 
 
Xll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 liberal and progressive ideas to which all civi¬ 
 lized States have successively rallied, or whether 
 it shall run in the fated track of those anti¬ 
 quated maxims, according to which all Liberty, 
 religious, political, or economic, is a curse. 
 
 What help is there for the Archduke against 
 this retrograde spirit of the higher Mexican 
 clergy, which tends to nothing less than to 
 paralyse the excellent effects of the French inter¬ 
 vention, and to precipitate Mexico afresh into 
 an abyss of profound anarchy? There is but 
 one, and that is in the Court of Lome. But 
 what will the Holy See do ? Will it interpose— 
 if not to please France, at least out of gratitude 
 to the House of Austria, which is more parti¬ 
 cularly a favourite with it ? In brief, will it 
 order the Mexican clergy to afford its co-operation 
 to the measures by which the Archduke, en¬ 
 lightened as he is, will, as France would do, 
 manifest his authority and characterize his 
 Government? Such is the question that now 
 presents itself, and the solution of which will not 
 admit of delay. 
 
 The author ardently hopes that this second 
 Roman Question may be solved in a manner 
 conformable to the spirit of modern civilization. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 He does not consider such an issue impossible, 
 but he is compelled to avow,—and he does it 
 with the utmost regret,—that at the present 
 moment it seems to him scarcely probable. But 
 as he has already said: “ When the blind pro¬ 
 vocations of the Court of Borne obliged the 
 General-in-chief of the Army of Italy to make 
 the petty campaign of 1797, which terminated in 
 the Treaty of Tolentino, did not the acts that 
 marked the early years of the pontificate of 
 Pius VII. seem as impossible as may now appear 
 the adhesion of the Holy See to a Liberal policy ? 
 And would it not be to calumniate the Holy See 
 to maintain that it will never rally to ideas the 
 substance of which is in the Gospel itself, and 
 out of the pale of which it has become clear to 
 every man of sense there is nought for the pon¬ 
 tifical authority but illusions, for the Church 
 but perils ?” 
 
 Michel Chevalier. 
 
 Paris, March 10, 1864. 
 
NOTE 
 
 The French original is not accompanied by a 
 Map; but on the Translator suggesting that 
 such an addition would he exceedingly con¬ 
 venient to the reader for reference, the wish was 
 instantly acceded to by the Publisher. 
 
 The Translator fears that, in one or two in¬ 
 stances, the Spanish form of the Christian name 
 of Cortez has been given instead of the French 
 and English one—that is, that “ Hernando” has 
 been used in place of the “ Fernando” which he 
 intended to adhere to. 
 
 T. A. 
 
 ' 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OB’ 
 
 THE FIKST VOLUME. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 MEXICAN CIVILIZATION PRIOR TO FERNANDO 
 
 CORTEZ.. 1 
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO BY CORTEZ . .155 
 
 PART III. 
 
 MEXICO UNDER THE COLONIAL SYSTEM . . 299 
 
 \For full Analytical Index, see end of the Second Volume .] 
 
PART I. 
 
 MEXICAN CIVILIZATION PRIOR TO 
 FERNANDO CORTEZ. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE EXPEDITION OE CORTEZ-HIS VOYAGE TO 
 
 VERA CRUZ. 
 
 On the evening of Holy Thursday, in the year 
 1519, an armed flotilla came to an anchor be¬ 
 tween the coast of the American continent and 
 the small island that now bears the name of San 
 Juan de Ulua, which French geographers persist 
 in calling Ulloa.* The men on board these 
 vessels were young, and two priests were to be 
 found among them. The age of their leader was 
 thirty-four. Resolution and confidence beamed 
 in their looks, and the dark tint of their com¬ 
 plexion attested that this was not the first of 
 their voyages and adventures under a burning 
 sun. Some of them, who had visited the spot 
 on a former expedition, were giving their com- 
 
 * Hot so great a licence, however, as that of calling 
 Ratisbon the city of Regensburg, and of metamorphosing 
 the name of M. de Ripolstein into Ribeaupierre. 
 
 1-2 
 
4 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 panions details as to the position of the country, 
 the arrangement of the mountains and rivers, 
 and the character of the natives. One of the 
 new visitors, in close attendance on the captain, 
 replied to his informants by singing some verses 
 from an old ballad about the enchanter Mon- 
 tesinos. “ This is France, Montesinos; here is 
 Paris, that grand city; there the Douro rushing 
 on to the sea;” intending thus to express that 
 the expedition had at last reached a great empire. 
 
 Cortez it was who, after having touched at the 
 Island of Cozumel, and made a rough campaign 
 against the Indians of the province of Tabasco, 
 in the peninsula of Yucatan, had turned towards 
 the Mexican shores, where Grijalva,* some of 
 
 * Juan de Grijalva was the nephew of Diego Velasquez, 
 the Governor of Cuba, who despatched him, with four 
 vessels, to explore the coast of the continent, as the sequel 
 to a voyage undertaken at his own cost and peril by Her¬ 
 nandez de Cordova, one of the Spaniards established at 
 Cuba. This adventurer had touched at various points 
 of Yucatan, of which he narrated surprising things. He 
 spoke with wonder of the articles of gold he had seen there, 
 of which he brought some fine specimens. Cordova’s voyage 
 was in 1517; that of Grijalva in the year following. Cor¬ 
 dova had not proceeded beyond the peninsula of Yucatan. 
 Grijalva sailed along not only that coast, but also a consider¬ 
 able extent of the Mexican shore. He had been at San 
 Juan de TJlua, and at the island of Sacrificios. It was he, 
 indeed, who gave them the names they still bear. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 5 
 
 whose companions were with him, had before set 
 foot. The account of this navigator, who was 
 an intelligent man, the information collected by 
 Cortez himself in Yucatan, and the vague 
 rumours current in the neighbouring islands, 
 agreed in stating that he would find on those 
 shores a more powerful and more industrious 
 people than any hitherto met with in the New 
 World—a people, too, with much gold. When 
 Cortez, seeing some ornaments of that metal 
 among the people of Tabasco, inquired whence 
 it came, the constant reply was, “ from Culhua.” 
 This was the country now known as Mexico, the 
 official name of which, for three centuries, was 
 New Spain. The race in possession of it were 
 the Aztecs. 
 
 Cortez and his companions had incurred the 
 necessity of signalizing themselves by some 
 great exploit. They had committed a fault 
 which the laws of all States treat as a crime, 
 and one that the leaders must expiate on the 
 gibbet and their followers at the galleys unless 
 atoned for by brilliant deeds. Their departure 
 from Cuba was an act of flagrant rebellion. 
 Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba, had been ex¬ 
 ceedingly struck by the account of Grijalva, 
 who, at various points of the Mexican coast, had 
 
6 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 had interviews with the natives, and even with 
 some officers of Montezuma, the sovereign of 
 the Aztec empire; and also the good luck to 
 exchange some bead-ware and other trifles of 
 European production for splendid specimens of 
 workmanship in gold. He resolved, therefore, 
 to send an expedition into a country that pro¬ 
 mised so much. He organized what was, for 
 those times, a considerable armament—looking, 
 at least, to the feeble resources of a young 
 colony such as Cuba was—and for commander 
 had made choice of Cortez, whose bravery 
 and intelligence he had already proved. The 
 latter embarked in the enterprise all that he 
 possessed, and even much more, for he borrowed 
 wherever he could. Warned that Velasquez, 
 his jealousy having been excited and his old ill- 
 feeling revived,* was preparing to take the com¬ 
 mand away from him, Cortez, by agreement with 
 his lieutenants, set sail from Santiago de Cuba 
 at sunrise on the 18th November, 1518, without 
 
 * Cortez had been in Cuba with Velasquez since 1511. 
 He had served under that leader valiantly, but having ex¬ 
 cited his anger by acts of indiscipline and the looseness of 
 his private life, had been thrown into prison. Velasquez 
 pardoned him, however, after a series of rather romantic 
 incidents. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 7 
 
 having taken leave. Informed of what was 
 passing, Velasquez hurried to the beach in time 
 to see Cortez give the signal, and to hear an 
 ironical request for his orders. From thence 
 the audacious adventurer proceeded to complete 
 his preparations, and recruit his little army, at 
 other ports of the island, as Macaca, Trinidad, 
 and Havana, continually followed by the im¬ 
 potent anathemas and vain orders of arrest 
 launched by the enraged Velasquez, and as con¬ 
 tinually decoying away men and carrying off 
 stores and munitions. He was, therefore, a 
 revolter, a kind of bandit; and that, too, in the 
 eyes and the knowledge of all his companions, 
 who consequently were his avowed accomplices. 
 But they were enchanted with the valiant spirit 
 of their captain, and were all, or almost all, irri¬ 
 tated by the sudden and unjust hostility exhi¬ 
 bited towards him by Velasquez, after having 
 induced him to invest in the expedition more 
 than he possessed. Added to this, they were 
 brave fellows, filled with the taste for a life of 
 adventure. Many of them had served against 
 the French in Italy, or against the Turks in the 
 waters of the Levant. They had come to the 
 resolution, easy for the Castilian of that age to 
 hold, that they would be heroes; they believed 
 
8 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 themselves certain of retrieving their rebellion 
 by illustrious exploits. 
 
 When the expedition put to sea, Cortez and 
 his companions judged of the Mexican popula¬ 
 tions whom they were going to encounter from 
 the indigenous tribes of America with whom 
 the Spaniards had been most in contact—those 
 of Hispaniola (the name first given to San 
 Domingo), Cuba, and the smaller isles around, an 
 inoffensive, mild, and gentle race, entirely desti¬ 
 tute of trade or manufactures — a childlike 
 people, easy to conquer and rule over, howsoever 
 numerous they might be. They must have been 
 relieved from that illusion when they landed on 
 the Mexican coast, near the Island of Sacrificios 
 and the reefs of San Juan de Ulua, as well as by 
 the bravery of the men with whom they had 
 measured themselves on the shores of Yucatan. 
 But the sentiment of danger found no access into 
 souls of their strong temperament. What occupied 
 them much more was the conviction that they 
 were approaching a country of far greater riches 
 than all the territories hitherto discovered in the 
 New World. In that they were not deceived; 
 Mexico had gold, and silver, and other wealth; 
 but, as was said by the Spartan chief to the 
 envoy from the Persian king, it was necessary to 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 9 
 
 come and take them. Now, for that feat they 
 were but about 650 soldiers, including all the 
 seamen, to the number of 110, that manned 
 their vessels. Of this force thirteen only 
 were arquebusiers, and thirty-two crossbow-men. 
 ’Tis true, they were provided with some sort 
 of artillery—ten pieces of ordnance and four 
 falconets. They had horsemen, but to the 
 number of sixteen only; and heaven knows 
 what it had cost them to get together that 
 small number of horses.* All the rest of the 
 band were on foot, armed with swords, pikes, or 
 clubs. The muster of his forces made by Cortez 
 at Cape San Antonio, at the moment of defini¬ 
 tively quitting the island of Cuba, exhibited a 
 total of six hundred and sixty-three men; but 
 losses had occurred since then, in conflicts with 
 the natives of Yucatan and from disease. 
 
 Cortez carried with him into Mexico two per¬ 
 sons who were to be useful to him in different 
 degrees. These were interpreters. At the de¬ 
 parture from Cuba there was on board the 
 squadron a native of Yucatan, whom Grijalva 
 
 * Horses were very rare then in Cuba. Cortez had paid 
 from 450 to 500, or on the average 475 pesos de oro per head. 
 According to Prescott’s estimate of the value of the peso 
 de oro , 21. 12s. 6d. } each animal would cost \2i0l. 17s. 6d, 
 
10 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 had made prisoner, and who had learnt a little of 
 the Spanish language during his captivity. But 
 he made his escape as soon as the expedition 
 reached his native country. Cortez was, how¬ 
 ever, enabled to replace him advantageously by 
 a Spaniard who, much against his will, had been 
 resident in Yucatan for eight years. He was 
 a monk, who had been shipwrecked on that 
 coast, and had there endured a cruel slavery. 
 Jeronimo de Aguilar, for so he was called, was a 
 man of a simple and devoted heart. Unfor¬ 
 tunately, he spoke only the dialect of Yucatan, 
 which was unintelligible to the people of Mexico; 
 but an intermediate interpreter was soon pre¬ 
 sented. The Cacique of Tabasco, a city of 
 Yucatan, near which a battle had been fought 
 between the Spaniards and the natives, on making 
 peace, gave Cortez twenty female slaves. One of 
 the number, and the handsomest, was born in 
 Mexico, in the province of Guazacoalco. Her 
 father, a rich and powerful Cacique, died when 
 she was a girl. Her mother married again, and 
 had a son by her second nuptials, to whom she 
 was desirous of ensuring the wealth of her first 
 husband. With that purpose she gave out that 
 her daughter had died, and substituting the 
 corpse of the child of one of her slaves, she sold her 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 11 
 
 own offspring to some traders. After a time the 
 latter re-sold her to the Cacique of Tabasco, who 
 made a present of her to the Conquistador. Doha 
 Marina, for that was the name given her by the 
 Spaniards, thus spoke both Mexican and the idiom 
 of the Yucatanese. In conjunction with Aguilar, 
 an interpreter was thus constituted that served 
 for communication with the Mexicans, even be¬ 
 fore the girl had learnt Spanish. But within a 
 brief delay she herself was completely competent. 
 She was not long in thoroughly mastering the 
 tongue, for love was her teacher. Captivated by 
 her beauty, Cortez made her his mistress, and she 
 was passionately fond of him. To be useful to 
 him, she displayed that power of penetrating 
 observation, that kind of divination, which the 
 passion inspires. She rendered the greatest 
 services to the Spaniards, for she more than once 
 contributed to extricate them from extreme 
 danger. 
 
 We have just stated what was the force of 
 Cortez—six hundred and fifty men, and he was 
 invading an empire! 
 
 It was not a savage tribe that he was now 
 to find before him, but a strongly organized 
 state. 
 
 From their communications with the people 
 
12 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 of Tabasco, Cortez and bis companions had 
 gathered that the country we call Mexico had 
 for the New World this peculiarity—that it was a 
 nation whose opulence and power had no hounds 
 in the opinion of the Yucatanese, who themselves 
 were not strangers to the elements of civiliza¬ 
 tion, for they cultivated various products, and 
 their towns were well built. The Aztecs, the 
 dominant race among the Mexicans, had carried 
 their arms to a distance of hundreds of leagues 
 from Tenochtitlan (the present Mexico), their 
 capital. They had made great conquests, and 
 had everywhere spread the terror of their name. 
 Their law, or their supremacy, was recognised as 
 far as Guatemala. The name of their emperor, 
 Montezuma,* inspired great respect, mingled 
 with still greater terror. A little while after his 
 landing, Cortez had an interview with Teuhtlile, 
 governor of the province, a soldier full of cour¬ 
 tesy, remarkable for his intelligence and acute¬ 
 ness—a real courtier, if we may take the testi¬ 
 mony of the chroniclers. Cortez having told this 
 officer that he was the envoy of a great emperor, 
 as renowned as his own master, Teuhtlile re* 
 
 * So Europeans have arranged the name, in order that it 
 may sound agreeably to the ear. The exact word would 
 appear to have been Moctheuzoma. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 13 
 
 ceived with astonishment the news that there 
 could exist a sovereign equal in power to Monte¬ 
 zuma. Some weeks afterwards, in an interview 
 with a cacique, Cortez asked him whose vassal 
 he was. “ Eh!” replied the chief, “ whose can 
 one be but Montezuma’s?” Several months still 
 later, when he had advanced into the interior, 
 after his conflict with the Tlascalans, he interro¬ 
 gated another chief, to know whether Monte¬ 
 zuma was his sovereign. “ Of whom is Monte¬ 
 zuma not the sovereign?” was the answer. 
 Pomp was carried to the extreme around the 
 prince; the basest offices about his person were 
 discharged by men of rank. The etiquette was 
 to speak to him with eyes cast down. When he 
 reached Mexico, Cortez wrote to Charles V.:— 
 u I think there is no soldan nor infidel prince 
 known up to this time, who has himself waited 
 on with so much display and magnificenceand 
 here, in the mouth of Cortez, this phrase of 
 soldan and prince is a sort of superlative. The 
 words, preserved by Bernal Diaz, with which 
 the Aztec emperor welcomed Cortez when he 
 gave him a first audience in his palace at 
 Mexico, show what he was to the native popu¬ 
 lations: “Your friends at Tlascala have pro¬ 
 bably told you,” said he, with a smile, “that I 
 
14 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 am like to the gods, that I dwell in palaces of 
 gold, and silver, and precious stones; but you 
 see that those tales are without foundation. My 
 palaces are, like the habitations of all mankind, of 
 stone and wood. My body,’’ added he, unco¬ 
 vering his arm, “ is—look at it—of flesh and 
 bone, like yours. Certainly I inherit from my 
 ancestors an immense empire; I have great ter¬ 
 ritories, and gold and silver; but-” 
 
 Let us rapidly examine what the Mexican 
 empire was; in what state were the arts and 
 sciences; what ideas and feelings prevailed there; 
 what was its political and social organization; 
 what was the religious belief and worship there: 
 in a word, to what degree of civilization it had 
 attained. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ARTS AND SCIENCES AMONG THE ANCIENT 
 MEXICANS. 
 
 Population, the basis of all wealth, was 
 abundant there. The accredited formula was 
 that Montezuma could count thirty vassals, each 
 able to put a hundred thousand men under arms. 
 It is very likely that exaggerations yielding in 
 nothing to those of the East were permitted in 
 these Western regions, and I no more believe in 
 Montezuma’s three millions of soldiers than in 
 the million of men transported by Xerxes from 
 one side of the Hellespont to the other. How¬ 
 ever, in the letters of Cortez, and in the narra¬ 
 tives of Bernal Diaz, or the other chroniclers 
 who gathered their information from the actors, 
 we are at every turn meeting with bodies of 
 Mexican soldiery numbering forty or fifty thou¬ 
 sand. Everything tends to prove that the 
 country was then more populous than it is now. 
 
16 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 In some of the provinces the towns were close 
 together. All round the basin of the lakes on 
 the celebrated plateau or mountain plain of 
 Anahuac,* more fertile and smiling than it can 
 be in our days,I there were twenty cities, the 
 memory of whose magnificence is yet preserved. 
 Beside the superb capital, springing, like Venice, 
 from the bosom of the waters, there were 
 Tezcuco and Tlacopan, residences of the so¬ 
 vereign; Iztapalapan, a fief of the emperor’s 
 brother; Chaleo, Xochimilco, Xoloc, Culhuacan, 
 Popotla, Tepejacac, Ajotzingo, Teotihuacan, &c., 
 almost all now reduced to miserable villages, 
 like the capitals of the Grecian states—like 
 Thebes and Memphis—more fortunate still than 
 Babylon, Nineveh, and Persepolis, whose sites 
 are barely known. Mexico had more than 
 300,000 souls. It was far more extensive than 
 
 * The name borne before the conquest, and still pre¬ 
 served by the vast and elevated plateau that forms a good 
 portion of the existing territory of Mexico. It signifies 
 “ adjoining the water,” referring to the lakes that occupy 
 the centre. Originally it applied only to the valley of 
 Mexico. 
 
 t Because the Spaniards, with the object of putting 
 Mexico out of the reach of inundations, have partially 
 drained the expanse of water in the neighbourhood of the 
 capital. They have thus laid bare a large extent of land 
 impregnated with salt, on which nothing will grow. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 17 
 
 the modern city built by Cortez on the same spot, 
 and yet the latter reckons 150,000 inhabitants;* 
 Tezcuco had 150,000, Iztapalapan at least 
 60,000. At the foot of the opposite decline of 
 the snowy chain that looks down on Mexico, the 
 at once sarcerdotal and trading city of Chololan 
 (Cholula) held not less than 150,000 souls. 
 
 A numerous population is the sure index of a 
 certain advancement in civilization. Where a 
 great number of men are aggregated in one spot, 
 there must be industry to feed, clothe, and lodge 
 them, and regular laws to fix their respective 
 rights and duties. In order to maintain peace in 
 that multitude, there need measures of order 
 and foresight: foresight and order imply the 
 difficult science of organization. 
 
 Agriculture, the first of arts, the nursing- 
 mother of states, flourished in the Aztec empire. 
 
 * “ On the road that leads to Tanepantla and the Ahua- 
 hetes you may progress for more than an hour among the 
 ruins of the ancient city. One thus perceives, as on the 
 route to Tacuba and Iztapalapan, how much smaller is the 
 Mexico rebuilt by Cortez than the Tenochtitlan of the last 
 of the Montezumas. The enormous size of the Tlatelolco 
 market, the limits of which are still discernible, proves how 
 very considerable must have been the population of the 
 old city.” Humboldt, “ Essai Politique sur La Nouvelle 
 Espagne," vol. ii. p. 43. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 In virtue of a wonderful privilege, to which we 
 shall revert hereafter in some detail, the 
 Mexican soil is adapted to every kind of culture. 
 It presents in a limited space, under the Torrid 
 Zone, a succession of all climates, from the burn¬ 
 ing plains of its Atlantic shores, in the vicinity 
 of the equator, to the summits of its snowy 
 mountains, where while the eye is gazing down¬ 
 wards into warm valleys, the foot is treading on 
 the vegetation of Iceland or Hudson’s Bay. 
 Thus the Mexican flora offered a very great 
 variety, even before Europeans had enriched it 
 with useful vegetables indigenous to their own 
 countries, or borrowed long before from Asia. 
 The ancient Mexicans had thus a diversity of pro¬ 
 duce, responding to their different wants. Maize 
 and the banana formed the basis of their aliment. 
 Cocoa furnished a drink grateful to the mighty 
 Montezuma, and which Spain and all Europe 
 delight in to this day: this was chocolate, still 
 designated by its Aztec name ( chocolatl ). They 
 possessed neither coffee nor the sugar-cane, but 
 they extracted sugar from the stalk of the maize. 
 They cultivated medicinal plants of many kinds; 
 and among others that which with us bears the 
 name of jalap, after the city of Jalapa or Xalapa, 
 a place we shall often have to mention, where 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 19 
 
 the neighbourhood produces it in quantities. 
 One of the wild plants of their forests yielded 
 them vanilla, of which Mexico long had a mono¬ 
 poly. From their cactuses they gathered cochi- 
 neal, which is in our own time still one of the 
 principal objects of Mexican commerce. Cotton, 
 wherewith to clothe themselves, was a great 
 article of culture. 
 
 One of the specialties presented by the Aztecs 
 to the Spaniards was tobacco, which they called 
 Yeti: they smoked it and took it in the shape of 
 snuff. There is reason to believe, however, that 
 this was an enjoyment reserved for the wealthy. 
 
 The most curious of their products was that 
 from an aloe, the agave Americana , commonly 
 known among them under the name of maguey , 
 upon which we will dwell for an instant, since it 
 is one of the specialties of Aztec civilization. 
 Every people have sought out and possessed 
 themselves of some fermented beverage, and in 
 the eyes of the physiologist one of the great 
 marvels of Islamism is to have succeeded in 
 binding down the Orientals to abstinence from 
 all such drinks.* From this general want of 
 mankind has resulted the care bestowed on the 
 cultivation of the vine throughout the Western 
 
 * We may suppose that coffee serves them instead. 
 
 2—3 
 
20 MEXICO, 
 
 civilization,* so far as climate has permitted and 
 no obstacle has been interposed by despotic laws, 
 such as we shall have to mention hereafter. 
 The Aztecs did not possess our vine, vitis 
 vinifera which, imported since the Conquest, 
 has succeeded well on the plateau of Anahuac; 
 but the maguey stood them in stead, furnishing 
 them with pulque , a beverage to their taste. 
 The maguey cultivated for pulque is planted in 
 long lines, rather more than three yards apart. 
 It requires little care till the time it shows for 
 flower, which happens only after an interval of 
 several years—ten, twelve, or even more. When 
 the stalk destined to bear the handsome flower 
 
 * What we here term “Western civilization” compre¬ 
 hends Europe, America, and the parts of Asia and Africa 
 where Christianity prevails, or where its place is occupied 
 by the two religions so closely allied to it, Judaism and 
 Mahometanism. The nations of Eastern civilization have 
 had other fermented beverages. The Chinese get theirs 
 from rice, almost as beer is a fermented liquor made from 
 barley. Other nations have fermented the saccharine juice 
 of various different plants. The Tartars ferment mare’s 
 milk. 
 
 t The vine abounded on the new continent, and there is 
 reason to believe that from thence came the name it re¬ 
 ceived from the Scandinavian navigators, the first Europeans 
 that penetrated there (in the tenth and eleventh centuries). 
 That name, indeed, was Vinland. But it is not a vine 
 whose fruit is fit for making wine. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 21 
 
 that distinguishes the agave is on the point of 
 shooting up, it is cut at the bottom, so as to 
 leave a hollow between the group of thick leaves 
 that constitute the mass of the plant, in which 
 to receive the sap that would have formed the 
 substance of the stalk. The dimensions of the 
 plant are such that the cavity thus produced is 
 from eighteen inches to nearly two feet in depth, 
 with a diameter of eleven to fifteen inches. The 
 juice that flows into this sort of cup is collected 
 daily, or even several times in the day, and con¬ 
 sists of a sweet liquid, thence called honey-water 
 ( aguamiel ). This is easily brought to ferment 
 by mixing with it a portion of the same juice, 
 preserved for that purpose from a previous 
 occasion. The fermentation is very speedy, and 
 converts the aguamiel into pulque. Unfortu¬ 
 nately, it is rare that the liquor thus prepared 
 does not in a short time contract a slight odour 
 of rotten eggs, probably arising from want of 
 cleanliness in the manufacture of the pulque, 
 and from the ordinary mode of transport, as it is 
 generally sent to market in skins. It is reckoned 
 that a good head of maguey gives daily from a 
 gallon to a gallon and three-quarters of juice, 
 convertible into almost the same quantity of 
 pulque, the average duration of the supply being 
 
22 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 from two to three months—or a total for each head 
 of from 670 to 1550 gallons. It is true, the plant 
 dies after the operation, and has to be replaced by 
 a new one; but the maguey always has numerous 
 shoots springing up around the mother stem. 
 A good deal of time is required, however, to 
 bring the young plant to maturity. But it must 
 be borne in mind that the cultivation calls for 
 very little care, whilst with us the vine requires 
 numerous dressings. 
 
 The production of pulque is not the only use 
 of the maguey. The leaves, ground to a pulp, 
 are turned into a white paper fit for writing on, 
 and employed for that purpose. The fibre of the 
 leaves is successfully adopted by the weaver, in 
 place of hemp or flax, and is also serviceable to 
 the ropemaker. The prickles with which it is 
 armed stand to the poor in place of needles or 
 pins. In their whole state the thick leaves are 
 used for thatching houses. The root yields an 
 agreeable and nourishing food. In short, the 
 maguey was a treasure to the ancient Mexicans, 
 and continues to be a favourite for cultivation. 
 Pulque is at this very hour the drink of the 
 Mexican nation, and is met with not merely in 
 the lower sort of taverns and among the poor, 
 but European tables are the only ones where it 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 23 
 
 is not daily served. On nearing the towns vast 
 fields are seen, with clumps of aloes ranged in 
 the quincunx form—to which those found in 
 Europe, whether in the open air or the green¬ 
 house, are not to be compared. This is the 
 maguey, whose juice delights the Mexican palate 
 and enriches the treasury, while the plant retains 
 most of the uses to which it was applied by the 
 Aztecs. Paper, for example, has not ceased to 
 be made from it.* The maguey and the nopal 
 {cactus), are the two plants characteristic of the 
 Mexican table-land. In uncultivated districts 
 there are immense tracts offering nothing to the 
 eye but inagueys and nopals, isolated or in scat¬ 
 tered clumps—a strange and melancholy vegeta¬ 
 tion, that stands insensible to the whistling of 
 the wind, instead of replying to it, as do our 
 waving forests, with a thrill of animation. The 
 silent inflexibility of the aloes and nopals might 
 make the traveller fancy, as he loses sight of the 
 villages, that he is traversing one of those coun¬ 
 tries he has been told of in fairy tales, where an 
 angry genie has petrified all nature. 
 
 Mexican agriculture was proficient in the art 
 of irrigation. Canals, which have been allowed 
 
 * Prescott names two manufactories of paper from 
 maguey. 
 
24 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 to fill up in many parts since the conquest, 
 spread wonderful fertility over vast districts. 
 The works of irrigation to be noticed at this day 
 around Cholula and Puebla date from the time 
 of the Aztecs, or even from that of their prede¬ 
 cessors, the Toltecs. The woodman’s craft was 
 known and practised among them. Severe re¬ 
 gulations prevented the destruction of timber in 
 the valley of Mexico. The rulers recognised the 
 use of forests in tempering the heats of summer, 
 and in feeding up the water-courses so necessary 
 to moisture. Inferior in this, also, to those they 
 succeeded, the Spaniards carried to the Mexican 
 mountain-plain that horror of trees, which they 
 probably inherit of the pastoral people from 
 whom they are descended, and which has made 
 that of Castille the most naked and dismal of all 
 plains. Wood is now deficient in Mexico, and 
 the genius of man has been taxed to supply it, in 
 devising a method for extracting the silver from 
 the ore, which, in place of employing fire, intro¬ 
 duces chemical re-agents, the principal of which 
 is mercury,—and the method is thence called the 
 cold process. 
 
 If Mexican agriculture was great in vegetable 
 riches—if in that it far surpassed the resources 
 the soil of Europe was able to offer to its first 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 25 
 
 inhabitants, with regard to animals, on the con¬ 
 trary, it was extremely poor. It possessed no 
 beasts of burden: the ox, the horse, the ass, and 
 the camel were alike wanting.* The ancient 
 Mexicans had not even the alpaca, which served 
 certain uses of transport in Peru. The sheep 
 and the goat were also unknown to them.f It 
 is not easy to conceive how we could do without 
 the ovine race, which supplies numerous wants 
 by its milk and fleece, to say nothing of its flesh. 
 The goat is in many countries a valuable animal, 
 were it only from its adroitness in finding a sub¬ 
 sistence in the wildest and most rugged districts. 
 But the presence of the larger animals, such as 
 
 * We are not saying that America was, before the 
 arrival of' Europeans, absolutely and completely destitute of 
 the bovinie race, as it was of horses. In the great plains 
 west of thie Mississippi, and in the valleys adjoining that of 
 the Rio Bravo del Norte, North America offers two species 
 of the wiild ox; but it is a long way from the valley of 
 Mexico tc» the Rio Bravo del Norte, and in their migrations 
 on their way from Atzlan, the Aztecs probably held far to 
 the west of the regions peopled by those quadrupeds, so that, 
 not having seen them, they could take none with them. 
 
 •j- Animals of the goat and sheep species existed in the 
 mountains of Old California, but no use was made of them; 
 and they were confined to a peninsula that appears not to 
 have been visited either by the Aztecs, or their predecessors, 
 the Toltees. 
 
26 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the ox, the horse, and the camel, who submit 
 easily to man and render him the convenient aid 
 of considerable muscular force, is an important 
 condition of the progress most dear to the friends 
 of humanity—that which raises the material lot 
 of the largest number, and invests it with moral 
 dignity. Wherever beasts of burden exist not, 
 man must take their place: thence a servile ex¬ 
 istence for a part of the population. Everything 
 then in the Aztec empire was carried on men’s 
 backs: the chiefs were borne in litters on the 
 shoulders of tamanes (porters were so desig¬ 
 nated). A fortiori , the tillage of the fields was 
 all done by the hand of man. Thus it is in 
 China, in our own days, that when you leave the 
 valleys of the great rivers, or get far from the 
 canals, the human back is the ordinary convey¬ 
 ance, and the cultivation of the soil is principally 
 effected by the strength of the arm. This behind¬ 
 hand state of things ceased in Mexico after the 
 conquest, and man was no longer the mechanical 
 instrument of locomotion. Mules for merchan¬ 
 dize, asses for the markets of the towns, and 
 horses for travellers, relieved him from that 
 painful and humiliating labour. In the moun¬ 
 tainous districts alone has the custom been per¬ 
 petuated of carrying heavy burdens, even of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 27 
 
 wood, on men’s backs.* With still greater ease 
 did animals displace the human species in the 
 labours of the field. 
 
 Animal food, not, to be obtained therefore 
 either from the ox or the sheep, was furnished 
 them by the chase and by the few animals that 
 had been domesticated. In that number we 
 find a kind of dog called the techichi. We know 
 that the Chinese have the same custom of eating 
 the dog. But the principal resource of the 
 Mexicans in this way was the turkey, which they 
 reared in great quantities, the name in their 
 language being totolin. Cortez relates that there 
 were several thousands of them in the yards of 
 Montezuma’s palaces; and Bernal Diaz reports 
 that two hundred of them were daily devoted to 
 the sustenance of the wild beasts in the Em¬ 
 peror’s menagerie—which proves two things, 
 that the menagerie was very large, and that the 
 turkey must have been of very little value. 
 Europe is indebted to Mexico for this useful 
 bird. 
 
 For the transmission of news and orders, 
 Montezuma had relays of men organized to a 
 speed nearly equal to that of the mails that 
 
 * The ordinary load for a man was from sixty to eighty 
 pounds. 
 
28 • MEXICO, 
 
 conveyed the letters in France before the days of 
 railways. Thanks to such rapid couriers, his 
 sumptuous table was served with fish that were 
 swimming the day before in the Gulf of Mexico 
 or off the beach of Acapulco. Now-a-days, 
 though horses are abundant in Mexico, and there 
 is a carriage road from the capital to Yera Cruz, 
 no one would dare to entertain such a fancy. 
 
 As if in gratitude to Nature, who had been so 
 prodigal to them in the treasures of the vege¬ 
 table kingdom, the Mexicans had a passion for 
 flowers. They collected together in splendid 
 gardens such as were remarkable for their per¬ 
 fume or their brilliancy of colour. To these 
 they added medicinal plants, methodically ar¬ 
 ranged; such of their shrubs as were distin¬ 
 guished by their blossoms or their foliage, the 
 excellence of their fruit or their berries; and 
 trees of elegant or majestic appearance. They 
 delighted in laying out their terraces and 
 bowers on hilly slopes, where they looked as if 
 suspended. They thus equalled the celebrated 
 gardens of Semiramis, ranked by antiquity—and 
 the moderns have accepted the verdict—among 
 the Wonders of the World. Aqueducts brought 
 thither waters from a distance, which overflowed 
 in cascades, or filled spacious basins tenanted by 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 29 
 
 the choicest fish. Mysterious pavilions were 
 hidden among the foliage, and statues reared 
 their forms amid the flowers. All the kinds of 
 animals that we assemble in our gardens conse¬ 
 crated to science, such as the Paris Jardin des 
 Plantes or the London Zoological Gardens, con¬ 
 tributed to the ornament or curiosity of these 
 resorts of pleasure. Birds were there of beauti¬ 
 ful plumage, confined in cages as large as houses; 
 there also were wild beasts, animals of various 
 kinds, and even serpents. Bernal Diaz there 
 first beheld the rattlesnake, which he describes 
 as having castanets in its tail. At that very 
 time Europe had no gardens of the sort.* In 
 reading the narrative of the conquest, we are 
 struck with admiration for the garden of King 
 Nezahualcoyotl, at Tezcotzinco (two leagues 
 from Tezcuco)—a hanging garden on the side of 
 a hill, whose summit was reached by five hun¬ 
 dred steps, and crowned by a basin, whence, by 
 an effort of hydraulic skill, water flowed succes¬ 
 sively into three other reservoirs, adorned with 
 gigantic statues. We are made to dwell, also, 
 on the description of the gardens with which 
 
 * The first jardin des plantes established in Europe was 
 that at Padua, founded in 1445; the others date from a 
 much later epoch. 
 
30 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Cuitlahuac, the brother and ephemeral successor 
 of Montezuma, embellished his residence at 
 Iztapalapan; and on those of a mere cacique at 
 Huaxtepec, which, according to the statement of 
 Cortez in his third letter to Charles V., were not 
 less than two leagues round. We are astonished 
 at what Montezuma himself had accumulated in 
 the very bosom of Mexico. The traveller of the 
 present day who wanders at Chapoltepec under 
 the shade of the enormous cypresses bearing the 
 name of the monarch just mentioned,* but really 
 anterior to that prince, and, overpowered with 
 reminiscences, treads the soil ages ago conse¬ 
 crated to imperial sepulture, comprehends all 
 the Aztec ruler was able to accomplish by the 
 art of his gardeners in the plain surrounding 
 that solitary hill of porphyry, by aiding the 
 action of a tropical sun with that of the pure 
 water that springs from the foot of the rock. 
 He finds reason in what is called the folly of the 
 young viceroy, Galvez, who, to enjoy the mag¬ 
 nificent spectacle all around, had a superb castle 
 built on the summit, now already reduced to 
 a heap of ruins. The humblest private indi¬ 
 viduals shared the taste for flowers of the great. 
 When, shortly after his landing, Cortez made his 
 
 * The trunks are above seventeen yards in circumference. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 31 
 
 entry into the town of Cerapoalla, the natives of 
 both sexes came out to meet him, and mingled 
 with his soldiery, bearing bouquets and garlands 
 of flowers, with which they decked the neck of 
 the horse of Cortez, crowning the helmet of the 
 rider with a chaplet of roses. 
 
 Another curiosity existed in the chinampas , or 
 floating gardens, scattered on the lakes. Masses 
 of weeds swimming on the surface, or rafts 
 covered with herbage, doubtless suggested the 
 idea to the Aztecs at the time when, like the 
 Jews, they were undergoing a preparation for 
 their future greatness under the rough sway of 
 some Pharaoh, the head of a foreign nation to 
 whom they were subjected. The land being 
 meted out to them, as the Bible says the straw 
 was to the Hebrews, they created more, by 
 linking together on the surface of the lake collec¬ 
 tions of reeds or branches, on which they spread 
 a slight covering of earth. The custom endured 
 after the Aztecs had become masters. These 
 artificial islets, of fifty to a hundred yards long, 
 served for the cultivation of vegetables and 
 flowers for the market of the capital. Some had 
 consistency enough for shrubs of some size to 
 grow on, or to bear even a hut of light material. 
 They were at pleasure moored to the bank with 
 
32 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 poles, or made to move forward with their floral 
 treasures by the same means. This spectacle 
 struck the Spaniards greatly, and, according to 
 Bernal Diaz, made them say that they had been 
 transported into an enchanted region, similar to 
 those they had read of in “ Amadis de Gaul,” a 
 romance of popular celebrity at that period. 
 
 The arts and trades of the ancient Mexicans 
 produced not only what was indispensable to the 
 necessaries of life, but also for articles of luxury. 
 They were clever in weaving cotton and the 
 fibre of the aloe; from cotton they made a sort 
 of cuirass ( escaupil ), impenetrable to arrows; 
 they knew how to tint their cloths with a large 
 variety of mineral or vegetable colours: I have 
 before mentioned cochineal, which is literally 
 an animal colour. They baked pottery for 
 domestic use, and, like the Russians of our own 
 day, made utensils of varnished wood. They 
 had no iron: that useful metal was not known, 
 or at least was not in great use, on either conti¬ 
 nent, till long after civilization had spread; but 
 similar in that to the Egyptians and elder 
 Greeks, for their tools they used bronze, which 
 by hammering acquires great hardness.* Bronze, 
 
 * The use of bronze in place of steel, as attested by the 
 discoveries at Pompeii, held its ground to a comparatively 
 late date in civilization. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 33 
 
 however, was not common among them, since 
 they employed for the same purpose obsidian 
 (called by them iztli), a vitreous mineral sub¬ 
 stance, but harder than glass, belonging to vol¬ 
 canic regions. They excelled in giving an edge 
 to this natural glass, making out of it knives, 
 razors (for though less bearded than ourselves, 
 they had barbers), and pike or arrow heads. 
 From their mines, though rudely worked, they ex¬ 
 tracted lead, tin, silver, gold, and copper. They 
 were proficients in fashioning the precious metals. 
 The ornaments and vases of gold and silver that 
 Cortez received from Montezuma before reaching 
 the table-land, and those he found at Mexico, 
 were moulded, soldered, sculptured by the 
 graver, enriched with cut stones, and enamelled, 
 with a skill at least equal to that then attained by 
 the majority of the goldsmiths of Europe; and the 
 latter admitted themselves vanquished, if we may 
 credit the authors contemporary to the conquest. 
 “ No prince in the known world,” writes Cortez 
 to Charles V., “possesses jewels of so great a 
 value;” and he clearly states that the working 
 was in no way inferior to the material. 
 
 Whilst on the topic of these achievements of 
 the goldsmith and the jeweller, we may make the 
 reflection that it was in Mexico as in all aristo- 
 vol. i. 3 
 
34 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 cratic and despotic countries—the enjoyments of 
 the few absorb the existence of the greater 
 number, and the maxim is applicable that Lucan 
 puts into the mouth of Caesar, Hwmanum paucis 
 vivit genus * Mexican civilization had the super¬ 
 fluous, and was often deficient in the necessary. 
 The same reflection naturally presents itself to 
 the mind in reference to another art practised by 
 the Aztecs with great success, that of feathered 
 stuffs. The country, like all tropical regions, 
 abounds in birds of beautiful plumage. The 
 feathers, artistically plaited on a groundwork 
 of cotton, and sometimes associated with the 
 skin of an animal, formed tissues of the most 
 rich and varied colours, exact also in design, 
 which were employed for the garb of the rich 
 and the decoration of palaces and temples, This 
 branch of industry occupied many hands, and 
 the products created a sensation in Europe. 
 
 In the day of battle a Mexican chief was 
 decked in a mantle of feathers, worn above his gold 
 cuirass. He bore a helmet of wood or copper, 
 and sometimes of silver, shaped like the fierce 
 head of the animal that served as his family 
 emblem, with a plume of feathers of his own 
 colours. His arms were garnished with bracelets; 
 
 * “ The human race lives for a few.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 35 
 
 a collar of gold and precious stones hung low on 
 the breast. Many had a buckler, embossed, 
 and fringed with plaited feathers. Their arms 
 were the bow, the sling, the javelin, the pike, and 
 the maquahuitl , a kind of sword wielded with 
 both hands, like those of the Middle Ages, about 
 a yard long, two-edged, and formed of blades of 
 obsidian, fixed in a hilt of wood. The point of 
 the arrows and pikes was often of copper. They 
 could form in bodies and columns, and knew 
 how to defile with some degree of order. The 
 first time he came in front of such adversaries, 
 the European had reason to dread he should not 
 easily get the better of them. That was the 
 notion that struck the mind of Cortez when he 
 found himself face to face with Tlascalans, who 
 were less polished and less instructed than the 
 Mexicans, far less luxurious, and not so well 
 armed, but not less valiant. 
 
 The architecture of the Aztecs was monu¬ 
 mental. The Mexican soil furnished a variety 
 of stone of volcanic origin, kinds of lava or 
 amygdaloids, of great resistance. The tetzontli , 
 of all these kinds that most employed in Mexico, 
 is porous, and consequently light, which renders 
 it specially adapted for building; to this ad¬ 
 vantage it adds that of being hard and imper* 
 3—3 
 
36 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 vious. For sculpture, which they made much 
 use of, turning out, however, only hideous ob¬ 
 jects, like the statues of India and China, they 
 had black and variegated porphyry. The 
 palaces were spacious, hut almost all of a single 
 story, and composed of several buildings dis¬ 
 tributed over a vast enclosure—a disposition 
 resembling that of the Chinese palaces. They 
 were wainscoted with odoriferous woods, skil¬ 
 fully carved. Externally, the walls were covered 
 with white solid stucco, that made them glisten 
 in the sun. When the Spaniards came for the 
 first time on a Mexican city (that of Cempo- 
 alla), the horsemen in advance, deceived by 
 this appearance and by their own imagination, 
 returned to their comrades at a gallop to an¬ 
 nounce that the houses were coated with plates 
 of silver. Internally, the apartments of the 
 great were adorned with marble and porphyry, 
 when they were not hung with cloth of feathers. 
 The temples were grand pyramids of bricks 
 burnt in the sun, or of earth merely, with a 
 facino’ of stone, surmounted with sanctuaries 
 and towers adorned with images of the gods. 
 Fires were burning on the summit day and 
 night, which in the obscurity of tropical dark¬ 
 ness gave these edifices a mysterious aspect. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 37 
 
 The vastness of the temples and palaces, the 
 enormous labour implied in the edifices of all 
 hinds massed together in the valley of Mexico, 
 among the number of which must be mentioned 
 the causeways of masonry thrown across the 
 lake, extorted cries of admiration from the 
 conquistadores. When Cortez, in his reports to 
 Charles V., mentions the city of Iztapalapan, 
 which he passed through before entering Monte¬ 
 zuma’s capital, it is to tell him that there are 
 palaces to be compared with the most beautiful 
 Spain can offer. In regard to Mexico, when 
 the obstinate defence of Guatemozin compels 
 him to demolish it house by house, he tells the 
 Emperor that it is with bitter regret, “ because 
 it is the most beautiful thing in the world.” 
 
 Mechanical science was in its infancy in 
 Mexico: in that the most famous peoples of an¬ 
 tiquity were scarcely more advanced. However, 
 the Mexicans had succeeded in moving great 
 masses—somewhat less enormous, indeed, than 
 those of the Egyptians. Such, for example, was 
 the Calendar Stone, now built into the walls of 
 the cathedral in Mexico (Prescott estimates the 
 weight at nearly fifty tons), which made a land 
 journey of several leagues. 
 
 Father Toribio, a monk, who wrote iinme- 
 
38 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 diately after the conquest, and who has left one 
 of the best works we have on the civilization 
 of the Mexicans, characterizes their industrial 
 knowledge in these terms:— 
 
 In general they are ignorant of nothing connected 
 with either the labours of the field or the town. One 
 Indian never has need of recourse to another to con¬ 
 struct for himself a house, or procure him the necessary 
 materials. In what locality soever they may be, they 
 know where to find the wherewith to join, to sever, 
 or to saw what they choose, and to light a fire. The 
 very children know the names and the qualities of every 
 animal, tree, and herb, though there are a thousand 
 varieties, as well as of the multitude of roots which they 
 use for food. All know how to dress a stone, build a 
 house, make a rope or cable of rushes, and procure what 
 is needed for the purpose. In short, they are acquainted 
 with every trade not demanding great talent or delicate 
 tools. When night overtakes them in the open country, 
 they construct huts in an instant, especially if they are 
 travelling with chiefs or Spaniards; then all, whoever 
 they may be, put their hands to the work with a willing 
 heart. 
 
 The multiplicity of the products of their in¬ 
 dustry is further certified by the descriptions, 
 of which we have a tolerable number, of the 
 market of Mexico, held every five days. This 
 was a square surrounded with porticos, said by 
 Cortez to be twice as large as the city of Sala- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 39 
 
 manca, in which 60,000 persons could traffic 
 with ease. The order that reigned among this 
 multitude and presided in their transactions, 
 the rapidity with which special magistrates 
 settled disputes and punished infractions of 
 the law, are still more irrefragable proofs of 
 the height in the scale to which these people had 
 arrived. 
 
 Their monetary system had for basis two 
 metals—gold and tin. The richer of the two 
 was put into quills in the shape of gold-dust— 
 a rude way of measuring the quantity. The tin 
 was cut into the shape of a T, a plan that 
 favoured the pieces being tolerably equal in size. 
 At first sight it may be thought surprising that, 
 with their skill in working in gold and silver, 
 they should have had no idea of minting money 
 in a regular form; but the Chinese are not more 
 advanced in that respect at this very hour than 
 were the Aztecs then. In China, silver, which 
 is the principal instrument of exchange, is taken 
 by weight and standard, and is not, as with us, 
 made into coins uniform in those respects. 
 Cocoa served instead of copper coin. This use 
 for grains of cocoa subsisted long after the con¬ 
 quest, and I am not sure that it has ceased 
 even yet. 
 
40 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Proofs in sufficient number may be found, 
 however, of the infancy of the arts among the 
 Aztecs. One of the most striking would be 
 what we are told of them, that they had no 
 notion of weight: but is that assertion well 
 founded? Prescott considers it as likely; Hum¬ 
 boldt nowhere mentions it. The idea of weight 
 is so elementary that at least we may be per¬ 
 mitted to doubt. One thing appears certain : in 
 the markets of Mexico everything was measured 
 by quantity or the number of pieces. So Cortez 
 reports to Charles Y.; but he guards himself 
 from saying that the notion of weight had 
 escaped these people. 
 
 What has been stated enables us to form an 
 opinion of the condition of the arts and sciences 
 among the ancient Mexicans, and that opinion 
 will assuredly be advantageous to them. On 
 this point it is not superfluous to call to mind 
 that, in his letters to Charles V., Cortez asserts 
 that he exaggerates nothing; and indeed they 
 bear the impress of circumspection and reserve. 
 Cortez always conducted himself towards liis 
 sovereign as a loyal subject, anxious to bring to 
 his knowledge whatever might enlighten him on 
 the countries he was adding to his empire. 
 Here is an extract:— 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 41 
 
 A complete report on the usages and customs of these 
 peoples, on the administration and government of this 
 capital and of the other cities belonging to this sove- 
 reign, would require a great deal of time and a large 
 number of very able writers. I cannot, therefore, render 
 an account to your majesty of a hundredth part of the 
 facts that deserve to be reported; but I shall do what 
 is possible to relate a few as well as I can, of which I 
 have been an eye-witness, so marvellous that they pass 
 all belief, and for which we cannot account to our own 
 selves. The only reproach that can be addressed to me 
 is, that of having made an incomplete report; but it 
 shall never be said that I have exaggerated facts, neither 
 here nor in anything that I shall write, for it appears to 
 me just to set forth the truth to my prince and master 
 as clearly as possible, without admitting anything that 
 could obscure or exaggerate it. 
 
 To refer to only one detail connected with 
 this advanced industrial state, how could Cortez 
 have exaggerated on the subject of the beauty of 
 the articles of goldsmith’s work manufactured 
 by the Mexicans, when he was sending the very 
 things to Charles Y. ? Las Casas, Oviedo, and 
 Peter Martyr, who saw them in Spain with their 
 own eyes, join their testimony on this point to 
 that of the Conquistador. 
 
 The written and spoken notation in use 
 among the Aztecs was simple. It was founded 
 on the number twenty, which was represented 
 
42 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 by a flag. The basis of the system was thus 
 divisible not only by the number five—which all 
 peoples appear to have agreed on, doubtless 
 from the fingers—but also by the number four, 
 which implies the division by two. It is ad¬ 
 mitted that the weak side of the decimal system 
 is the impossibility of dividing the number ten, 
 which is its basis, by four.* Their signs repre¬ 
 sented what are called in arithmetic the suc¬ 
 cessive powers of 20—that is, 20 times 20, or 
 400, was indicated by a feather; 20 times 400, 
 or 8000, was depicted by a purse or sack; and 
 they rarely had need of going beyond this third 
 power, because they combined its sign with their 
 other emblems. It is as if we had successive 
 figures for the numbers ten, ten times ten or a 
 hundred, ten times a hundred or a thousand. 
 The numbers from one to twenty were repre¬ 
 sented by setting down a dot for every unit. 
 This written arithmetic, though very inferior to 
 
 * The number ten, the basis of the decimal notation, is 
 reproached with not being divisible by either four or three. 
 Regret has often been expressed that the number twelve was 
 not substituted for it both in written and spoken notation, 
 which would then have been represented by the figure 1 
 followed by 0, ten and eleven being designated, consequently, 
 by two special figures, in addition to the nine we have 
 already. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 48 
 
 that we derive from the Hindoos through the 
 medium of the Arabs, which is founded on 
 the ingenious idea of value by position,* is 
 quite equal to that of the Greeks and Romans; 
 it resembles the latter prodigiously, insomuch as 
 the principal Roman figures correspond to the 
 successive powers of ten. The signs for twenty, 
 four hundred, and eight thousand, were divided 
 into halves or quarters, so as to indicate a greater 
 variety of numbers without much complication. 
 Thus 200 was depicted by the half of a pen, 
 6000 by three-quarters of a purse or sack. 
 
 The Mexicans had more than one method of 
 writing. Rot only did they use hieroglyphic 
 signs, both figurative and symbolic , but, like the 
 ancient Egyptians, they had also phonetic signs, 
 representing not a thing, an action, or an idea, 
 but a sound. From thence to the alphabet is 
 but a step, or rather, it is the alphabet already; 
 but they made far less use of the valuable dis¬ 
 covery of phonetic signs than did the Egyptians; 
 they confined themselves almost entirely to the 
 figurative and symbolic. The result was, that 
 the writing had to be greatly aided by the 
 
 * That is, on the understanding that by moving the place 
 of a figure one step to the left, its value is increased ten¬ 
 fold. 
 
44 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 memory. Their books, which were on leaves 
 like ours, and not on rolls like those of the 
 ancients, were collected in libraries. Unhappily, 
 almost all of them have been burnt. The re¬ 
 sponsibility of this deeply to be regretted con¬ 
 flagration lies on the first Archbishop of Mexico. 
 That prelate is to be commended for the warmth 
 with which he protected the Indians against the 
 rapacity of the colonists, come like birds of prey 
 to devour the fruits of conquest; but in his zeal 
 to destroy the traditions of Aztec paganism, he 
 became furiously bent on sweeping off every 
 monument of their literature. He sought out 
 all the manuscripts in the country, and made a 
 solemn bonfire of them in the great square of 
 Mexico. They formed quite a mountain, ac¬ 
 cording to the writers of the time; and each 
 individual set his heart on imitating the deplor¬ 
 able example, thinking to show thereby his 
 devotion to religion. 
 
 The state of their astronomical knowledge 
 would seem to denote remarkable means of ob¬ 
 servation or unheard-of good fortune in their 
 calculations. They had succeeded in arriving 
 at the length of the year not only better than 
 the Romans of the time of Ciesar, but even better 
 than official Europe under Francis I. and 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 45 
 
 Charles V. Their method of intercalation, to 
 provide for the fraction of the day that makes up 
 the exact duration of the tropical year, is nearly 
 equivalent to that established by the Gregorian 
 reform. The latter intercalated four-and-twenty 
 days in a hundred years; the Aztecs intercalated 
 five-and-twenty in a hundred and four years.* 
 The difference is very slight. The length of the 
 tropical year is 365 days, and a fraction above, of 
 5h. 48m. 49s. This fraction of nearly a quarter 
 of a day per annum , obliging the intercalation 
 of an entire day, or, after a certain period, of 
 several days, was, in the calendar introduced by 
 Julius Caesar, set down as exactly a quarter; so 
 that in the time of Pope Gregory XIII. we were 
 ten days ahead. The Gregorian reform, decreed 
 in 1582, which intercalates a day every four 
 years, except in the year ending the century— 
 and then the exception can occur but three cen¬ 
 turies out of four—estimates the fraction at 
 5h. 49m. 12s. The ordinary year of the Grego¬ 
 rian Calendar is too long, therefore, by 23 
 seconds, or a day in four thousand years.f 
 Among the Mexicans the ordinary year put the 
 
 * More exactly, ninety-seven in four hundred years. 
 
 t Tlience it results that we have to set ourselves right by 
 unbissextilizing a year every forty centuries. 
 
46 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 fraction at 5h. 46m. 9s., and was therefore 
 almost in conformity to the celebrated calcula¬ 
 tion of the Caliph Almamon’s astronomers. 
 
 Laplace, struck with this approximation of the 
 Mexicans, was inclined to attribute it to some 
 communication with Asia, but was stopped by a 
 judicious reflection. “ How is it (he asked), if 
 this exact determination of the length of the 
 year was transmitted to them by the north of 
 Asia, that they have a division of time so dif¬ 
 ferent from those in use in that part of the 
 world?”* It is better, then, to conclude that 
 the people of Mexico arrived of themselves at 
 this result, so close to the truth. 
 
 This correct estimate of the year was to them 
 a fact not without consequences, as the return of 
 the feasts and religious ceremonies was rigorously 
 calculated in unison with it. A reason the more 
 for giving them the honour of it. 
 
 * “ Systeme du Monde,” Book V. chap. iii. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 47 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE LITERATURE OF THE MEXICANS. 
 
 I have said that the Mexicans had books. The) 7 
 possessed, in fact, a real historical and poetical 
 literature. They made verses, they composed 
 songs and odes. The city of Tezcuco, the 
 flourishing capital of the Acolhuans, was sig¬ 
 nalized by its love of letters. The purest and 
 most refined of the Anahuac dialects was spoken 
 there. To repeat Prescott’s phrase, it was the 
 Athens of the New World. Every illustrious 
 family throughout Mexico sent their sons thither, 
 according to Boturini, that they might learn the 
 niceties of the language, and poetry, moral philo¬ 
 sophy, theology, astronomy, medicine, and his¬ 
 tory. A literary and scientific spirit was in full 
 activity there in the reign of Nezahualcoyotl,* a 
 glorious prince, who just a century before the 
 
 * The name signifies “the famished fox/’ and indicates 
 the prince’s craftiness and the harsh experiences of his youth. 
 
48 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Spaniards came, reconquered the throne of his 
 fathers, from which he had been driven by an 
 usurper. He created an academy under the 
 title of the Council of Music, which combined 
 administrative and political functions with its 
 literary business. It was a body that might be 
 said to be devoted to the Muses, a conservator 
 of good traditions and taste, and a protector of 
 young talent. On certain solemn days authors 
 came before it to recite their poems and re¬ 
 ceive prizes. The three Mexican sovereigns, 
 the kings of Tezcuco, Tenochtitlan (Mexico), 
 and Tlacopan —las ires cabezas , to use the ordi¬ 
 nary phrase of the Spanish narratives—were 
 members of this body, and participated in its 
 labours, nearly as Napoleon I. did in those of 
 the Institute. They did honour to themselves 
 by having for colleagues in that capacity the 
 best-informed men in the country, whatever 
 might be their birth. As a Council of Censors, 
 this assembly had to judge works of astronomy, 
 history, chronology, and other sciences, before 
 they were handed over to public perusal; but 
 we are to believe that this preventive function 
 was not always exercised, for it summoned 
 authors and punished them after publication. 
 And here we find a specimen of the cruelty of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 49 
 
 the penal code of these people. An historical 
 falsehood was punished with death, if committed 
 with deliberate intention. Lastly, it was a 
 Council of Public Instruction, conferring on 
 professors their diplomas and superintending the 
 general course of study. 
 
 King Nezahualcoyotl did not disdain to take a 
 place among the poets who competed before the 
 Academy. He thus paid tribute to the arts 
 with more discretion and grandeur than Kero 
 when he sang before the people, or than 
 Louis XIV. when he appeared in ballets; and 
 it is nowhere said that he was ever guilty of 
 literary meannesses, that he was jealous of his 
 rivals, as was Kichelieu of Corneille, or that, 
 intolerant of critics, as were the Greek tyrants, 
 he ever sent them to the mines. This prince 
 was, indeed, really the first poet of his day. He 
 presents a good deal of resemblance to two great 
 rulers of the East—King David and the Caliph 
 Ilaroun-al-Kaschid. Like the first, he raised 
 up a monarchy in ruins; like the second, he 
 was magnificent; like them both, he was a lems- 
 lator, and organized a general administration 
 centering in his own person. Pie discharged his 
 administrative duties with zeal, intelligence, and 
 success, and land uncultivated was scarcely to 
 
 VOL. i. 4 
 
50 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 be found in his dominions. Like the Caliph of 
 Bagdad, he was fond of assuming disguises, and of 
 strolling about his capital with his Mesrour and 
 Giafar, mingling with the people to learn what 
 was thought of his government, and seeking 
 adventures that gave him the opportunity of 
 displaying his noble qualities. An episode is to 
 be found in his life, of which all the circum¬ 
 stances seem to be a reproduction of the love of 
 David for Bathsheba, the wife of the ill-fated 
 Uriah. His odes, some of which are extant, are 
 certainly not on a level with the Psalms of the 
 King of Judah. It is very difficult to judge of 
 their form from translations, probably somewhat 
 free; but their sentiment is well worth atten¬ 
 tion. They breathe a philosophy of gentle 
 melancholy, but full of confidence in another life. 
 His maxims, collected from various sources, and 
 set out with a multitude of details as to his life 
 and government, by Ixtlixocliitl, an Indian 
 directly descended from him, who wrote in 
 Spanish, are of rare beauty. From his religious 
 notions, one would think he was conversant 
 with Plato, or with St. Paul. On regaining 
 the throne of his fathers, he granted a general 
 amnesty, giving utterance to the words, u A 
 king punishes, but does not revenge.” We 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 hi 
 
 can fancy we are listening to Louis XII. saying 
 that u the King of France does not avenge the 
 injuries of the Duke of Orleans.” He built a 
 magnificent temple, and placed on the altar the 
 following inscription, which recals that at Athens, 
 turned to such happy account by St. Paul, “ To 
 the Unknown God, the Cause of Causes.” For 
 those who would like to judge of the character 
 of his poetry, here is an unembellished extract 
 from one of his odes ;*— 
 
 The transitory pomps of this life are like the green 
 willows, which, though they arrive at an advanced age, 
 end by being consumed in the fire. The hatchet hews 
 them down, the hurricane uproots them: old age and 
 decrepitude bow us down and sadden us. 
 
 All things on earth are destined to perish. In the 
 height of splendour, in the intoxication of joy, an un¬ 
 pitying weakness seizes on them, and they fall to the 
 dust. 
 
 The round world is a sepulchre. Of all that is reared 
 and lives on its surface, there is not a thing hut must 
 return to earth. The rivers, the torrents, and the 
 springs run their course, without ever revisiting the 
 pleasant spots that witnessed their birth. They hasten 
 
 * M. Ternaux-Compans has, in his collection, reprinted 
 from Granados y Galvez, the Otomie text with a Spanish 
 translation, which he has put into French. He has added 
 another ode, in Spanish and French, which may be called 
 “ A Lamentation.” 
 
 4 —i 
 
52 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 on as if they longed to precipitate themselves into the 
 bottomless gulf of Tluloca (the god of the sea). What 
 was yesterday is to-day no longer ; and of what is 
 existing to-day, who can say how much will remain 
 to-morrow ? 
 
 The rottenness of the tombs are bodies heretofore 
 animated by the living souls of mighty men, who sat on 
 thrones, presided over assemblies, led armies to victory, 
 subjugated empires, deereed to themselves the homage 
 and adoration of men, puffed themselves up with vain 
 pride, and gorged themselves with dominion. 
 
 But all these glories are dissipated like the threatening 
 smoke issuing from the mouth of Popocatepetl,* and 
 Avhat remains of all these pompous existences is reduced 
 to the coarse skin on which the chronicler inscribes a 
 few lines. 
 
 A strophe then follows, in which the royal law¬ 
 giver and poet seems to be inspired at once by 
 the thought that dictated to Juvenal the beau¬ 
 tiful lines— 
 
 Expende Annibalem, quot libras in duce surnmo, &c.f 
 
 —and by the words the Christian priest addresses 
 to each of the faithful on Ash-Wednesday, as he 
 makes the sign of the cross on his forehead:— 
 
 * An elevated mountain, covered with snow, that looks 
 down on the valley and city of Mexico. The name signifies 
 “ the smoking mountain.” 
 
 t “Weigh Amiibal; how many pounds in that great 
 general,” &c. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 53 
 
 Alas ! if I were to conduct you into the obscure re¬ 
 cesses of these mansions of the dead, and should ask you 
 for the bones off the mighty king who was the first chief 
 of the ancient 'Toltecs, and for those of Necaxecmitl, the 
 pious worshipper of the gods; if I were to summon you 
 to point out Ito me which are the remains of the 
 Empress Xiuhttzal, of incomparable beauty, and of the 
 pacific Topietz:in, the last sovereign of the ill-fated 
 Toltec monarchy; if I asked you to show me which are 
 the sacred ashets of our first father, Xolotl, those of the 
 most magnificent Nopaltzin, and of the generous Tlotzin, 
 and even thosce still warm of my father, glorious and 
 immortal, notwithstanding his misfortunes; if the like 
 questions were put to you as to all our illustrious an¬ 
 cestors—what mould you reply, if it were not what I 
 should reply imyself —“ Indipohdi, indipoJidi —I know 
 nought, I know nought \” for the earliest and the latest 
 are mingled amd confounded in the bosom of the earth. 
 As it is with t;hem so will it be one day with ourselves 
 and with all that come after us. 
 
 It concludes with these consoling phrases - 
 
 But let us, nioble chiefs, and you, also, faithful friends 
 and loyal subjects, stand full of courage and confidence. 
 Let us aspire to Heaven, where all is eternal, and where 
 everything defices corruption. The tomb with its horrors 
 is the cradle cof the sun, and the gloomy shades of 
 death are dazzliing lights for the starry spaces.* 
 
 * The obscuriity of this passage must be attributed to ita 
 having a mystiic sense connected with the ideas of the 
 Mexicans as to tthe future life. They placed their paradises 
 in the stations o)f the sun. 
 
54 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE DOUBLE CURRENT OF ANCIENT MEXICAN 
 CIVILIZATION—THE TOLTECS AND AZTECS. 
 
 Before proceeding farther, let us point out an 
 important fact. The history of ancient Mexico 
 is composed of two distinct, or rather, deci¬ 
 sively separated periods. In the first, the 
 country belongs to the Toltecs; in the second, 
 to the Aztecs, mingling up with them the races 
 of the same origin whom they finally mastered. 
 It is needless to dwell here on an intermediate 
 epoch, neither strongly characterized nor of more 
 than short duration, that of the Chichemecs. 
 These last were soon driven back either towards 
 the north or into the mountains of Tlascala, 
 where they remained, face to face with their 
 more powerful and soon more civilized neigh¬ 
 bours, in a state of rivalry which Cortez had the 
 skill to turn to the advantage of his arms. The 
 Toltec period dates from the year 698 of the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 55 
 
 Christian era, and ends with the twelfth century. 
 That of the Aztecs begins about a.d. 1200, and 
 was put an end to by the conquest of Cortez— 
 if indeed we can say, in rigorous strictness, that 
 it has been put an end to, since the Aztecs, pure 
 or mixed, still form the mass of the Mexican 
 population. 
 
 With the Toltecs civilization appeared. From 
 whence did they come? Of that we are in 
 io’norance; all that is known is, that they came 
 by a northern route from a mysterious locality 
 designated by the name of Tullan. We have no 
 positive data as to the medium through which 
 they gained the arts and knowledge they brought 
 with them. They established the seat of their 
 dominion to the north of the valley of Mexico, 
 at Tula, where the companions of Cortez found 
 vestiges of vast buildings. They were a kind- 
 hearted race, but not in the passive style of the 
 Indians of the small or large islands discovered 
 by Christopher Columbus. They were endowed, 
 on the contrary, with great activity, and a re¬ 
 markable spirit of enterprise. They it was who 
 brought the country under cultivation by intro¬ 
 ducing maize and cotton; they were the first who 
 built cities, constructed roads, and erected monu¬ 
 ments. They distinguished themselves greatly 
 
56 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 in architecture. They made use of hieroglyphic 
 painting to record events, and communicate ideas 
 and feelings. Among other useful arts they 
 knew how to cast metals, to cut and polish the 
 hardest stones, to burn pottery, and to weave 
 various stuffs. They were fond of literature and 
 of the achievements of the mind in general. 
 Thus, they had a solar year more perfect than 
 that of the Greeks and Romans, and the 
 Spaniards found it in use in the Aztec empire. 
 
 The major part of the knowledge the 
 Spaniards discovered in the country appears to 
 have come from the Toltecs. They had a reli¬ 
 gion whose precepts were humane, and the prac¬ 
 tices of which often recommend themselves by 
 the graceful imagination that outlined their pro¬ 
 gramme. A man of superior mind, who ob¬ 
 served political and social facts with the same 
 sagacity and the same profundity as he did the 
 phenomena of nature—Yon Humboldt—says 
 that the form of the Toltec Government and 
 their organization led to the idea that they 
 sprang from a people who had already endured 
 great vicissitudes in their social state. The little 
 preserved of their literature tends to confirm 
 this deduction. 
 
 Of the evidences of their sway left by the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 57 
 
 Toltecs in Anahuac, the most prominent consists 
 of a number of pyramids, which have a good deal 
 of resemblance to tlhose of Sakara in Upper 
 Egypt. They are like them built of clay, or of 
 bricks burnt in the sun, with a facing of stone, 
 and parted off into stories by terraces. Like all 
 the pyramids of Egypt, including the three 
 famous monuments oif the plain of Gizeh at the 
 gates of Cairo, their four faces are set with 
 exactness to the four cardinal points. 
 
 They are considerable pieces of building, 
 though, after all, having slight pretensions to art. 
 The principal of the pyramids of San Juan 
 Teotihuacan, that dedicated to the sun, has at 
 this day a height of 180 feet, with a length of 
 base of 682 feet. The pyramid of Cheops, at 
 Gizeh, is 478 feet high, and 767 feet at the base. 
 The Toltecs were still more incontestably the 
 architects of the pyramid of Cholula, which was 
 destined to support the sanctuary of Quetzal- 
 coalt, the God of the Air, on the summit of which 
 at this day is reared a chapel, girt round with 
 trees, and served by an Indian monk. The 
 pyramid of Cholula is exactly the same height 
 as that of the sun at San Juan Teotihuacan, but 
 the length of its base is almost double that of 
 even the pyramid of Cheops, being exactly 1423 
 
58 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 feet. Its shape is the same as those of San Juan 
 Teotihuacan and Sakara, and it is set to the 
 points of the compass, and parted off into stories 
 by successive terraces, passing round the entire 
 circumference.* 
 
 How and why did the Toltec empire come to 
 an end? By emigration, we are told. But 
 why did the people emigrate? Under what 
 pressure, or in virtue of what instinct, did they 
 quit so fine a country? No one has yet been 
 able to tell this with any certainty. Was it 
 famine? Was it pestilence?—for pestilence has 
 at times desolated these regions, and what part 
 of the world has it spared? Was it an unsuc- 
 
 * The number of these pyramids appears to be rather 
 considerable in Mexico. A traveller who examined the 
 country four-and-twenty years ago—M. Isidore Lowenstern 
 —whom a premature death snatched from science and his 
 friends, had the satisfaction of discovering some that had not 
 been mentioned before. The most interesting was the one 
 he found quite close to the capital, at a league from Tacuba, 
 a village of Remedios. He estimated the height at from 
 260 to 325 feet. He says:—“It is distinguished from the 
 monuments of Mexico hitherto known by its being divided 
 over its whole surface by steps, each about a yard high, 
 while the others are ordinarily divided into three or four 
 stories or terraces. This appears to have had a complete 
 facing of stone-work. It is very difficult to climb, both by 
 reason of the loosened stones and the prickly nopal that covers 
 it.”—“ Le Mexique,” by J. Lowenstern, p. 262. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 59 
 
 cessful war with ferocious neighbours? Nothing 
 is known on the point. However, it is con¬ 
 sidered as probable that on abandoning Anahuac 
 they moved southwards, and that the grand 
 edifices, the remains of which the traveller con¬ 
 templates with astonishment at Palenque,Uxmal, 
 and Mitla, in Central America, were the work of 
 their hands.* 
 
 Quite otherwise was the genius of the Aztecs. 
 They were sombre, and severe to cruelty. As 
 soon as they could display them, they exhibited 
 sanguinary tastes. They had a spirit of domi¬ 
 nation and conquest. They organized a rigid 
 authority over vast territories. Between them 
 and the Toltecs the difference is of the same 
 kind as between the rude Romans of the early 
 days of the republic and the Greeks of the epoch 
 that preceded Pericles. The Aztecs did not 
 
 * Mexico has more than once suffered from an epidemic 
 disease called matlazahuatl, which has displayed its ravages 
 since the arrival of the Spaniards, as well as before. It is 
 remarkable that it now attacks almost solely the Red or 
 primitive population. It does not spare the interior of the 
 country and the central table-land any more than the low 
 and hot districts. The number of victims it has at times 
 made is very considerable. One of the most plausible ex¬ 
 planations of the migration that carried the Toltecs from 
 Mexico w r ould be that an outbreak of this scourge brought 
 them to determine on flight. 
 
60 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 totally destroy the institutions founded by the 
 Toltecs, but they modified them, imprinting on 
 them their own stamp; and they placed them 
 in juxtaposition with others more in conformity 
 to their own temper. Thence the strange and 
 shocking anomalies in Mexican civilization, as it 
 presented itself to Cortez, that would be declared 
 incredible were it not that, in the matter of 
 contradictions, the mind and heart of man are 
 capable of anything. An indescribable mixture 
 of gentleness and barbarity; mercy coupled 
 with hideous and terrible customs; to sum up, 
 in one word, human sacrifices and cannibal 
 feasts associated with the culture of flowers and 
 ceremonies replete with nobleness and elegance: 
 such was the spectacle that Mexico presented to 
 the astonished gaze of the Spaniards. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 61 
 
 POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONSTITUTION OF 
 ANCIENT MEXICO. 
 
 The Mexican empire had been for some time, 
 and was still, when the Spaniards arrived, a 
 federation of three kingdoms, formed, to a cer¬ 
 tain point, of the domains of the three tribes of 
 one family, that of the Nahuatlecs :—There 
 was the kingdom of the Aztecs, the capital of 
 which, as before stated, was Tenochtitlan 
 (Mexico); that of the Acolhuans, or Tezcucans, 
 whose king resided at Tezcuco, on the other 
 side of the lake; and lastly, the small kingdom 
 of Tlacopan (Tacuba). Originally, these three 
 states were of equal rank, and the primacy, if 
 any, was with Tezcuco, as distinguished for its 
 intellectual and moral culture. United, they 
 did not, in their primitive state, occupy more 
 than the valley of Mexico, the circumference of 
 which is not greater than from two hundred to 
 
62 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 two hundred and fifty miles. The internal 
 organization of the three was almost identical, 
 as was natural to nations of the same stock, 
 speaking dialects of the same language. By 
 degrees they extended their sway to a distance, 
 and incorporated to themselves divers other 
 peoples. The one whose acquisitions were the 
 largest was the Aztec empire, consisting of a 
 race more active, more resolute, fiercer, and of 
 superior energy. At the arrival of the Spaniards, 
 the Mexican emperor exercised an uncontested 
 supremacy over the two princes his confederates. 
 He consulted them at all times when circum¬ 
 stances of gravity presented themselves; hut in 
 reality they were no more than the first of his 
 vassals. 
 
 The political organization was, with some 
 restrictions, military and theocratic. It seems 
 that such may he a phase imposed on great 
 societies even in our days. It differed, however, 
 from those of India and ancient Egypt, in that 
 the nation was not partitioned off into castes, 
 whose harriers it was impossible to overleap. 
 Children ordinarily adopted the profession of 
 their parents; but that happens commonly in 
 every settled society. There was a nobility of 
 more than one grade, possessing some imrnu- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 63 
 
 nities; but what in European style would be 
 called the offices of the State, were not hereditary: 
 the emperor delegated them to those who were 
 recommended by their exploits. In the imperial 
 family itself, when the children of the deceased 
 sovereign were too young, the brother of the 
 defunct monarch was preferred to them. A 
 noble committed nothing derogatory in applying 
 himself to industry. “ Give yourself,” said a 
 noble father to his son, “ to the labour of the 
 fields, or to feather-working; choose, in short, 
 an honourable profession; so did thy ancestors 
 before thee: how otherwise could they have 
 provided for their own existence and that of 
 their family? I have nowhere seen that nobility 
 is a sufficiency for a man.” Such notions suggest 
 that the demarcation between the privileged and 
 the commonalty was not very wide. Thus it 
 was that any man who distinguished himself in 
 war was ennobled. “ It was the custom,” states 
 one of the actors in the conquest, “ to recom¬ 
 pense and pay very generously those warriors 
 wiio signalized themselves by a brilliant exploit. 
 Though he might be the lowest of the slaves, 
 they made him a captain, ennobled him, gave 
 him vassals, and he enjoyed such great esteem 
 that wherever he presented himself he was 
 
64 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 respected and honoured like a real grandee.”* 
 At one of the last rencontres during the siege of 
 Mexico, the leader of the Spaniards having re¬ 
 quired that some nobles should be sent to parley 
 with him—“We are all nobles,’’replied the Aztecs. 
 
 The Aztec sovereigns instituted distinctions 
 similar to orders of knighthood, with their 
 special insignia and peculiar privileges. It 
 would even appear that there existed an inferior 
 grade, which it was necessary to have acquired 
 to possess the right of using ornaments for the 
 person. Until then a man was compelled to wear 
 a coarser cloth, made from the fibre of the aloe. 
 The members of the imperial family themselves 
 were in this matter subject to the common law. 
 So also in the chivalry of the Middle Ages, no 
 man had the right to a banner, and to bear a 
 device on his shield—in a word, to knighthood 
 —till he had signalized himself by some feat of 
 arms. The military orders of the Aztecs were 
 accessible to all without distinction of birth. The 
 emperors themselves were members of some 
 only on certain conditions. Similar institutions 
 existed among their neighbours. 
 
 * “Relation dun gentilhomme de la suite de Cortez.” 
 Ternaux Collection, p. 55 of the volume entitled “ Pieces 
 relatives a la Conquete du Mexique.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 65 
 
 Traces of a chivalrous spirit, in the European 
 sense of the phrase, are met with in several of 
 theii usages. Thus, during the obstinate wars 
 between the Aztecs and the people of Tlascala, 
 the nobles of the former passed in to the TJasca- 
 lan grandees cotton, salt, and cocoa, all articles 
 which the country of the latter did not furnish, 
 and which, once at war, they could not procure 
 from without, as their territory was shut in between 
 the provinces of the empire. These convoys 
 were accompanied with courteous messages. 
 Nothing, however, resulted from this derogatory 
 to honour; after these passages of civility they 
 cut each other’s throats on the field of battle 
 with all the bravery in the world. 
 
 The men of letters, to use a Chinese expres¬ 
 sion, were held in great consideration. We 
 have all eady seen how the sovereigns mingled 
 with them on a footing of equality in the societies 
 similar to our Academies. 
 
 Commerce, properly so called, was a pro¬ 
 fession particularly honoured. Merchants went 
 in caravans of large bodies, well armed; they 
 rendered to the state services of more than one 
 kind, by the information they brought back, no 
 less than by the wealth produced by their barter. 
 The princes treated them with distinction. The 
 
 vol. i. 5 
 
66 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 credit enjoyed by this profession, and by the 
 men of letters, and the rank bestowed on them, 
 would give a favourable idea of the progress of 
 these peoples. In primitive societies, all im¬ 
 portance devolves unshared on the warrior and 
 the priest. Unfortunately, we shall have to 
 mention other traits from which may be drawn 
 a conclusion less advantageous to Aztec civiliza¬ 
 tion. There was at bottom a great inequality 
 between the different classes of the population; 
 at the top were powerful grandees, great beings, 
 as grand as the barons of Europe in the feudal 
 epoch. At the bottom of the scale was a 
 miserable multitude, and beggars in such num¬ 
 bers as to strike Cortez, and he remarks on it in 
 one of his letters to Charles V. It is worthy of 
 attention, that this inequality has perpetuated 
 itself in Mexico under the Spanish sway more 
 than in any of the other countries colonized by 
 Spain in the New World. 
 
 Thus, after the conquest, when the colony was 
 thoroughly constituted, and had subsisted two 
 or nearly three centuries, the mines and the cul¬ 
 tivation of a fertile soil, partitioned into vast 
 domains, had created in the provinces of New 
 Spain immense fortunes, the proprietors of which 
 the court of Madrid sought to attach to itself by 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 67 
 
 Castillian titles. Those intelligent or fortunate 
 miners who had amassed treasures, as the 
 Tereros, the Obregons, and the Fagoagas, and 
 those possessors of immense estates where sugar 
 and cochineal were cultivated, were blazoned and 
 transformed into counts or marquises, and lived 
 in the midst of sumptuous opulence. At the 
 same time, in the lower story of society, there 
 might be observed, in the cities especially, and 
 in Mexico above all, a coarse and ignorant mob, 
 scarcely clothed, and wallowing in drunkenness. 
 The presence of this degraded multitude, of 
 these leperos as they are still called, who swarm 
 in the low quarters of Mexico, and deal out 
 thrusts of the knife in the liquor-shops on the 
 Sunday, is more calculated to provoke recrimi¬ 
 nations against the social order now existing than 
 against the organization of society among the 
 Aztecs. This debasement of a portion of the 
 population was an evil almost inevitable among 
 the ancient Mexicans, infinitely more so than in 
 our days. Their civilization pressed fatally on 
 the greater number with a crushing weight, to 
 the degree of plunging a part into degradation. 
 Man had there to do the office of beasts of 
 burden* which they were without. All heavy 
 work, and all transport, was done by the effort of 
 5 —2 
 
68 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 his muscles or the strength of his back, for 
 there were but few roads, and none fit for con¬ 
 veyances; the cart was unknown, just as it is 
 to this day all those regions of Asia and Africa 
 where Europeans have not established their 
 empire. 
 
 The morale of our species does not hold up 
 under this brutalizing regime. It needs a higher 
 level; it loses intelligence and feeling under 
 such a load of physical fatigue. The ancients 
 said, that when a man fell into slavery Jupiter 
 withdrew from him the half of his soul. In that 
 they uttered not merely an odious prejudice 
 against the slave: there was a great mixture of 
 truth in the desponding maxim, for the hard 
 toil to which the slave was in most cases con¬ 
 demned annihilated his spirit, and withdrew from 
 him, to a certain degree, that breath of life 
 which emanated from the Godhead. 
 
 The difficulty resulting to a society from being 
 deprived of such useful auxiliaries as are pre¬ 
 sented, when once tamed, by the larger quadru¬ 
 peds, from their muscular strength, for the 
 transport of provisions, stone, wood, and what¬ 
 ever is heavy and cumbersome, was successfully 
 met by the Mexicans, as regarded the capital, 
 by means of the situation they chose on the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 69 
 
 shore, or rather in the midst, of a lake. Tenoch- 
 titlan was surrounded by water on all sides, 
 which is not true of the modern city, though 
 it occupies the same spot. Formerly, in the 
 Aztec days, the city completely resembled 
 Venice: the waters that bathed it at all parts 
 penetrated into most of the streets in the form 
 of canals. It was easy then to effect all the 
 transport required by canoes, that could be made 
 by a gentle effort to glide along the liquid 
 element. 
 
 The same reason may explain why the popu¬ 
 lation accumulated so much about the lake of 
 Tezcuco which environed Mexico, and round 
 the other lakes that communicated with it. 
 
 Slavery was in existence among the Mexicans, 
 but it was entirely personal, and was not trans¬ 
 mitted by birth. It was a maxim with them 
 that man was born free. He who was in ser¬ 
 vitude preserved two civil rights that are looked 
 on, not without reason, as incompatible with 
 slavery justly so called—property and family. 
 Individuals were reduced to that condition either 
 by the sentence of the tribunals for criminal 
 offences, for debts to the state, or by offering 
 themselves for sale. Parents had the right of 
 thus trafficking with their children. The laws 
 
70 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 protected the slave, and stipulated his rights; 
 the master treated the slave as a member of his 
 family, as we see done in the East. It rarely 
 happened that he sold him, unless for a fault 
 that excited his antipathy, or for a determined 
 propensity to disobedience. Prisoners of tvar 
 were thrown into slavery, unless they were 
 turned to a much worse use, of which we shall 
 have to speak further on. 
 
 The laws protected property; they were re¬ 
 gularly promulgated, and there were tribunals 
 charged to apply them. There were three 
 jurisdictions among the Aztecs, the lower rank 
 being elective, while the highest was reduced 
 to a single judge for each division of ter¬ 
 ritory, who was nominated by the prince. 
 This magistrate was not removable, and his 
 decisions were without appeal, even to the 
 sovereign. For civil affairs, however, there 
 were but two grades of jurisdiction. The judi¬ 
 cial organization was different in the kingdom of 
 Tezcuco, but at least as conformable to the 
 principles of reason and equity. Condemnations 
 to capital punishment were there accompanied 
 with peculiar solemnity. 
 
 The penal law was everywhere of extreme 
 severity: the punishment of death is met with 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 71 
 
 incessantly; death for murder, for adultery, for 
 certain specified thefts; death to the cultivator 
 who removed the landmarks of fields; death even 
 for the young man of rank who gave himself 
 up to drunkenness, or who dissipated his patri¬ 
 mony. In comparison with the good King 
 Nezahuacoyotl, author of a code that from the 
 kingdom of Tezcuco passed to the neighbouring 
 princes, the terrible Draco is a legislator full of 
 human kindness. The sanguinary character of 
 the penal law attests that Mexican civilization 
 was far from having completely shaken off the 
 trappings of barbarism. This may be attributed, 
 however, to the peculiar sombreness there was in 
 the genius of the Aztecs, and of the other tribes 
 that settled round the lakes at the same time as 
 they. It is not the only side on which, as we 
 shall see farther on, their civilization exhibited 
 stains and streams of blood. 
 
 The administration had to provide for a large 
 number of the public wants. The business of 
 the revenue was discharged with exactitude and 
 rigour. Taxes were paid in commodities or 
 produce; vast granaries and immense store¬ 
 houses were set aside for their reception. Woe 
 to the contributor who did not pay; the inexorable 
 collector had him sold as a defaulter to the 
 
72 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 treasury. The taxes were originally moderate, 
 but under the later emperors, and particularly 
 under the second Montezuma,* the one who en¬ 
 countered Cortez, they became very burdensome; 
 because the princes had, by their pomp, created 
 artificial and ruinous necessities, and because, to 
 maintain obedience in the provinces they had 
 conquered, they were compelled to keep up large 
 armies. 
 
 As is always the case in states that feel them¬ 
 selves on the growth, and have a taste for 
 conquest, the army was the object of the 
 sovereign’s lively solicitude; and so, under the 
 last Montezuma, the Aztec empire was endowed 
 with an institution like the one reckoned among 
 the titles to fame of Louis XIV.: it had an 
 Hotel des Invalides. 
 
 For the purposes of their aggrandizement, the 
 Aztec emperors practised usages that seem to be 
 the accompaniments of a refined and already cor¬ 
 rupt civilization. We are told, indeed, in the nar¬ 
 rative of the conquest, that Montezuma, further 
 resembling Louis XIV., had in his pay some of 
 the privy councillors of the sovereigns his allies; 
 he so succeeded in laying a snare for Cacamatzin, 
 
 * The first left glorious reminiscences. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN, 
 
 73 
 
 the occupant of the Tezcucan throne, and caused 
 him to fall into the hands of Cortez. 
 
 The form of the government was that of 
 an absolute monarchy, tempered, however, in 
 various modes, and mainly by the privileges and 
 power of the aristocracy. There were great 
 vassals, whom the prince had to keep on good 
 terms with. He retained them about his person 
 a part of the year in the capital, where they led 
 a sumptuous existence, surrounded by their 
 followers. There were also the chiefs of con¬ 
 quered countries, whose assimilation was a long 
 way from perfect, not having received the sanc¬ 
 tion of time; yet the Aztec monarchs had, by 
 adroitness and terror, succeeded in making 
 fidelity to their person a sort of dogma, which 
 was observed at the period of the conquest 
 almost as a result of the long incorporation of 
 the provinces, and of their proximity to Mexico. 
 The prince concentrated the legislative power 
 in his person; but there is reason to believe that 
 each of the great caciques preserved it in his 
 own domains within certain limits. 
 
 In the second place, the people had a guarantee 
 against absolutism in the irremovability of the 
 superior judges. This peculiarity is an institu¬ 
 tion of an advanced order, and is of a nature to 
 
74 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 embarrass those who refuse to admit that the 
 ancient Mexicans had made great steps in the 
 path of civilization, or that they had received 
 some of the traditions of other peoples who had 
 passed through a long career. 
 
 Lastly, whatever respect and pomp might 
 environ the person of the prince, it does not 
 appear that the subject lived in such obsequi¬ 
 ousness as to create a general debasement of 
 character. It was a submissiveness that did not 
 shut out dignity. With the Mexican, the sen¬ 
 timent of duty towards the sovereign seemed to 
 accord, up to a certain point, with that of the 
 rights of the individual. We find a proof of 
 this in the mode, preserved by Judge Zurita,* in 
 which the inferior chiefs addressed the emperor, 
 and their wives the empress. Here is a para¬ 
 graph that gives a sample of the rest:—“ God 
 (said they to the sovereign) has done you a great 
 favour in putting you in his place. Honour 
 him; serve him; take courage; doubt not. 
 The powerful master who has given you a 
 charge so weighty will aid you, and confer on 
 you the crown of honour, if you do not suffer 
 yourself to be vanquished by the wicked.” 
 
 * Ternaux Collection, pages 22 and following of the 
 volume devoted to that magistrate. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 75 
 
 The address of the High Priest to the 
 emperor, at the time of what may be called his 
 coronation, wais almost of the same character. 
 There were also ceremonies intended to engrave 
 on the souls of these mighty ones of the earth 
 their sacred duties towards the masses:—“The 
 new dignitary (the future sovereign, elevated to 
 the rank of tecle ) was conducted to a part of the 
 temple, where he remained to do penance some¬ 
 times one or two years. He was seated on the 
 earth during the day; at evening they gave him 
 nothing but a mat to sleep on. At fixed hours 
 of the night he went into the temple to burn 
 incense, and the first four days he slept but a 
 few hours out of the twenty-four. Near him 
 were guards, who when he became drowsy 
 pricked his legs and arms with the thorns of the 
 metl , or rnagu<ay , which are like pins, saying, 
 ‘ Awake thee; thou must not sleep , but watch and 
 take care of thy vassals. Thou enterest not on 
 this charge to have repose; slumber must fly thine 
 eyes , which must remain open , and watch over the 
 people .’ ” 
 
 Those so incdined might even discover, in the 
 forms of accession to power, indices of the 
 exercise of the sovereignty of the people:—“ The 
 heir presumptive was previously decorated with 
 
76 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the title of tecuitli (or tech), the most honourable 
 they had. After several religious ceremonies, 
 some of the people addressed him in abusive 
 terms, and even showered blows on him to 
 prove his patience. Such was the resigna¬ 
 tion of the princes submitted to this trial, 
 that they uttered not a word, and did not 
 even turn the head to see who were maltreating 
 them.”* 
 
 The political and social organization of the 
 Aztecs was such that Cortez thus sums up to 
 Charles V. his opinion of it:—“ For the obedience 
 they show to their sovereign, and in their 
 manner of life, these Indians are almost like 
 Spaniards; and there is nearly as much order as 
 in Spain. If we consider that this people is 
 barbarous, destitute of the knowledge of God, 
 of all connexion with other nations, and of 
 
 * This and the preceding passage are extracts from the 
 Memoir of Zurita, pp. 24 and 25. The first quotation refers 
 to the sons and successors of the chiefs of Tlascala, whose 
 government was an oligarchy recognising four chiefs. The 
 second relates not only to Tlascala, but to Chololan, which 
 was a great fief dependent on the Aztec monarchy, and to 
 Huetzocingo, which remained almost to the last independent 
 of the Mexican emperors. But there was the same race of 
 men everywhere, and, with a few shades of difference, the 
 same spirit and same manners. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 77 
 
 reason,* we) cannot behold without astonish¬ 
 ment how wisely everything is administered.” 
 
 * The phrasee “ destitute of reason” here signifies, as does 
 the word “ barrbarous,” ignorance of Christianity. That 
 appears from the very letters of Cortez, in which it is 
 elsewhere said that the Indians are remarkable for their 
 
 reason. 
 
78 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER YE 
 
 MANNERS AND SOCIAL PRACTICES. 
 
 Manners were not dissolute. With the excep¬ 
 tion of the chiefs, who possessed several con¬ 
 cubines, each man had but one wife; and further, 
 the concubines of the princes were recognised 
 by law, and had certain privileges that raised 
 their condition. “Whosoever looks at a woman 
 too eagerly,” they were taught, “commits adultery 
 with his eyes.” These are identically the words 
 of Christ, as reported by St. Matthew. Marriage 
 was surrounded with protecting formalities, and 
 was celebrated with solemnity. Divorce was not 
 permitted but in certain determined cases, and 
 by means of a tribunal instituted specially to 
 solve the questions that marriage might give 
 rise to. Adultery was punished with death; 
 and the life of King Nezahualpilli presents three 
 remarkable examples of the application of the 
 penalty—one to the queen herself, the consort 
 of that prince, who was also no less than the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 79 
 
 daughter of the Aztec emperor. The princess 
 and her accomplices were tried and executed 
 with all the severities of the code, notwithstand¬ 
 ing their elevated rank. The second is that of a 
 noble lady, who yielded herself to him without 
 revealing that she was the property of a husband. 
 The third is that of his own son, who entered 
 into a correspondence in verse with one of the 
 royal concubines—a case provided for by the 
 penal law. The tribunals passed sentence, and 
 the father suffered it to be executed; but he 
 then shut himself up in his palace for several 
 weeks, a prey to grief, refusing to see any one. 
 
 The social position of women resembled much 
 more what we see in Europe than the usages of 
 Asia. They were not secluded in a harem as 
 among the Mahometans; their feet were not 
 distorted as in China. They kept their faces 
 uncovered, were admitted to fetes, and took 
 their places at banquets. We have a province 
 
 in France, in the nineteenth century, where, 
 
 * 
 
 among the peasantry, the woman takes no part 
 in festive meetings, and mingles in them only 
 to wait with humility on the lords of the 
 creation. The Mexican women were exempted 
 as much as possible from laborious work, which 
 the men reserved to themselves, with a delicacy 
 
80 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 that it would be even now well to inculcate over 
 the surface of Western Europe, and which, 
 among civilized people, the English and the 
 Anglo-Saxons of the New World alone know 
 how to practise. Things were certainly not in 
 Mexico at that height in this point that they are 
 in modern England, but the intention was there. 
 There are few signs by which advanced civi¬ 
 lization can be so surely recognised. Among 
 savages the woman is a beast of burden. There 
 is not in the world a worse lot than that of the 
 squaws of the North American tribes in those 
 regions that belong to the United States. In 
 our Pyrenees we may see women climbing the 
 steepest slopes with a load of manure, or de¬ 
 scending from the highest plateau with a burden 
 of hay or sheaves of grain. The strangers who 
 come in the summer to seek in those charming 
 villages pure air, a beautiful sky, bewitching 
 landscapes, and hot springs of great virtue, have 
 thus ground for carrying away an opinion little 
 favourable to our pretension of being the most 
 attentive and most obsequious people in the 
 world towards females. An unerring gauge for 
 the position created for the sex by Mexican 
 civilization is that they participated in the func¬ 
 tions of the priesthood. There were Mexican 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 81 
 
 priestesses as well as priests, and a sort of sym¬ 
 metry between the attributes of the one and the 
 other; but sacrifice, and we shall see directly in 
 what that consisted, was reserved for the priests, 
 and even for the dignitaries among them. The 
 purity of the Mexican priestesses has been certi¬ 
 fied by the Spanish missionaries; the majority of 
 whom, however, have not anathemas enough for 
 the Aztec religion, in which they at every instant 
 detect the craft of the Evil One and the mark of 
 the cloven foot. 
 
 An intimate acquaintance with any civilization 
 is obtained by examining the rules of conduct, 
 the recognised proprieties, the forms of decency 
 and civility—what, in short, directs the indi¬ 
 vidual in the habitual acts of his life. Now we 
 possess the means for appreciating Mexican 
 society under this head. Examples of the in¬ 
 structions of a father to his son, and of a mother 
 to her daughter, have been fortunately preserved 
 in each of these classes, and Zurita has repro¬ 
 duced them.* I shall here quote at length the 
 advice of parents of the middle class, or—to 
 
 * Pa S es 132 ar >d following of Zurita's Memoir, in the 
 Ternaux collection. We reproduce the very text of M. Ter- 
 maux. Prescott has confined himself to quoting the advice 
 (of one of the mothers, that of the middle class. 
 
 VOL. I. 0 
 
82 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 employ tlie expression of Zurita himself—of the 
 inhabitants of towns, of tradesmen and artizans. 
 It is at once a collection of moral precepts, and 
 an abridged code of what is called, in familial 
 language, polite manners for young people. 
 
 a father’s counsel to his son. 
 
 O my beloved son, created by the will of God,* under 
 the eyes of thy father and mother, and of thy relatives, 
 like a chicken that leaves its shell and essays to fly, thou 
 makest thy essay with difficulty. We know not till 
 what time God will permit us to enjoy thee. Supplicate 
 Him, my son, to protect thee, for He created thee ; He 
 is thy father; He loves thee better than I. Address to 
 Him thy wishes night and day; let Him be the object of 
 thy thoughts; serve Him with love; He will be mei- 
 ciful to thee, and will deliver thee from all danger. 
 Respect the image of God, and whatever is connected 
 with Him. Pray to Him devotedly; observe the religious 
 festivals. He who offends God will die miserable, and 
 it will be his own fault. 
 
 * The words “God,” “Lord,” have been substituted by 
 the monks who collected these poems after the conquest for 
 those of the various divinities of the Aztec Olympus, just as 
 “ demon” replaces the indication of some evil spirit of the 
 Mexican mythology; but there is reason to believe that is 
 the only change the monks made in these pieces. They have 
 expressly said so, and they collated different translations 
 made by the lettered Indians of various cities. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN, 
 
 83 
 
 Honour and salute old men. Console the poor and 
 afflicted by thy words and thy good works. 
 
 Revere, love, and serve thy father and mother; obey 
 them, for the son who does not so conduct himself will 
 repent it. 
 
 Love and honour all the world, and thou wilt live in 
 peace. 
 
 Imitate not the fools who respect neither father nor 
 mother, and who, like the animals, listen to the counsel 
 of no one. 
 
 Be careful, my son, not to mock the old, the infirm, 
 the maimed, or the sinner. Be not haughty towards 
 them; do not hate them, but humble thyself before the 
 Lord, and tremble lest you be as unfortunate as they. 
 
 Poison no one, for thou wilt wound God in his crea¬ 
 ture; thy crime will be discovered, thou wilt suffer the 
 punishment of it, and thou wilt die the same death. 
 
 Be upright, polite, and cause pain to no one. 
 
 Meddle not with affairs in which thou art not con¬ 
 cerned, from the fear of displeasing and of being counted 
 indiscreet. 
 
 Injure no one. Eschew adultery and luxury: it is a 
 base vice, which causes the ruin of him who gives himself 
 up to it, and offends God. 
 
 Set not bad examples. 
 
 Be modest in thy discourse; interrupt not people who 
 are speaking; disturb them not; if they express them¬ 
 selves badly, if they make mistakes, content thyself 
 with not imitating them. Keep silence when it is not 
 thy turn to speak; and if a question is put to thee, 
 reply with openness, without heat or falsehood. Inter¬ 
 fere not with the interests of others, and men will pay 
 
 6*—2 
 
84 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 respect to thy words. If thou' keepest clear, my sou, of 
 carrying tales, of repeating jests, thou wilt keep cleai of 
 lying and of sowing discord, which is a source of confu¬ 
 sion to him who does it. 
 
 Be not a lounger on the pavement, haunt not the 
 streets, lose not thy time in the markets or the baths, 
 lest the demon tempt thee and make thee his victim. 
 
 Be not affected or too studied in thy dress, for it is the 
 mark of a little mind. 
 
 In whatever place thou mayest he, let thy looks be 
 modest; make no grimaces; indulge not in indecent 
 gestures t thou wilt pass tor a libertine, and such things 
 are snares of the demon. Seize no one by the hand or 
 the clothes, for it is the mark of an indiscreet mind. 
 Pay attention, when thou walkest, not to stop the way 
 of any one soever. 
 
 If thou art begged to undertake a matter, and it be 
 to tempt thee, civilly excuse thyself, though thou 
 mightest get some advantage from it, and thou wilt be 
 held a wise and prudent man. 
 
 Enter not nor go out before thy superiors; be careful 
 not to take precedence of them; always leave them the 
 place of honour, and seek not to lift thyself above any 
 one, unless thou art raised in rank, for thou wilt be 
 looked upon as a rude fellow. Be modest; humility 
 merits the favour of God and the great. 
 
 Be not in a hurry in eating or drinking; and if thou 
 art at table, offer to him who may present himself before 
 thee, wanting to take part in thy repast; thou slialt be 
 recompensep for it. If thou eatest in company, let it be 
 without eagerness or gluttony; thou wilt pass for a 
 greedy fellow. Take thy repasts with thy head bent 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 85 
 
 down, and so as not to finish before the others, for fear 
 of offending them. 
 
 If a present be made thee, however small it may be 
 disdain it not, and think not thou deservest more, for 
 thou wilt not gain thereby before God or man. 
 
 Trust thyself entirely to the Lord; Tis from Him that 
 good will come to thee, and thou knowest not when 
 thou mayest die. 
 
 I take on myself to procure thee what is proper for 
 thee; bear and wait patiently. If thou wishest to 
 marry, tell me; and since thou art our child, undertake 
 not to do it before speaking to us on the matter. 
 
 Be neither gambler nor thief, for one of those faults is 
 the occasion of the other, and it is disgraceful. If thou 
 keepest clear of them, thou wilt not be evil spoken of in 
 the public squares and markets. 
 
 Take always the good part, O my son. Sow, and 
 thou shalt reap; thou wilt live by thy labour, and con¬ 
 sequently thou wilt be satisfied, and cherished of thy 
 parents. 
 
 We live not in this world without much labour; we 
 procure not easily what is necessary. I have had much 
 trouble to rear thee, and yet I have never abandoned 
 thee, and I have done nothing for which thou canst 
 blush. 
 
 If thou desirest to live in tranquillity, keep clear of 
 evil-speaking, for evil-speaking occasions quarrels. 
 
 Keep secret what thou hearest. Let it be learnt 
 from others rather than from thee; and if thou canst 
 not avoid telling it, speak frankly, without hiding any¬ 
 thing, even though thou believest it were well to do so. 
 
 Repeat not that of which thou hast been the witness- 
 
86 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Be discreet, for to be a tattler is a mean vice, and if 
 thou liest thou will certainly be punished. Keep silence; 
 nothing is gained by talking. 
 
 If thou art sent with a message to some one that 
 receives thee roughly, and speaks ill of him who sent 
 thee, report not the reply given in bad temper, and let 
 not what has been done to thee be known. If thou art 
 asked how thou wast received, reply calmly, in mild 
 words ; conceal the ill words that were said to thee, for 
 fear of irritating both parties, that there may be neither 
 bloodshed nor loss of life, and that thou mayest not later 
 have to say in sadness, “ Ah, if I had never said it 
 But it will be too late, and thou wilt pass for a mischief- 
 maker, and be without excuse. 
 
 Have no relations with the wife of another; live 
 chastely, for we exist not twice in this world. Life is 
 short and difficult, and everything has an end. 
 
 Offend no person, nor attack his honour. Make thy¬ 
 self worthy of the rewards God giveth to everyone as it 
 pleases Him; receive what He shall give thee; return 
 thanks, and if it be much, be not puffed up. Humble 
 thyself, thy merit will be the greater, and others will 
 have no occasion to murmur; but, on the contrary, if 
 thou attributest to thyself what does not belong to thee, 
 thou wilt meet with affronts and wilt offend God. 
 
 When thou art spoken to, keep thy hands and thy 
 feet still, look not to the left or right; avoid rising, or 
 sitting down if thou art standing; thou wilt pass for a 
 giddy-pate or a clown. 
 
 If thou art in the service of any one, take care with 
 zeal to render thyself useful, and to be agreeable to 
 him; thou wilt not want necessaries, and thou wilt be 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 87 
 
 everywhere well treated; if thou dost the contrary, thou 
 wilt not be able to remain with any one. 
 
 My son, if thou refusest to hearken to the counsels of 
 thy father, thou wilt come to a bad end, and it will be 
 thy own fault. 
 
 Be not proud of what God has given thee, and despise 
 not others; thou wilt offend the Lord, who has placed 
 thee in an honourable position. 
 
 If thou art what thou shouldst be, thou wilt be quoted 
 to others as a model, when it is wished they should 
 correct themselves. 
 
 These, O my son, are the counsels given thee by a 
 father who loves thee; observe them, and it will be well 
 with thee, 
 
 a mother’s counsel to her daughter. 
 
 My daughter, I brought thee into the world, I have 
 nourished and reared thee as thou shouldst be, the 
 honour of thy father has reflected on thee. If thou dost 
 not thy duty, thou wilt not be admitted to live with 
 virtuous women, and no man will desire to make thee 
 his wife. 
 
 There is no living in this world without a great deal 
 of pain and labour; our strength exhausts itself; we 
 must therefore serve God, that He may aid us, sustain 
 us, and grant us health. We must be active and careful, 
 that we may obtain what is necessary. 
 
 My beloved daughter, shun idleness and negligence; 
 be neat and industrious; take pains with thine apart¬ 
 ment, let order reign there, that everything may be in 
 its place; thus thou wilt learn to do thy duty when 
 thou art married. 
 
88 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Wherever thou mayest be, respect modesty. W r alk not 
 too fast, neither laughing nor looking hither and thither 
 at the men that pass near thee; look only to thy 
 path: thus thou wilt gain the reputation of an honest 
 woman. 
 
 Take care to be polite, and to speak properly; and 
 when a question is asked thee, let thy answer be short 
 and clear. 
 
 Take care of thine household, make cloth, work; thou 
 wilt be loved, thou wilt deserve to have necessaries to 
 feed and clothe thee, thou wilt be happy, and thou wilt 
 thank God for having given thee the needful talent. 
 
 Give not thyself to slumber or sloth; love not to 
 linger in bed, or in the shade, or in the open air, for 
 thou wilt become heedless and libertine, and thou wilt 
 be incapacitated for living in honour and propriety. 
 Women who yield themselves to libertinism are neither 
 sought after nor loved. 
 
 Be thou sitting or standing, walking or working, let 
 thy thoughts and actions, my daughter, be always 
 praiseworthy. Fulfil thy duty, so as to obey God and 
 thy parents. 
 
 Allow not thyself to be called twice; come forthwith 
 to see what is wanted, so that there may not be the 
 grief of punishing thine idleness and disobedience. 
 
 Listen attentively to the orders given thee, and 
 answer not amiss. If thou canst not do what is ordered 
 of thee consistently with honour, excuse thyself civilly; 
 but lie not and deceive no one, for God seeth thee. 
 
 If thou hearest another called, and she comes not 
 directly, hasten and see what is wanted; do that which 
 it was wished she should do, and thou wilt be loved. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 89 
 
 If good advice be given thee, profit by it; do not 
 despise it, for fear of being disesteemed. 
 
 Let thy gait be neither too hurried nor immodest ; 
 thou wilt pass for a light woman. 
 
 Be charitable; have hatred and contempt for no one; 
 shun avarice, take nothing in bad part, and be not 
 jealous of the good God granteth to others. 
 
 Do no wrong to another, for fear it be done unto 
 thee; avoid evil; follow not the likings of thy heart; 
 thou mayest be deceived and fall into vice, and thou wilt 
 bring disgrace on thyself and on thy parents. 
 
 Shun the society of liars, idlers, gossips, and women 
 of bad manners; they will ruin thee. 
 
 Busy thyself with thy household; go not abroad to 
 divert thyself; lose not thy time in the market, in the 
 squares and public baths. It is exceedingly evil, and 
 thus females are lost and ruined, and become vicious, 
 for so bad thoughts are nourished. 
 
 When a man seeks to address his speech to thee, 
 hearken not to him, look not at him; keep silence, and 
 pay no attention to him ; if he follow thee, answer him 
 not, lest thy words do but increase his passion. If thou 
 pay no attention to him he will cease to follow thee. 
 
 Enter not other’s houses, so as to avoid being the 
 subject of their idle talk. 
 
 If thou go to see thy parents, pay them thy respects; 
 be not idle, take part in the work that is going on, if 
 thou be able, and remain not to look at those who are 
 working. 
 
 If thy parents choose thee a husband, thou must love 
 him, listen to him, obey him, do with pleasure what he 
 tells thee; turn not away the head when he speaks to 
 
90 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 thee; and if he says to thee anything disagreeable, 
 endeavour to get over thy vexation. If he live on thy 
 property, despise him not for that. Be neither sullen 
 nor uncivil, for thou wilt offend God, and thy husband 
 will be irritated against thee; tell him quietly what 
 thou thinkest the proper course. Address him not in 
 offensive terms before others, nor even when alone, for 
 it is thou that wilt bear the shame and contempt. 
 
 If anyone come to pay a visit to thy husband, receive 
 him well and show him friendship. 
 
 Should thy husband not conduct himself properly, 
 give him advice as to his manner of behaviour, and hid 
 him take care of his household. 
 
 Be attentive to the labour on thy land; take care of 
 the crop, and neglect nothing. 
 
 Be not prodigal of thy property, aid thy husband in 
 his labour; by so doing thou wilt not want necessaries, 
 and thou wilt provide for the education of thy children. 
 
 My daughter, if thou follow my advice, thou wilt be 
 loved and esteemed of all. In giving it to thee, I fulfil 
 my duty as a mother; in following it thou wilt live 
 happy. If it be otherwise, it will be thy fault; thou 
 wilt see hereafter what will happen to thee from not 
 having hearkened to me, and no one will be able to say 
 that I have neglected to give thee counsels that, as a 
 mother, I ought to have done. 
 
 This address of a father to his son, and of 
 a mother to her daughter, are not literary 
 chefs-d'oeuvre; as just laid before the reader, 
 they present prolixities, repetitions, and common¬ 
 places, a portion of which, however, may be 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 91 
 
 imputed to the various translators through 
 whose hands the text has passed. But, as a 
 whole, they contain not a word that, in the 
 civilization of this nineteenth century, parents 
 would not think apropos to say to their 
 children; and, a circumstance still more re¬ 
 markable, what there would be to add is 
 reduced to very little. 
 
92 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 MEXICAN CREEDS AND PRAYERS. 
 
 The Mexicans believed in a supreme God, the 
 creator and master of the universe. In their 
 prayers they addressed him as u God by whom 
 we live, who is everywhere, knows all things, 
 dispenses every good;” or, as “the invisible 
 incorporeal God,, perfect perfection and purity, 
 under whose wings are found repose and in¬ 
 violable shelter.” Under this supreme Being * 
 were placed thirteen great divinities, and more 
 than two hundred inferior ones, each having 
 his consecrated day, and all receiving certain 
 honours. The Aztecs paid special adoration to 
 Iluitzilopochtli, the God of War, whose image 
 they had carried before them, during their long 
 pilgrimage from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan, as the 
 Hebrews did the Ark of the Lord. This 
 terrible god was also called Mexitli; and it is 
 probable that from thence came the name of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 93 
 
 Mexico. The principal temple in Tenochtitlan, 
 which with its appurtenances formed an immense 
 edifice, belonged to this god.* 
 
 Among the divinities of the Mexican Olympus 
 another was the God of the Air, Quetzatcoatl, 
 whose name often occurs in the history of the 
 conquest. He had resided on the earth, had 
 taught men the art of cultivation, and the work¬ 
 ing of metals, the still more difficult one of 
 governing, and, said the tradition, “ he stopped 
 his ears when he was talked to of war.” According 
 
 o 
 
 to the Mexican mythology, he caused men to 
 taste of delights to be compared with those of 
 the Golden Age of Greek mythology. Under 
 him the earth was covered with fruit and 
 flowers without cultivation. An ear of maize 
 was a load for a man, as was the case with the 
 grapes of the vine found by the Jews in Canaan, 
 after forty years’ privation in the Desert. 
 Cotton grew on the tree tinged with the richest 
 colours; the air was filled with delicious per¬ 
 fumes, and birds of brilliant plumage incessantly 
 poured forth a tender melody. However this 
 
 * It is to be remarked that Cortez, who greatly disfigures 
 the names of men and cities, says Temixtitan, instead of 
 Tenochtitlan. It is not impossible that the name of Mexico 
 may have sprung out of this erroneous designation. 
 
94 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 god, such a father to men, incurred the enmity 
 of a more powerful divinity, and was obliged to 
 quit the country. On his departure, he stopped 
 at the city of Chololan, where afterwards a 
 temple was raised to him, the base of which was 
 a grand pyramid. It has been already mentioned, 
 and is still in existence. Arrived on the shores 
 of the Gulf of Mexico, he took leave of the 
 faithful who had previously accompanied him, 
 promising them that his descendants or himself 
 would one day reappear; then throwing himself 
 into his little bark made of serpents’ skins, he 
 sailed towards the mysterious country of Tla- 
 pallan, of which nothing is known save that it 
 was to the east, beyond sea (that is, in the 
 direction of Europe). Was the fable of Quetzal- 
 coatl a tradition, in the marvellous form, of the 
 sway of the Toltecs, who brought the arts and 
 sciences into the country, and then disappeared? 
 Or rather, was it not founded on the appearance 
 at some point of the country of a European navi¬ 
 gator, whom the great equatorial current, or the 
 trade-winds, or a tempest, had borne to the 
 shores of the Mexican Gulf? 
 
 Be that as it may, the reminiscence of the 
 good days of Quetzalcoatl, and the hope of 
 his return, were fixed in the public mind. He 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 95 
 
 was looked for as a Messiah. In traditions of a 
 people’s well-being we find, often decked out 
 and gilt by the imagination, the -recollection of 
 a happy past, whose return is the object of vague 
 hope, and even of lively faith. These popula¬ 
 tions of Redskins, with the beard short and thin, 
 reminded their children that Quetzalcoatl was 
 tall in stature, that he had a white skin, black 
 hair, and a long beard. No other course could 
 have been taken if it had been actually intended 
 to predict the arrival of the Spaniards. 
 
 The tradition of Quetzalcoatl has a turn that 
 recals the Greek Mythology. But the Mexicans 
 had legends that resemble still more the fabulous 
 narratives Greece has bequeathed to us and 
 adorned so charmingly. In glancing over those 
 that have been preserved, we often fancy we are 
 reading Ovid’s “ Metamorphoses.” I shall quote 
 an extract from Boturini as an example :*— 
 
 A man named Yappan, desiring to merit the favour 
 of the gods, quitted his wife and family, entered into the 
 desert to lead there a chaste and contemplative life, and 
 built himself a hut near an altar of stone, consecrated to 
 penitence. But the gods, who doubted the sincerity of 
 his conversion, charged Yaotl, his mortal enemy, to 
 
 * “ Idea de Una Nueva Historia de la America Septen¬ 
 trional.” 
 
96 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 watch him continually, and to render them an account 
 of all his actions. Yappan for a long time resisted the 
 various beauties that were sent to tempt him, so that the 
 gods began to praise his virtue, and to rally Tlazolteolt, 
 the Goddess of Love, with the fact that Yappan would 
 not submit to her like other men. The latter, piqued at 
 their pleasantries, at last exclaimed—“Do you think, 
 then, O potent deities, that Yappan will persevere to the 
 end to merit the reward you confer on virtuous men ? I 
 will go down to the earth myself, to show you how 
 frail is the virtue of man, and whether he can resist 
 me.” 
 
 The goddess approached the residence of Yappan, but 
 as she found him seated on the altar of penitence, she 
 soon perceived she would be powerless over him as long 
 as he quitted not that post of protection. She there¬ 
 fore addressed him in a winning tone, with—“ Friend 
 Yappan, come to me. I am the goddess Tlazolteolt, and 
 I bring thee the reward of thy virtue.” Deceived by 
 these words, poor Yappan hastened to meet her; but 
 scarcely had he left the altar than a new fire poured 
 through his veins, and he fell into the snare laid for 
 him. 
 
 Yaotl, who had not ceased from afar to watch what 
 was passing, was so indignant at this conduct, that he 
 could not restrain himself from rushing forward, ex¬ 
 claiming—“ Wretch ! are you not ashamed to deceive 
 the gods, and to profane their sanctuary thus ?” So 
 saying, he cut off his head with one blow of his sword. 
 Yappan fell to the ground opening his arms, and the 
 gods changed him into an ash-coloured scorpion, who 
 always has his arms open. Yaotl, whose vengeance was 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 07 
 
 not yet satisfied, went to look for Tlahuitzin, the wife 
 of liis victim, and showing her the body of her husband, 
 said to her, “ Behold, Tlahuitzin, the way in which I 
 have chastised him who offended the gods; but my 
 vengeance will not be complete unless you share his 
 lot-" With these words he sent her head rolling by the 
 side of the unfortunate Yappan. Tlahuitzin was im¬ 
 mediately changed into a flame-coloured scorpion, and 
 seeking to hide herself under the stones of the altar, 
 found there her husband. 
 
 The Mexicans assert that all the scorpions spring 
 from this ill-fated couple, and that from shame for 
 Yappan'’s sin, they do not dare to show themselves by 
 daylight, but hide under stones. As to Yaotl, he did 
 not escape the punishment of his double crime, and was 
 metamorphosed into a grasshopper. 
 
 On examining the religion of the Mexicans for 
 the affinities it may present to that of the 
 peoples of the Old World, it cannot be concealed 
 that there is ground for more than one curious 
 analogy. We find in this Transatlantic nation, 
 so different from Europe, certain general traits 
 common to all the religions of the old continent, 
 having for result a peculiar harmony between 
 them, for which it is difficult to account unless 
 by referring them to a common birthplace. Thus, 
 among the traditions of the Mexicans may be 
 remarked the idea of a common mother of 
 mankind, who is always represented as having a 
 VOL. i. 7 
 
93 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 serpent with her, reminding one of Eve in the 
 Semitic tradition. Some of the sacred pictures 
 represent a spotted serpent, cut in pieces by the 
 Great Spirit Tezcatlipoca, or by the sun, under 
 the figure of the god Tonatiuh. Here we have 
 the serpent Python, killed by Apollo; or the 
 dragon laid low by the Archangel Michael; or, 
 as in the Brahminical books, the serpent Kalya, 
 or Kaligana, vanquished by Vishnu under the 
 form of Krishna. The Tonatiuh of the Mexicans 
 has many analogies with the Krishna of the 
 Hindoos, and the Mithras of the Persians. The 
 woman with the serpent had twin children, that 
 recal Cain and Abel. To complete the analogy, 
 an Aztec painting, preserved in the Vatican, repre¬ 
 sents them struggling with each other. Mexican 
 tradition mentioned an universal inundation, from 
 which one family alone, that of Coxcox, escaped, 
 like Noah’s; and then an edifice, in the form of 
 a pyramid like the Tower of Babel, erected by 
 the vanity of men, and hurled down by the anger 
 of the celestials. It would be easy to cite other 
 similarities between the cosmogony and religious 
 ideas of the Mexicans and those of the peoples 
 of Asia, a part of the world that closely neigh¬ 
 bours the western coast of America. One of the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 99 
 
 most remarkable is the system of successive de¬ 
 structions and regenerations of the universe. 
 This opinion, which connects the return of the 
 grand cycles of the world’s life with the renova¬ 
 tion of matter, goes back on our continent, 
 according to Humboldt’s observation, to the 
 highest antiquity. The sacred books of the 
 Hindoos speak of four ages already, and of 
 cataclysms that have at different epochs de¬ 
 stroyed the human species. A tradition of five 
 ages, like that of the Mexicans, is found on the 
 tableland of Thibet. Between Mexico, as depicted 
 by the Spanish conquerors, and the Thibet de¬ 
 scribed to us at this day, very many affinities 
 might be pointed out. They are specially ob¬ 
 servable in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the 
 multitude of religious congregations, and in the 
 extreme austerity in the practice of penances, 
 either submitted to or voluntarily imposed. 
 It must be admitted that in these various 
 matters it was not only with the religion of 
 Thibet, or with that of the ancient civilizations 
 of Asia, that the Mexican offered points of con¬ 
 tact—it was with Christianity as well, and par¬ 
 ticularly with Catholic worship. 
 
 Other coincidences are noticed, fully as curious, 
 
 7 —% 
 
100 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 in regard to original sin—to baptism, as a conse¬ 
 quence or remedy—to confession, and the Eu¬ 
 charist. 
 
 The Mexicans believed in original sin. They 
 considered mankind as thrown on the world for 
 punishment, and in their prayers implored the 
 Divine mercy. “When an infant comes into 
 the world,” says Zurita,* “ his parents salute it 
 with ‘ Thou art come into the world to suffer, 
 bear, and take patience.’” They literally washed 
 it from original sin, just as do Christians, for the 
 main feature of their baptism consisted in ablu¬ 
 tions. They had confession and absolution. The 
 secrets of the tribunal of penitence—for the 
 phrase applies well here—were inviolable; but 
 people confessed but once in their lives, and con* 
 sequently as late as possible. Probably because, 
 at the epoch when the Spaniards arrived, there 
 was a sort of confusion between the political and 
 the religious authority, from the ascendancy the 
 clergy had assumed in the State and over the 
 
 * Alonzo de Zurita was a lawyer, who wrote after a resi¬ 
 dence of nine years in Mexico. He had been charged, as 
 Oidor of the Audiencia in Mexico, to draw up a report on 
 the different classes of the native chiefs. M. Ternaux-Com- 
 pans has devoted a volume to him. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 101 
 
 mind of the prince, religious absolution purified 
 from crime, even to the exclusion of the secular 
 power; and long after the conquest, Indians 
 pursued by justice were known to demand their 
 release on presenting a certificate of confession 
 from their priest. Lastly, the Mexicans had a 
 ceremony like the Sacrament of the Eucharist, 
 in which the priests distributed to the faithful 
 fragments of a cake of maize, which was swal¬ 
 lowed whilst prostrate, in the belief that it was 
 the very body of the Divinity. 
 
 The notion held by the Mexicans as to a future 
 life is one of the most remarkable traits in their 
 religion. They believed in a paradise and its 
 opposite, and they conceived them in a form of 
 refinement that does great honour to their theo¬ 
 logians. With them, the place of torment was 
 not one of material torture, in which the most 
 hideous punishments are accumulated that can 
 be invented by the most excited imagination. 
 The suffering of the damned was principally of 
 a moral kind. They were thrown into profound 
 darkness, and given over to remorse. The life 
 of the elect was passed, during a first period, 
 in the presence of the sun, whom they accom¬ 
 panied with dance and song in his radiant course 
 
102 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 along the heavens. After some time, their souls 
 went to animate brilliant clouds or birds of mag¬ 
 nificent plumage, and they tasted eternal de¬ 
 lights among perfumes and flowers. The joys 
 of paradise were reserved in preference for war¬ 
 riors and those immolated in the sacrifices. The 
 Mexicans admitted in the life hereafter a posi¬ 
 tion intermediate between the place of torment 
 and the perfect paradise; but it was not a pur¬ 
 gatory or place of provisional suffering—it was 
 rather an incomplete paradise. 
 
 These analogies and resemblances could not 
 escape the first Catholic priests, when they were 
 labouring to convert the conquered Mexicans. 
 According to the bias of their mind and cha¬ 
 racter, some treated them in a kindly spirit, and 
 supposed that the Christian faith had been long 
 ago introduced among these populations by a 
 missionary, of whom all personal trace had been 
 lost, or by means of a miracle. A few went so far 
 as to suggest that Quetzalcoatl was no other than 
 the Apostle St. Thomas. Others looked at the 
 dark side, asserting that it was an offensive copy 
 of the worship of the true God, and that the Evil 
 Spirit had communicated the Christian dogmas 
 to these idolaters to turn them into derision. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 103 
 
 But all were struck with the similitudes, and we 
 cannot refrain from considering that they were 
 too multifold and too characteristic to be for¬ 
 tuitous. 
 
 One of the circumstances that most surprised 
 the Spaniards was, that the cross was an object 
 of veneration among these idolaters. They first 
 remarked it in Yucatan; but there it was merely 
 an emblem of the God of Rain. The cross pre¬ 
 sented itself on the very shore of Mexico—locally, 
 it is true—in another character. We read the 
 following in the account of Grijalva’s voyage:— 
 “ In the isle called Ulua (now San Juan de 
 Ulua, the citadel of Yera Cruz), they adore a 
 cross of white marble, on the top of which is a 
 crown of gold. They say that some one died on 
 that cross who is more beautiful and more re¬ 
 splendent than the sun.”* 
 
 Their prayers evinced sentiments of touching 
 charity, of pardon, and forgetfulness of injuries. 
 “ Live in peace with all the world,” said one of 
 their supplications; “bear injuries with humility; 
 leave the care of avenging thee to God, who sees 
 everything.” 
 
 * Voyage of Grijalva, as related by the chaplain. (The 
 Ternaux Collection.) 
 
104 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The rules of private morality tended to inspire 
 the best feelings towards a neighbour; they 
 read like an emanation of Christian charity. In 
 the exhortation that ended the confession, the 
 priest said to the faithful, “ Give food to those 
 who are hungry, clothing to those who are naked, 
 whatever may be the privations that care im¬ 
 poses on thee; for the flesh of the unfortunate 
 is thy flesh, and they are men like unto thyself.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 105 
 
 HUMAN SACRIFICES. 
 
 To judge from the sentiments propagated by the 
 religion of the Aztecs, from the practices it re¬ 
 commended to men in their mutual relations, 
 from the moral ideas that were accredited among 
 them as rules of individual conduct, they would 
 be a kind-hearted people, and Mexico might have 
 claimed, before Philadelphia, the title of the city 
 of brotherly love. But oh! the frailty of our 
 nature—the inconsistency of the human heart— 
 these charitable sentiments and practices, this 
 benevolence and equity, this consideration for 
 the female, with reason looked on as the most 
 conclusive proof of gentleness of manners and 
 social culture, were, by a frightful perversion, 
 combined with human sacrifices and cannibal 
 feasts. Men were sacrificed in great numbers 
 on the altars of the gods, and the bodies of the 
 
106 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 victims were solemnly devoured at banquets of 
 the grandest display. The Mexicans had, as we 
 have seen, a sacrament that might be called their 
 Eucharist. From a certain date, the bread used 
 was soaked in blood. The mind stands bewil¬ 
 dered when it learns that these execrable cere¬ 
 monies were not with the Mexicans a legacy of 
 barbarism, transmitted from generation to gene¬ 
 ration, and which their more civilized descend¬ 
 ants maintained out of a stupid respect for their 
 ruder ancestors. The notion of these horrors 
 came to the Aztecs when they were in the full 
 current of civilization. The more they pro¬ 
 gressed, the grander their arts, the more they 
 seemed infatuated for these ferocious practices. 
 One would say they were fascinated by an im 
 fernal demon; and we can conceive that the 
 Spaniards should be persuaded they had direct 
 intercourse with Satan. 
 
 Let us take a few observations from Hum¬ 
 boldt on the origin of these human sacrifices.* 
 
 From the commencement of the fourteenth century, 
 the Aztecs lived under the sway of the King of Colhua- 
 can, and it was they who contributed most to the victory 
 that monarch won from the Xochimilcans. The war 
 
 * “Vue des Cordilleres,” by Baron von Humboldt, p. 94* 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 107 
 
 over, they wished to offer a sacrifice to their principal 
 god, Huitzilopochtli, or Mexitli (the god of war), whose 
 image of wood, placed on a seat of bamboo, called “ the 
 chair of God,” was borne on the shoulders of four priests. 
 They asked of their master, the King of Colhuacan, to 
 give them some articles of value, to render the sacrifice 
 more solemn. He sent them a dead bird, wrapped up 
 in coarse cloth. To add derision to insult, he proposed 
 to them to be himself present at the festival. The Aztecs 
 feigned to be pleased with-the offer, but they at the same 
 time resolved on offering a sacrifice that should inspire 
 their masters with terror. After a long dance around 
 the idol, they brought forward four Xochimilcan pri¬ 
 soners, whom they had concealed for a long time. These 
 unfortunates were immolated, with the ceremonies still 
 observed at the period of the Spanish conquest, on the 
 platform of the great pyramid of Tenochtitlan, which 
 was dedicated to the sod. The Colhuans manifested a 
 just horror at this human sacrifice—the first ever perpe¬ 
 trated in their country. Fearing the ferocity of their 
 slaves, and seeing they were flushed with the success 
 obtained in the war against the Xochimilcans, they re¬ 
 stored the Aztecs to liberty, enjoining them to quit the 
 territory of Colhuacan. 
 
 The first sacrifice had a happy result for the oppressed 
 nation; vengeance soon gave occasion for a second* 
 After the foundation of Tenochtitlan, an Aztec was tra¬ 
 versing the shore of the lake to kill some animal that he 
 might offer to the god Mexitli, when he met an inhabi¬ 
 tant of Colhuacan, called Xomimitl. Irritated against 
 his old masters, the Aztec attacked the Colhuan hand to 
 
108 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 hand. Xomimitl was vanquished, borne off to the new 
 city, and breathed his last on the fatal stone placed at 
 the feet of the idol. 
 
 The circumstances of the third sacrifice were still more 
 tragic. Peace had been apparently re-established between 
 the Aztecs and the inhabitants of Colhuacan. The priests 
 of Mexitli, however, could not restrain their hatred 
 against those neighbours under whom they had groaned 
 in slavery, and they meditated an atrocious revenge. 
 They invited the King of Colhuacan to confide to them 
 his only daughter, to be brought up in the temple of 
 Mexitli, and after her death to be there adored as the 
 mother of this protecting deity of the Aztecs; they 
 added that the idol himself spoke his will by their lips. 
 The credulous king accompanied his daughter, and con¬ 
 ducted her into the darksome interior of the temple; 
 there the priests separated the pair. A tumult was heard 
 in the sanctuary; the unhappy monarch did not distin¬ 
 guish the groans of his expiring daughter; a censer was 
 put into his hand, and a few moments after he was 
 ordered to light the copal. As the pale glimmer of the 
 flame grew stronger, he recognised his child bound to a 
 post, her bosom bleeding, lifeless and motionless; despair 
 deprived him of his senses for the rest of his days. He 
 himself could not exact vengeance, and the Colhuans 
 dared not match themselves with a people that made 
 themselves dreaded by such an excess of barbarity. The 
 immolated girl was placed among the Aztec divinities, 
 under the name of Teteionan (Mother of the Gods), or 
 Tocitzin, our Great Mother, who must not be confounded 
 with Eve, or the Woman with the Serpent, called 
 Tomantzin, 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 109 
 
 Soon they solemnly ate the bodies of the 
 victims. 
 
 Whatever were the incidents on the occasion 
 when human sacrifices commenced, it appears 
 that this abominable usage was perpetuated 
 among the Aztecs, such as the Spaniards found 
 them in the early part of the sixteenth century, 
 less as the effect of brutal ferocity than as the 
 manifestation of a religious belief. The Mexi¬ 
 cans regarded the sojourn of man here below as 
 an expiation and probation; they believed that 
 on the earth “ the whole creation groaneth,” to 
 make use of St. Paul’s expression, and had need 
 of being redeemed. They made it their theo¬ 
 logical opinion that the Divinity was appeased, 
 by blood. Blood, they thought, conciliated the 
 gods, or turned away their anger. In that way 
 they came to maintain and extend as a religious 
 ceremony what was at first, according to all ap¬ 
 pearance, but a sanguinary warning or a horrible 
 vengeance against the King of Colhuacan. Solis, 
 in “ The Conquest of Mexico,” puts this explana¬ 
 tion of human sacrifices, in so many words, into 
 the mouth of a venerable Cacique of Tlascala, 
 Magiscatzin (the same that Prescott calls Max- 
 ixca). He relates that at an interview with 
 Cortez, this chief told him that his countrymen. 
 
110 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 could not form an idea of a real sacrifice, unless 
 one man died for the saving of others. 
 
 This conception of the Mexican religion as to 
 the virtue of blood shed on the altar was com¬ 
 mon to them and the whole ancient civilization 
 of our own continent. All peoples without ex¬ 
 ception, before the coming of Christ, whether 
 savage or civilized, sought redemption by blood, 
 because blood, the source of life, seemed to them 
 the offering most agreeable to the angry gods. 
 Everywhere and at all times up to Christianity, 
 the blood of man was poured out to honour the 
 gods, in spite of the protests of reason and hu¬ 
 man feeling; but among the Romans and Greeks, 
 and the other peoples of antiquity more advanced 
 than the rest, the force of human feeling and 
 the progress of reason had, in the majority of 
 circumstances, but not in all, replaced the blood 
 of our fellow-creatures by that of animals. It 
 has been remarked, in reference to Moses, that 
 there is “ not one of the ceremonies prescribed 
 by this legislator—not a purification, even phy¬ 
 sical—that does not require blood.” But it was 
 no longer the blood of men. Even Christianity, 
 which put an end to the effusion of blood on the 
 altar, conformed to what De Maistre calls the 
 doctrine of substitution , or the reversion of the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 sufferings of innocence to tlie profit of the guilty. 
 The sins of our fathers, and our own sins, were 
 so washed away by blood. The world had to 
 receive a bath of blood to be cleansed from its 
 early fall. The most learned doctors of the 
 Church have so understood it. “ In the immola¬ 
 tion of Calvary the altar was at Jerusalem, but 
 the blood of the victim bathed the universe,” 
 says Origen, who intended no mere metaphor in 
 the passage, but desired to enunciate a fact mys¬ 
 teriously accomplished. It is true that this time 
 it is the blood of God himself that dispenses with 
 any other host, and thenceforth temples are puri¬ 
 fied from all earthly blood. It is not superfluous 
 to remark even, that the redeeming sacrifice is 
 not made once for all, and that it is perpetuated, 
 for the Mass is not a simple commemoration, and 
 the blood of Christ is therein offered daily.* 
 
 It is solely in this sense that De Maistre could 
 say the human sacrifices of the Mexicans and 
 other peoples, ancient or modern, strangers 
 to Christianity, had their origin in the uni¬ 
 versal conscience of the human race, and pro- 
 
 * See J. de Maistre, “Eclaircissements sur les Sacri¬ 
 fices.” 
 
 [M. Chevalier writes according to the creed of the Roman 
 Catholic Church.—Rote by the Translator.] 
 
112 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 ceeded from a truth fallen into a state of 
 putrefaction. 
 
 The explanation of the excessive severity of 
 the Mexican penal code must also, perhaps, be 
 sought for in this quarter, for the notion of re¬ 
 straining men by terror would not of itself alone 
 be a sufficient solution. It may be supposed 
 that the Mexican legislator was of opinion, like 
 the Druids, according to Caesar’s account, that 
 the capital punishment of the guilty was highly 
 agreeable to the Divinity. 
 
 It must be told, to the extenuation of these 
 populations, that human sacrifices were not 
 adopted among the different nations of Mexico 
 without a good deal of resistance. The other 
 tribes had at first a horror of the Aztecs, on 
 account of this frightful effusion of human blood. 
 At a later period, the great King Nezahualcoyotl 
 long combated among his own subjects against 
 the taste that led them to adopt these butcheries, 
 after the fashion and at the instigation of the 
 people of Tenochtitlan, and he hoped to bring 
 them back to the pure worship of the Toltecs. 
 However, as he had no children by the wife 
 whom he had carried off from the old lord of 
 Tepechpan, the priests remonstrated with him 
 that this was the effect of the anger of the gods, 
 indignant that blood no longer smoked on their 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 113 
 
 altars, and at last he yielded. The blood of men 
 was again offered to the gods; but still the heir 
 he looked for came not, and he exclaimed, u The 
 idols of wood and stone are incapable of hearing 
 anything or feeling anything. It is not possible 
 that these can be the authors of heaven and 
 earth, and of man, the monarch of the creation. 
 There is a God more powerful, invisible, un¬ 
 known, who is the Creator of all things. He 
 alone can console me in my affliction, and sup¬ 
 port me in the cruel anguish I endure.” He 
 secluded himself in his gardens at Tezcotzingo, 
 and passed forty days there in prayer and fast¬ 
 ing, offering to the gods copal incense, and 
 burning aromatic herbs on the altars. His 
 prayers were heard. After that, openly reverting 
 to his antipathy against the sanguinary super¬ 
 stitions of the country, he erected the temple of 
 which we have spoken, that was consecrated to 
 “ the unknown God—the Cause of causes,” and 
 he prohibited human sacrifices, forbidding even 
 the blood of animals to be shed within the edifice. 
 After his death, which took place about 1470, 
 half a century before the conquest, the temples 
 of the kingdom of Tezcuco were again stained 
 with gore, and rivalled those of the Aztecs in 
 the victims slaughtered there. 
 
 8 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
114 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The historian Prescott, who has little taste for 
 theology, has assigned to these ferocious sacri¬ 
 fices of the Mexicans motives purely human. We 
 are often liable to be deceived when we pretend 
 to assign one single motive to the determinations 
 of societies or governments, or even to those of 
 individuals. They almost always flow from ma¬ 
 nifold and complex causes. It is exceedingly 
 probable we should err in considering these 
 butcheries, consecrated by religion, as the pure 
 and simple effect of the deductions of Aztec 
 theologians in reference to the destin}^ of man 
 and his relations to the Divinity. But so also 
 should we mistake if we were content to reco«-- 
 
 o 
 
 nise in them nothing but a combined machination 
 of the political and religious leaders of the Aztec 
 empire, in order to spread terror, for the benefit 
 of their own authority. Doubtless, the policy 
 of the emperors and the dominating spirit of the 
 priests availed themselves of these horrible festi¬ 
 vals. All earthly powers love to inspire fear; 
 fear creates obedience, which is one of the first 
 necessities of governments as of societies. They 
 have a tendency even to exceed the proportion 
 in which the play of this motive is advantageous; 
 and thus it is that often, in place of the fear that 
 attends respect, they pass to the bounds of terror, 
 if they go not beyond them. This is to be 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 115 
 
 seen almost everywhere out of the pale of Euro¬ 
 pean civilization, and that civilization itself often 
 exhibits the spectacle in its own bosom. These 
 execrable sacrifices among the Aztecs were not, 
 then, solely in conformity to a religious belief 
 among the princes and priests—sincere to the 
 fullest extent, everything leads us to suppose: 
 both one and the other deemed them useful be¬ 
 sides to the maintenance or confirmation of their 
 power; but religious faith had its own part in 
 them. 
 
 Was it ambition alone, or religious fanaticism 
 alone, that inspired the infamous St. Bartholo¬ 
 mew plot? Neither one nor the other isolatedly; 
 it was both. Catherine de Medicis and the per¬ 
 sons who, under her and with her, advised the 
 massacre of the Huguenots, feared lest the latter, 
 guided by a chief so eminent and respected as 
 Admiral de Coligny, should gain the ascendant 
 at the young king’s court. There is the human 
 motive; but along with it there was another 
 influence, equally as active and energetic—reli¬ 
 gious fanaticism, the desire of exterminating 
 heresy—a desire sanctified from the pulpit, and 
 unceasingly represented by the Court of Rome 
 to be eminently agreeable to God. In the soul 
 of Catherine de Medicis there might be most of 
 
116 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 policy—of that policy without faith or law, and 
 treating murder as a plaything, which distin¬ 
 guished the Italian school of the time. Among 
 certain of her accomplices there was more of re¬ 
 ligious fanaticism. The crime was the product of 
 these two forces—the complex effect of these 
 two guilty passions. A blind and merciless belief 
 and unbounded ambition were in the same way 
 the simultaneously moving powers that poured 
 out human blood on the altars of the Aztecs. 
 
 A fact that surprises, at the first glance, is, 
 that in proportion as the Aztec empire grew 
 larger, and that its civilization appeared to be 
 perfecting, human sacrifices were multiplied. 
 Contradictions of the same kind may be re¬ 
 marked among the Romans and the Christians. 
 The sanguinary games of the circus, and the 
 combats of gladiators, acquired their greatest 
 development under the emperors, when manners 
 were much softened in comparison with the era 
 of the republic. Among the Christians in like 
 manner, at the time when the barbarians were 
 newly converted, and during the centuries that 
 immediately followed, religion was in general 
 more marked by mildness of spirit than at an 
 epoch of civilization and refinement, such as was 
 the sixteenth century. In the sixth and seventh 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 117 
 
 centuries, although the doctrine of Compelle 
 intrare had been exalted to honour by St. 
 Augustine, and turned by him into a sort of 
 dogma, the Sovereign Pontiff, the head of the 
 hierarchy, reproved that systematic and general 
 extermination which the Papacy, notwithstand¬ 
 ing, recommended with all its strength, and 
 caused to be carried into practice as far as it 
 could, by kings and parliaments, against the 
 Vaudois, the Albigenses, the Lutherans, and the 
 Calvinists, some six, eight, and nine centuries 
 later. And without going back into history of 
 so distant a date, and keeping to the narrower 
 circle of events almost contemporary, the execu¬ 
 tions of the Reign of Terror, the butcheries of 
 the Revolutionary tribunal, the horrors accu¬ 
 mulated under the auspices of monsters such as 
 Carrier, and accepted by the public opinion of 
 the moment; Paris, the most polished city in 
 the world, crouching under the dictatorship of 
 Fouquier-Tinville; Marat, the frightful Marat, 
 turned into the idol of a numerous public, and, 
 after justice had been done on the monster by 
 the poniard of Charlotte Corday, obtaining the 
 honours of an apotheosis—are not they facts that 
 immediately followed the reign of Louis XY., in 
 which society more and more affected the airs of 
 
118 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 universal philanthropy ?—and that of Louis XVI., 
 when humanitarian ideas had burst out, and 
 seemed to be on the eve of obtaining uncon¬ 
 tested dominion? 
 
 Thus, in all countries and among all peoples, 
 events have these afflicting vicissitudes, and pre¬ 
 sent sad and humiliating contradictions, which, 
 I say it in earnestness, do not overthrow the 
 theory of progress, but do carry in themselves 
 solemn warnings. We cannot, indeed, but see 
 in them a reminder of all that there is of weak¬ 
 ness in human nature, in unison with those 
 magnificent attributes of which we might have 
 reason to vaunt. Terrible lessons are to be 
 recognised therein, telling us that at all times 
 our very happiest demeanour and noblest acts 
 may be immediately followed by a false step. 
 Instead of giving ourselves up to the intoxica¬ 
 tion of success when we have been fortunate, 
 and to self-admiration when we have done well, 
 Ave ought never to cease watching ourselves 
 Avith severe attentiveness, and our looks ousht 
 always to be fixed on the compass that points to 
 the path of duty, of goodness, and of justice. 
 
 Be it as it may, it is a fact that there never 
 had been so many human sacrifices as under the 
 last of the Montezumas. That superstitious 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 119 
 
 prince, influenced by the priests, or tormented 
 by sinister presentiments, the threats of which 
 he thought to avert by deluging the altars with 
 blood, was never weary of augmenting the 
 number of victims. The companions of Cortez 
 had the patience or the courage to count the 
 skulls disposed as trophies in the precincts 
 of a few of the temples; on one occasion they 
 found 136,000. The most moderate estimate is 
 that at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards 
 20,000 persons were immolated every year. At 
 the inauguration of the grand temple of the 
 god Huitzilopochtli at Mexico, in 1486, thirty- 
 three years before the conquest, 70,000 victims, 
 garnered up during several years in all parts of 
 the empire, were slaughtered one by one. The 
 butchery went on for several days without ces¬ 
 sation ; the procession of these unfortunates 
 occupied a length of four miles. 
 
 The victims were criminals and rebels. When 
 a town had failed in fidelity towards the sove¬ 
 reign, it was taxed in a certain number of beings 
 —men, women, and children. But war con¬ 
 tributed most to the supply of sacrifices. In a 
 conversation with Cortez, the Emperor, being 
 interrogated by the Conquistador what motive 
 he could have had for not bringing matters to 
 
120 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 an end with the Tlascalans, who refused to 
 recognise his sovereignty, replied that if the war 
 had been stopped he would have been embar¬ 
 rassed to procure victims in sufficient number 
 for honouring the gods. 
 
 Provided from nations whose creed was 
 similar, the victims submitted to their fate with¬ 
 out complaint. I he populace regarded them as 
 messengers deputed to the Deity, who welcomed 
 them with favour for having suffered in his 
 honour. They besought them to take charge of 
 their supplications before the gods, and to remind 
 them of their affairs. Each confided to them his 
 wishes, observing, “ Since you are going to meet 
 my god, let him know my wants, that he may 
 satisfy them.” They decked them out and made 
 them presents before immolation. In certain 
 cases there was a feast in the temple, mingled 
 with dances, in which the captive took part, and 
 at the last moment they entrusted to him the 
 most important message he had to convey to 
 the gods. 
 
 Is umerous traits of clemency are to be met 
 with in the conquests of the Mexicans, even side 
 by side with reservations made for the altars of 
 their idols. The narrative of the successive 
 aggrandizements of the Aztec empire by Tezozo- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 121 
 
 moc, which Ternaux has published in French, 
 shows that they were not always merciless as 
 conquerors. They sometimes gave to their 
 generosity curiously naive forms, such as might 
 often have occurred to the barbarous invaders of 
 the Roman empire, or to the leaders of Free- 
 Lances in the Middle Ages. Here is an in¬ 
 stance, from the conduct of the Emperor 
 Axayacatl, father of Montezuma, towards the 
 old men, women, and children, after the city of 
 Tlatelolco had been carried by assault. The 
 warriors of that city had affected considerable 
 arrogance during the siege:— 
 
 Axayacatl and the principal Mexican chiefs then went 
 to look for the old men, women, and children, who were 
 hidden amid the rushes, and of whom a part were 
 buried in the marsh up to the waist, and some even up 
 to the chin, and called to them—“ Women, before 
 leaving the water, to show your respect for us, you must 
 imitate the cries of turkeys and water-fowl/’ The old 
 women immediately began to cry like turkeys, and the 
 young ones like the birds called cuachil or yacatzintli, 
 till they made such a noise that you would have said 
 the marsh was really full of birds. Axayacatl then 
 permitted them to come out of the lake, and set them 
 at liberty. 
 
 Next is an instance of the forms observed 
 towards the conquered, and of the chances of 
 
12:2 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 safety they offered to the bravest of the 
 prisoners:— 
 
 There existed in the midst of all the squares in the 
 city circular constructions of freestone and lime, about 
 eight feet in height. They were ascended by steps, and 
 at the summit was a platform round as a quoit, and in the 
 middle a circular stone, fixed to it with clamps, having 
 a hole in the centre. After certain ceremonies the chief 
 prisoner mounted the platform; they bound him by the 
 feet with a small rope to the stone in the centre, and 
 then gave him a sword and a target, to defend himself 
 against the man who made him a captive. If the latter 
 was again the conqueror, he was looked on as a hero 
 whose bravery was beyond all proof, and he received a 
 token in testimony of the valour he had exhibited. If 
 the prisoner bore off the victory from his adversary and 
 from six other combatants, so that he remained the 
 victor of seven in all, he was set free, and all that he 
 had lost during the war was restored to him. It hap¬ 
 pened one day that the sovereign of a state called 
 Huccicingua (Huexotzingo), was fighting with another 
 city called Tula, when the chief of the latter made his 
 way so far into the midst of his enemies, that his own 
 men could not get up to him. He exhibited wonderful 
 prowess, but his enemies assailed him with so much 
 vigour that they captured him and carried him off with 
 them. They celebrated the accustomed feast, placed 
 him on the platform, and seven men fought against 
 him. They all fell one after the other, though the 
 captive was bound according to usage. The inhabitants 
 of Huexotzingo, seeing what was passing, fancied that 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 123 
 
 if they set him at liberty, so brave a man would not be 
 at quiet till he had destroyed them all. They came, 
 therefore, to the resolution of killing him. This action 
 drew on them the contempt of the whole country. They 
 were looked on as disloyal men and as traitors, for 
 having, in the person of this grandee, violated the 
 Custom established in favour of all chiefs.* 
 
 Traits that bespeak a deep sentiment of hu¬ 
 manity are to be found in the religion of the 
 Mexicans, in conjunction with these atrocious 
 sacrifices. The reader may remember what has 
 been before said as to their conception of a 
 future life. These immolations, carried out on 
 the grandest scale, in the name of religion, form 
 a fearful contrast with that elevated and purified 
 notion of another life. The pile at least hides 
 the victim in wreaths of smoke. Here the 
 offering was an effusion of blood: the blood was 
 shed, exhibited, made a parade of in the face of 
 the sun, to the attentive gaze of an immense 
 crowd. Conducted by the priests in procession, 
 at a slow pace, to the sound of music and the 
 chant of the ritual, the victim climbed a pyra¬ 
 mid that formed the base of the temple, making 
 an entire circuit of it at each of the terraces by 
 
 * The Ternaux-Compans Collection, “ Relation d’un Gen- 
 tilhomme si la suite de Cortez,” p. 61, of the volume entitled 
 “ Recueil de pieces relatives a la Conquete du Mexique.” 
 
124 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 which it was divided into stories. The stone of 
 sacrifice was at the summit, in the open air, be¬ 
 tween the two altars on which the sacred fire 
 burnt night and day, before the sanctuary, in 
 shape a lofty tower, that enclosed the image of 
 the god. The people, assembled afar off, looked 
 on in silence at this terrible scene, losing not a 
 single movement. At last, after prayer, the 
 victim was extended over the fatal stone. The 
 sacrificer, laying aside the loose black robe in 
 which he was ordinarily clothed, for a red 
 mantle, more appropriate to this his highest 
 function, approached, armed with an itzli knife, 
 opened the breast of the offering, drew from it 
 the reeking heart, smeared with blood the 
 images of the gods, and poured it around him, 
 or, with maize flour, mixed it into a hor¬ 
 rible paste. Such is what we find in conjunc¬ 
 tion with a passion for flowers and the purest 
 ideas! Such is the scene on which the eye of 
 the Mexican gloated fifty times a year, after he 
 had been gently floating that very evening or 
 morning on a chinamjoa over the waters of the 
 lake, breathing an atmosphere of balm, amid a 
 smiling vegetation. 
 
 Various circumstances increase the astonish¬ 
 ment caused by such practices on the part of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 125 
 
 these peoples, and force us to admit that they 
 must have proceeded, without prejudice to other 
 motives, from the doctrine of expiation inter¬ 
 preted by terror: fear is a thousand times more 
 ferocious than courage. Along with these cere¬ 
 monies of blood, the worship of the Aztecs pre¬ 
 sented others of unblemished innocence, remind¬ 
 ing us of the gentle and tender Abel honouring 
 the Most High. There were processions, mingled 
 with songs and dances, in which the youth of 
 both sexes were rivals in dress and beauty, and 
 displayed extraordinary agility.* Young girls 
 and children, their heads crowned with garlands 
 of flowers, joy and gratitude in their faces, 
 piously carried offerings of fruits, the first 
 growth of the season, and enormous ears of 
 maize, which were deposited before the images 
 of the gods, accompanied with the burning of 
 incense. If any victims were then immolated, 
 they were birds, particularly quails. Such was 
 the character of the worship of the Toltecs, on 
 whose civilization the Aztecs came to graft their 
 own. A few of the ceremonies of the former 
 remained untouched, without the violent hand 
 
 * The Aztecs had great dexterity in all kinds of feats of 
 address. Some of them who were taken to the Court of 
 Castille intensely gratified the Spaniards. 
 
126 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 of their successors having* laid a mark on them. 
 They stood out like a protest of the better in¬ 
 stincts of human nature against those that 
 sprung from the imagination of the Aztecs. 
 
 These inventions of a frightful mysticism were 
 arranged with a good deal of pomp and art. 
 Each of these bloody sacrifices formed a drama 
 that represented some of the adventures of the 
 god to whom it was dedicated, and thence fur¬ 
 nished a morality. Solemnities might be singled 
 out from the number, the spectacle of which 
 would most undoubtedly have been revolting to 
 the men of our age by reason of the tragedy 
 that terminated them; but a description of 
 which it is impossible to read without admiring 
 their majesty, their deep meaning—and I can find 
 no other expression—their elegance. Such was 
 that of the new fire , and more so still, the 
 festival of the god Tezcatlipoca, the generator of 
 the universe, the soul of the world. 
 
 According to the cosmogony of the Aztecs, 
 the world had undergone four catastrophes, in 
 which everything had perished. They expected 
 a fifth at the end of one of their cycles of fifty- 
 two years, when everything was to disappear, 
 even the sun being blotted out from the heavens. 
 At the conclusion of the cycle, which, like the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 127 
 
 end of the year, nearly coincided with the 
 winter solstice, they celebrated a festival com¬ 
 memorative of the end and renovation which 
 the world had four times undergone, and in¬ 
 tended also to avert the fifth cataclysm, that by 
 a cruel decree of the gods menaced the human 
 race, the earth, and the stars themselves, without 
 excepting even the one that serves as a focus of 
 light to the whole universe. With this purpose 
 the five days that closed the year were devoted 
 to manifestations of despair. The little images 
 of the gods that adorned and protected the 
 houses, like the Lares of the ancients, were 
 destroyed. The sacred fires that blazed on the 
 pyramid of each tsoccdli (temple) were allowed 
 to die out; the domestic hearth was equally 
 destitute of flame; the furniture was broken to 
 pieces, and the garments rent. Everything 
 wore an aspect of desolation at the coming of 
 those evil spirits who projected a descent upon 
 the earth. 
 
 On the evening of the fifth day, the priests, 
 cairying the ornaments of their idols, went in 
 piocession to a mountain at two leagues distance, 
 taking with them the most noble victim they 
 could find among the captives. On the summit 
 they awaited in silence the moment when the 
 
128 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 constellation Pleiades, which played a great part 
 in the cosmogony of the Aztecs, approached the 
 zenith; at that instant the victim was sacrificed. 
 Fire was obtained by the friction of pieces of 
 wood laid on his gaping bosom; this was the 
 new fire , the flame of which was instantly com¬ 
 municated to a funeral pile, on which the sacrifice 
 was consumed. As soon as the ignited pile 
 blazed up on high, cries of joy were shouted forth 
 to the sky from the neighbouring hills, the 
 summits of the temples, and the terraces of the 
 houses, where the assembled nation, upstanding, 
 with looks turned in the direction of the 
 mountain, awaited with anxiety the appearance 
 of this signal of safety. From the sacred pile 
 couriers ran with all speed, bearing burning 
 torches, to distribute the new fire , which, as they 
 passed on, immediately burst forth on all sides 
 from the altars and the houses. A few hours 
 afterwards, the sun, showing himself in the 
 horizon, announced to man that the gods had 
 had pity on them, and that for the duration of 
 another cycle the human race was safe from de¬ 
 struction. But, to redeem themselves for the 
 cycle that would follow, it was incumbent on the 
 people for the fifty-two years vouchsafed to them 
 to remain faithful to the law sent from the gods. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 129 
 
 The intercalary days that followed, to the 
 number of twelve or thirteen, were devoted to 
 festivity; the houses were repaired, household 
 utensils were provided, new clothing manu¬ 
 factured, and thanks offered up to Heaven. 
 
 The festival of the god Tezcatlipoca was of a 
 different character. Aztec mythology figured 
 him under the character of a man of perfect 
 beauty and eternal youth. A year beforehand 
 there was chosen from among the captives the 
 one who was the handsomest, taking care that 
 his body was without blemish. From that day 
 forward the god was personified in him, and 
 priests were attached to his person, whose 
 business it was so to fashion him that his mien 
 should be full of dignity and grace. He was 
 dressed with elegance and splendour; he lived 
 amid flowers; and the most exquisite perfumes 
 were burnt at his approach. When he took the 
 air, he had at his service pages decked with 
 royal magnificence. His movements were en¬ 
 tirely at liberty, and as he halted in the streets 
 to play some melody of his choice on an instru¬ 
 ment he always carried, the crowd prostrated 
 themselves at his presence as before the Great 
 Spirit, to whom every being was indebted for 
 the breath of life. He led an existence of 
 VOL. i. 9 
 
130 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 splendour and enjoyment until but a month was 
 wanting to the fatal day. Four virgins of rare 
 beauty were now brought to him, who, once his, 
 were thenceforward designated by the names of 
 the four principal goddesses. His last month 
 was thus passed in voluptuousness, taking with 
 him his celestial consorts to sumptuous banquets 
 at the houses of the first persons in the State, 
 who disputed the honour of entertaining him 
 and of paying to him the homage due to the 
 god himself. 
 
 The day of sacrifice, however, arrived; the 
 sources of his pleasure suddenly vanished from 
 around him. He bade adieu to his beautiful 
 companions, and one of the emperor’s State 
 barges conveyed him to the shore of the lake, a 
 league distant from the city, landing him at the 
 foot of a pyramid consecrated to the god whose 
 personification he had been. The population of 
 the capital and its environs were ranged around. 
 He ascended slowly, making, accordingto custom, 
 the circuit of each story of the teocalli , and halt¬ 
 ing at certain stations, at every one of which he 
 took off some one of his brilliant insignia, threw 
 away some of the flowers with which his person 
 was adorned, or broke one of the instruments 
 whose tones he had so often called forth. At 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 131 
 
 the summit of the pyramid he was received by 
 six priests, all, with one exception, clothed in 
 black, with their long hair streaming loose. 
 The sacrifice was consummated, and the heart 
 of the victim, presented first to the sun, was 
 laid at the feet of the idol’s statue. Then the 
 priests, addressing themselves to the crowd, 
 drew solemn instruction from this blood-stained 
 myth, preaching that it was the emblem of man’s 
 destiny, on whom everything seems to smile at 
 the opening of life, but who often terminates his 
 career in mourning or disaster; repeating to 
 then audience the adage everywhere confirmed 
 by the wisdom of nations, and yet always ready 
 to slip out of men’s memory, that the most bril¬ 
 liant prosperity is often trodden on the heel by 
 the gloomiest adversity. 
 
 9—a 
 
132 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PRIESTS. 
 
 The position of the priests in Mexican society, 
 and the authority they enjoyed, will be better 
 comprehended after these details on the human 
 sacrifices. When the gods claimed such honours 
 it may be well conceived that their ministers, 
 the organs of their will, and the intermediators 
 between heaven and earth, would be feared and 
 obeyed. 
 
 The Mexican clergy formed a numerous, rich, 
 and powerful order in the State; numerous to 
 that degree that the great temple of Mexico, 
 which, it is true, was consecrated to the worship 
 of several gods, and in which Cortez found forty 
 sanctuaries, reckoned five thousand priests. A 
 certain quantity of land was attached to each 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 133 
 
 temple for the subsistence of the priests and the 
 maintenance of the worship, in which much 
 pomp was displayed. This property was cul¬ 
 tivated by tenants, whom they treated with the 
 same liberality witnessed in France and Spain, 
 and throughout Europe, in the times, not far 
 back, when the monastic orders were landowners. 
 By degrees a great portion of the soil of Mexico 
 had passed into the hands of the priests. The 
 devotion of the princes, or their policy, impelled 
 them to favour this aggrandizement of the 
 domains of the clergy. Under the last Mon¬ 
 tezuma, the territorial wealth of the sacerdotal 
 corps had become immense. The gifts of the 
 faithful added still further to their opulence, by 
 offerings of the fruits of the earth and of pro¬ 
 ductions of all kinds. The Mexican clergy were, 
 however, in themselves a temperate body. The 
 priests lived in the precincts of the temples, 
 praying regularly at certain hours of the day, 
 fasting often, flagellating themselves severely, 
 and tearing their skins with the prickles of the 
 aloe. If they mixed in the world it was not to 
 partake in its pleasures, but to insure their in¬ 
 fluence. As regards their celibacy, the evidence 
 is contradictory. Cortez expressly says—“ The 
 
134 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 priests do not marry, and have no intimacy 
 with females.” And, indeed, it seems that the 
 men who imposed on society expiations so cruel 
 had themselves to submit to a law of sacrifice. 
 However, Prescott adopts the contrary opinion. 
 May we not believe that a portion of the clergy 
 alone were bound by this rule ? So states Pedro de 
 Gante; and the apparent contradiction may thus 
 be explained. The excess of their revenues the 
 priests applied in charity that brings to mind 
 the distributions made at the gates of the 
 Spanish convents. Nevertheless, it does not 
 appear that, like the Peninsular monks, they 
 had a penchant for encouraging or even tole¬ 
 rating idleness. The obligation of labour lies 
 at the bottom of all the precepts of the Aztec 
 religion. 
 
 They assigned to themselves a monopoly of 
 education, and, in consequence, took under their 
 care into the temples the youth of both sexes of 
 the noble and middle class, the priestesses bring¬ 
 ing up the girls, and the priests the boys. They 
 retained the children of the chiefs till the day of 
 their marriage as devotee neophytes, and let 
 their hair grow, not to be cut till then. The 
 education had several stages, and everything in 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 135 
 
 the plan of instruction had a religious meaning 
 or purpose. The amusement of the girls was to 
 braid with their own hands the ornaments for 
 the altars and sanctuaries. The boys kept up 
 the sacred fires, chanted at the ceremonies like 
 our choir-boys, took care of the flowers that 
 adorned the temples, and renewed the garlands 
 that hung on the statues of the gods. They 
 were initiated in the secrets of science, and 
 taught to read and write the hieroglyphics. In 
 'the higher schools, they were made to practice 
 astronomy and astrology, and were familiarized 
 with the principles of the art of government. 
 The discipline of the schools was exceedingly 
 severe: falsehood was proscribed with special 
 rigour, and if a child persisted in its practice, 
 he was made an example of by slitting his lip. 
 Great austerity was displayed in all that related 
 to manners. 
 
 After having moulded the mind and heart of 
 the young as they pleased, the Mexican priests 
 placed them out, and pushed them forward 
 in society. Their sway was thus guaran¬ 
 teed. 
 
 The sacerdotal order was governed by two 
 High Priests, who were elected from the clergy 
 
136 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 by the prince and tlie principal chiefs. The 
 dignity was bestowed on capacity, let the birth 
 be what it might. The two High Priests had 
 precedence after the sovereign over everybody 
 in the State, and nothing important was de¬ 
 cided on without their being consulted. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 1 37 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN OF MEXICAN CIVILIZATION. 
 
 This rapid and very incomplete description is 
 certainly favourable to the civilization of the 
 peoples whom the conquering Spaniards found 
 in Mexico. It is sure to be met with incredulity; 
 and the objection that will be placed foremost is, 
 that the natives, still so numerous in Mexico, and 
 forming yet the main bulk of the population, 
 little resemble the portrait I have just drawn of 
 their ancestors — a portrait, moreover, that a 
 score of writers of authority have drawn before 
 me, for in this I am but a humble copyist. A 
 fancy portrait, it will be said; look at the 
 descendants of these peoples asserted to be so 
 civilized! To this Prescott appears to me to 
 have replied victoriously in the^ following re¬ 
 flections :— 
 
138 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Those familiar with the modern Mexican will find it 
 difficult to conceive that the nation should ever have 
 been capable of devising the enlightened polity which 
 we have been considering. But they should remember 
 that in the Mexicans of our day they see only a con¬ 
 quered race, as different from their ancestors as are the 
 modern Egyptians from those who built—I will not say 
 the tasteless Pyramids—hut the temples and palaces 
 whose magnificent wrecks strew the borders of the Nile 
 at Luxor and Karnac. The difference is not so great as 
 between the ancient Greek and his degenerate de¬ 
 scendant, lounging among the masterpieces of art, 
 which he has scarcely taste enough to admire, speaking 
 the language of those still more imperishable monu¬ 
 ments of literature which he has hardly capacity to com¬ 
 prehend. Yet he breathes the same atmosphere, is 
 warmed by the same sun, nourished by the same scenes 
 as those who fell at Marathon, and won the trophies of 
 Olympic Pisa. The same blood flows in his veins that 
 flowed in theirs; but ages of tyranny have passed over 
 him—he belongs to a conquered race. 
 
 The American Indian has something peculiarly sen¬ 
 sitive in his nature. He shrinks instinctively from the 
 rude touch of a foreign hand. Even when this foreign 
 influence comes in the form of civilization, he seems to 
 sink and pine away beneath it. It has been so with 
 the Mexicans—under the Spanish domination their 
 numbers have silently melted away; their energies are 
 broken. They no longer tread their mountain plains 
 with the conscious independence of their ancestors. 
 In their faltering step, and meek and melancholy aspect, 
 we read the sad characters of the conquered race. The 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 139 
 
 cause of humanity, indeed, has gained; they live under 
 a better system of laws, a more assured tranquillity, a 
 purer faith; but all does not avail. Their civilization 
 was of the hardy character that belongs to the wil¬ 
 derness; the fierce virtues of the Aztec were all his 
 own. They refused to submit to European culture, to 
 be engrafted on a foreign stock. His outward form, 
 his complexion, his lineaments, are substantially the 
 same; but the moral characteristics of the nation, all that 
 constituted its individuality as a race, are effaced for ever.* 
 
 We may, however, put to ourselves the ques¬ 
 tion, Whence was the civilization of these peoples 
 derived? It is difficult to reply with certainty. 
 At the end of the twelfth century, various bodies 
 of the same family came from the North, and 
 settled in the beautiful valley of Mexico, desig¬ 
 nated to this day, but with greatly extended 
 limits, by its old name of Anahuac. There were 
 the Chichimecs, a barbarous race; and then the 
 Nahuatlecs, in several distinct tribes, among 
 whom we may distinguish the Acolhuans, or 
 people of Tezcuco; the Mexicans, properly so 
 called, or Aztecs; the people of Tlascala, or, at 
 least a part of themf; those of Chaleo and Xochi- 
 milco, and the Tepanecs. The mysterious region 
 
 * Prescott’s “Conquest of Mexico,” vol. i. pp. 41, 42. 
 
 f There is reason to believe that the population of Tlas¬ 
 cala included a large number of Chichimecs. 
 
140 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 that had served as their point of departure was 
 known among the Aztecs by the name of Aztlan. 
 Their pilgrimage had been long and perilous, 
 and signalized by numerous vicissitudes. They 
 had halted at various stations, one of which is 
 probably indicated by the ruins called Casas 
 Grandes, scattered on the banks of the Rio 
 Gila. But their march was not definitively 
 arrested till they encountered the sign predicted 
 by the oracle—an eagle, perched on a nopal, 
 growing out of a rock standing in solitude amid 
 the waters, and holding a serpent in its beak.* 
 On this spot they founded their city of Tenoch- 
 titlan, since become, under the name of Mexico, 
 one of the most beautiful in the universe. We 
 are assured that, in the neighbourhood of Nootka 
 Sound, on the western coast of North America, 
 and throughout the whole space between fifty 
 and sixty degrees of latitude, tribes are still seen 
 in existence whose idiom, in various dialects, has 
 remarkable affinities with the Mexican language. 
 
 The bodies of men who made their appearance 
 on the Mexican mountain plain towards the end 
 of the twelfth century found there nations pos¬ 
 sessing the attributes of civilization. They were 
 
 * This incident has been adopted for the national arms of 
 independent Mexico. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 141 
 
 the heirs rather than the direct descendants of 
 the Toltecs—a remarkable people, of whom we 
 have already spoken. 
 
 It may be conceived that Asia, the common 
 mother of all the civilizations of the ancient world, 
 had contributed in some part to furnish the ele¬ 
 ments of Mexican society, or had, at least, sup¬ 
 plied a contingent to the religious notions and to 
 the sciences of the Anahuac nations. Traditions 
 which, as we have seen, come near, in various 
 points, to our Biblical revelations, and which 
 are to be found, sometimes with a slight modi¬ 
 fication, in the religions of Asia, would seem to 
 have reached them from thence. The fact is, 
 that communication from Asia to the north-west 
 of America is very easy. Behring’s Strait, that 
 separates the two continents in about sixty-six 
 degrees of latitude, is little more than sixty miles 
 wide; and there are islands even in the middle 
 of that narrow channel that would serve as 
 intermediate stations.* Without ascending alto- 
 
 t According to Humboldt, the Tchuktclies of Asia, in 
 spite of their inveterate hatred to the Esquimaux of Kotze¬ 
 bue’s Gulf, cross by this route to the American coast; so 
 that of the entire offspring of the Old Continent, these savages 
 were the first, from all appearances, to visit the New ; but 
 they went there without seeing anything, learning anything, 
 er bringing anything back. 
 
142 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 gether to those northern latitudes where Asia 
 has never presented anything hut icy regions 
 and tribes completely barbarous, there is no 
 difficulty in crossing in a canoe to the American 
 coast from Kamschatka, or even from Japan, by 
 the Kurile Islands, going from island to island 
 of the long Aleutian archipelago, so as not to be 
 more than forty-eight hours at sea at any one 
 time. We may further remark that a chain of 
 islands, of immense length, extends without any 
 considerable interruption from the Chinese shores, 
 if not from a much further distance, to America; 
 for the Aleutian Isles stretch from Kamschatka 
 to the new continent; and between China and 
 Kamschatka we find Formosa, then the cluster 
 of the Loo-Choo Islands, next the Japanese 
 group, and lastly, the Kuriles. At the epoch 
 when the Celestial Empire, having more vitality 
 than at the present day, felt the need of room— 
 though since that its every effort has been for 
 segregation — the spirit of commerce and of 
 religious propagandism impelled men to track 
 this immense causeway of more than three thou¬ 
 sand miles long—sometimes submarine, and at 
 others making its appearance in archipelagos 
 stretched along the surface of the waters—which 
 connects the most beautiful regions of Asia with 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 143 
 
 the New World. Two hundred years before 
 our era, the Chinese annals mention the mystical 
 expedition of Tsin-Chi-Houang-si, who explored 
 the Oriental seas, “ to find an elixir that confers 
 immortality on tl^e soul.” These.trading and 
 then sea-going nations possessed of old the 
 mariner’s compass. We are then warranted in 
 conjecturing—with the reservation of the opinion 
 being checked, if possible, by the testimony of 
 history, and that of archaeology, or even of 
 physiology, in default of all the rest—that some 
 at least of their navigators found their way 
 to the New Continent. For peoples as civilized 
 and as powerful as those of China, Japan, and 
 India, what, in fact, was a voyage to America 
 compared with the peregrinations that savages 
 have succeeded in accomplishing on the same 
 vast ocean, over distances of more than twelve 
 hundred miles; from Otaheite, for example, to 
 New Zealand, as is established by the analogy 
 of idioms and customs? 
 
 The anatomical resemblances between the 
 Asiatics of the far East and the indigenous 
 Americans are so numerous that Humboldt felt 
 justified in expressing himself thus:—“We can¬ 
 not refuse to admit that the human species 
 presents no races more allied than those of the 
 
144 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Americans, the Mongol, the Mantchoo, and the 
 Malay.” Yet this argument is far from suffi¬ 
 cient to establish that the inhabitants of America 
 came from Asia. Science does not contradict 
 the Biblical tradition of the oneness of the human 
 race, and from the moment we believe in that 
 oneness, it is a simple consequence to admit 
 that proximity of place—extreme proximity in 
 this instance, as we have just seen—involves 
 that of the conformation of man, as it has caused 
 that of the plants produced by the two con¬ 
 tinents, where they approach each other, either 
 by Greenland or Kamschatka. 
 
 What we have stated of the religious beliefs 
 and traditions of the ancient Mexicans offers 
 analogies to the cosmogony or theology of the 
 peoples of the old continent far too numerous 
 for the coincidence to be considered as absolutely 
 fortuitous. In presence of such facts, it seems 
 impossible to refuse to admit that communica¬ 
 tions existed between one continent and the 
 other, and that the civilization of the ancient 
 Mexicans received and retained the impress, 
 unless we take refuge in absolute scepticism, or, 
 as was said by Frederic the Great, unless we 
 have vowed a resolute worship of “ her Majesty 
 Chance.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 145 
 
 The number of these analogies, joined to the 
 facilities given by nature for the passage, leads 
 to the idea that communication with China had 
 more to do with the development of Mexican 
 civilization than relations with Europe. Hum¬ 
 boldt considers that the cycles of the Aztec 
 cosmogony present in this regard elements of 
 positive demonstration; but he mentions other 
 similarities so striking that they must enforce 
 conviction on the most repugnant mind. I quote 
 one, the most remarkable of all:— 
 
 The calendar of the Aztecs distinguishes the 
 successive days by twelve signs, intended for 
 certain animals. The peoples of Mongol origin 
 designate the twelve signs of the zodiac in like 
 manner by figures of animals. Of the twelve 
 adopted by the Orientals, four exist in Mexico,* 
 and they are found in the Mexican calendar. 
 Three others, that Asia exhibits, were wanting in 
 Anahuac; but they had, if not similar ones, some 
 that were at least more or less close in analogy; 
 and these the Mexicans used in their place.f 
 
 * The hare, the serpent, the monkey, and the dog. 
 t Among the Mongols they are, the leopard, the crocodile, 
 and the fowl, replaced in the Mexican calendar by the ocelotl 
 (a ferocious quadruped, resembling the jaguar, but smaller), 
 the lizard, and the eagle. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The other five Mongol signs, having neither 
 similars nor analogies in Mexico, animals quite 
 different were substituted for them.* And 
 here it must not be lost sight of, that as the 
 Mongol signs were adopted, in preference, to 
 indicate the successive years of the series com¬ 
 posing their cycles, they employed them also to 
 represent the months and days, and even the 
 hours. In short, the signs of the Aztec calendar, 
 like that of the Mongols, had an astrological 
 use, for the Mexicans were ardently devoted to 
 astrology. 
 
 The lunar calendar of the Hindoos, formed of 
 signs still more arbitrary, manifests a curious 
 correspondence with that of the Aztecs.f 
 
 Here then, if I mistake not, are convincing 
 reasons in support of the opinion that Mexico 
 was not without having had some relations with 
 the civilized inhabitants of Asia; but yet it 
 would be rash to hold Mexican civilization as 
 nothing more than an offshoot of the Asiatic 
 
 * The mouse, the ox, the horse, the sheep, the pig. 
 
 t I refer the reader, on this point, and on the whole sub¬ 
 ject of the affinities evinced by Mexican civilization with 
 that of Asia, to the work of Humboldt entitled “Vues des 
 Cordilteres et Monuments des Peuples indigenes de l’Ame- 
 rique.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 147 
 
 stock. In Europe we find in our institutions, 
 and we carry in our persons, the proof of Greek 
 and Roman affiliation. Without having recourse 
 to philology, to technology, or the study of re¬ 
 ligion and manners, history the most authentic 
 forbids doubt on that point. We trace back to 
 the Romans and Greeks by the route of colo¬ 
 nization or conquest; and with very little effort 
 we can discover amongst us direct and certain 
 signs of an origin still more ancient, that makes 
 our civilization descend from the Egyptian and 
 Aryan. There are no such direct links, so mul¬ 
 tiplied, so intimate, between Asia and Mexico. 
 Descent shows itself by striking similarities in 
 everyday life. Now, the Mexicans had neither 
 the useful animals of Asia—the horse, the ox, 
 the sheep, the camel—nor its silkworm, nor ali¬ 
 mentary grain. Asia lives on rice; the others 
 were fed on maize. The Mexicans were i^no- 
 
 o 
 
 rant of iron, which was known in Asia fifteen 
 centuries before the Christian era. Their writing' 
 
 o 
 
 and their notation do not resemble those of the 
 Asiatics; nothing has been discovered common 
 to their language and to the idioms of Asia. 
 But if Mexico had been colonized by Asi¬ 
 atics, the mark of it would have remained 
 in all these particulars. The Chinese and 
 10—2 
 
148 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Japanese have annals regularly handed down, 
 and notwithstanding what De Guignes has said, 
 nothing therein refers to the discovery of a con¬ 
 tinent, nothing points to intercourse with a 
 country situated like America. On the other 
 hand, no reminiscence of China and India ex¬ 
 isted in Mexico. So that the Mexicans were, 
 with regard to Asia, neither children, nor colo¬ 
 nists, nor pupils. The communication between 
 Anahuac and the eastern coast of the old conti¬ 
 nent was probably reduced to contact with a few 
 isolated Asiatics, driven out of their course, 
 from whom the Mexicans had drawn some 
 notions of science and astrology, and a few tra¬ 
 ditions of cosmogony, but who never returned 
 to tell their countrymen they had discovered a 
 new world, with a wonderful climate, so as to 
 attract them thither. What the Toltecs and 
 Aztecs had received from the great peoples of 
 Asia may have contributed to their advance¬ 
 ment, and even to their organization; but it was 
 not what incorporated them into a civilized 
 nation. 
 
 Certain of the American traditions induce the 
 belief even that the other side of the old conti¬ 
 nent, that most distant from China—Europe, 
 in short—furnished some of the elements of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 149 
 
 Mexican civilization, and even of that of the 
 Americans in general. In fact, among the regu¬ 
 larly organized peoples met with by the Span¬ 
 iards in the New World, on the three mountain- 
 plains of Mexico, Cundinamarca, and Peru, tra¬ 
 dition represented their instructors as arriving 
 from the East, and not from the West. Quet- 
 zalcoatl in Mexico, Bochica in the country of 
 Cundinamarca, and Manco-Capac in Peru, came 
 from beyond the mountains, or even from 
 beyond the sea, from the side on which the sun 
 rises, and the descriptions given of their persons 
 apply to our Caucasian race better than to any 
 other. Quetzalcoatl in particular presents this 
 characteristic in the highest degree. His Euro¬ 
 pean origin is attested, moreover, by the direc¬ 
 tion he takes on leaving Mexico. As we have 
 seen, he chose that of Europe. Now, it can 
 scarcely be doubted that he was then desirous 
 of returning to the country from whence he 
 came. 
 
 That which makes it difficult to decide on the 
 share of influence exercised by Asia or Europe on 
 ancient Mexico is that those two portions of the 
 world exhibit incontestable points of connexion 
 with each other. Prescott remarks that in 
 certain usages of the Aztecs, as in their funeral 
 
150 MEXICO, 
 
 ceremonies, resemblances are to be found alike 
 to those of Catholics, Mussulmans, and Tartars, 
 and to those of Greek and Roman antiquity. The 
 observation is perfectly accurate; but it by no 
 means follows that we are bound to eliminate one 
 or the other, Asia or Europe, from the sources of 
 ancient Mexican civilization. Christians and 
 Mussulmans—the Tartar hordes on the one 
 hand, Rome and Greece on the other—had 
 points of departure in their civilization that 
 were, in a certain degree, common to them: 
 they have drawn from a common source. The 
 action that Europe and Asia may have exer¬ 
 cised on the New "World may have thus been 
 concurrent in imprinting on it a certain stamp; 
 and if those figures of crosses that called forth 
 the historian’s observation can raise a doubt, it 
 is not on the matter of the existence of relation 
 between Mexico and the two extremities of the 
 old continent—it would be solely on the ques¬ 
 tion of deciding what portion it is of that con¬ 
 tinent that stamped on Mexico the deepest 
 imprint. 
 
 The safest, or the least uncertain, course is to 
 consider Mexican civilization as autochthonous 
 in its general organization. The Red races 
 found among themselves the principal materials 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 151 
 
 of their religious, social, and political edifice. 
 Superior beings extracted the elements from the 
 depth of their own genius, or received them 
 from the effect of one of those revealing illumi¬ 
 nations to which we must have recourse as a 
 supreme cause when we essay to trace back to 
 the origin of societies. And if, among the 
 analogies that have been invoked in favour of 
 the divers systems in accordance with which 
 Mexican civilization would proceed from one of 
 those of the Old World, there be traits of ma¬ 
 terial resemblance calculated to seize on the 
 imagination—such as colossal pyramids set to 
 the points of the compass, some other archi¬ 
 tectural characteristics, and the use of hiero¬ 
 glyphics—it is well to ask if it would not be 
 more judicious to attribute them to the fact that 
 man is, to a certain point, a likeness of himself, 
 in his works no less than in his person. What 
 is there surprising, then, in the circumstance 
 that the earlier ages of empires situated in 
 analogous climates, however separated they 
 might be by distance, should spontaneously 
 offer a few similarities ? * 
 
 * Among the systems that have been produced on th 
 subject of the sources of Mexican civilization, we ought to 
 mention that of the late Lord Kingsborough, who deduced 
 
152 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 There remain, after all, a certain number of 
 traces of the intellectual or scientific order 
 before which sound criticism will pause, and 
 recognise that there did exist relations between 
 the inhabitants of Mexico and the civilizations 
 of the old continent, whether those of the eastern 
 or of the western extremity—that is, of Europe. 
 It seems to me that at the close of the inquiry 
 an impartial mind will attribute to the Asiatic 
 peoples a part notably more extended or less 
 restricted than to those of our own Europe. 
 
 To the man who loves his fellow-creatures, 
 and desires that the advancement of civilization 
 should be accomplished with as much regularity 
 
 > 
 
 as possible, and without its stages being marked 
 
 it direct from the Jews. It is possible, in fact, to collect 
 conjectures in favour of that opinion; but nothing has been 
 discovered that would constitute elements of certainty— 
 nothing that could be equivalent to the proofs we have of a 
 communication with the easternmost part of Asia. This 
 system, however, if it makes no proselytes, at least produced 
 an admirable historical memorial: it is a fac-simile of what¬ 
 ever have been preserved of the Aztec manuscripts, with 
 drawings of the antiquities of Central America, and the 
 text of the “Universal History of Hew Spain,” by Sahagun, 
 the Franciscan, who was long a resident in Mexico, dating 
 from the year 1529. Lord Kingsborough displayed in this 
 publication that lavish expenditure of which the British 
 aristocracy delight in furnishing striking examples. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 153 
 
 by catastrophes, a subject of more interesting 
 study than to penetrate into the sources of 
 Mexican civilization would be to know what is 
 the future reserved for this Bed race, which at 
 this very hour still forms the bulk of the 
 Mexican population. Undoubtedly the White 
 inhabitants of Anahuac deserve to excite the 
 solicitude of the philosopher and the statesman, 
 and of the world; but it may be held that there 
 are qualities more original in the recesses of the 
 mind and heart of the indigenous population. 
 Placed in other conditions than the subjection 
 under which it has groaned for the last three 
 centuries, this race might probably aspire to 
 useful destinies, and to supply an unexpected con¬ 
 tingent to the general civilization. But how 
 venture into the darkness of the future in the 
 endeavour to solve a problem so difficult? 
 
PART II. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO BY 
 CORTEZ. 
 
157 
 
 LANDING OF THE SPANIARDS—INTERVIEW WITH 
 THE MEXICANS. 
 
 By what events came European civilization, in 
 the sixteenth century, to graft itself on that of 
 Anahuac? What was the character of the con¬ 
 quest of Cortez ? Which are the incidents in it 
 most worthy to be recorded in history? 
 
 To a man of the nineteenth century, who is 
 the heir of the eighteenth, and consequently, do 
 what he will, not cut out for a devotee, some 
 effort is necessarj^ to comprehend the spirit that 
 animated the Spaniards, the Conquerors of the 
 New World. We judge the morality of events 
 in times past by the ideas of our own, and that 
 course is often for the best; for we may flatter 
 ourselves that we are less imperfectly initiated 
 in the notion of eternal justice than the genera¬ 
 tions that preceded us by several centuries. Our 
 
158 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 scales are more exact. We possess secrets that 
 contemporaries were ignorant of: coming after 
 them, we perceive effects they were unable to 
 distinguish. In brief, we are not, as they were, 
 judges and parties in the cause. Yet when the 
 purpose is not to appreciate the moral value of 
 actions, but simply to recognise their most salient 
 features, he who looks at them with the eyes of 
 his own epoch is exposed to error. Many times 
 it thus occurs that he gazes on a panorama where 
 the objects are in a false light, for he has placed 
 himself out of the point of view. 
 
 Thus, religious ideas not being potent enough 
 at the present day to impel nations to conquest, 
 we are inclined to neglect or to depreciate their 
 influence on the events of former times. We 
 repeat in regard to the Spaniards the judgment 
 that the eighteenth century—inspired thereto by 
 passions the generous spirit of which, and its 
 opportuneness to the time, I do not deny—pro¬ 
 nounced against them, without the case being 
 sufficiently understood. We take it as settled 
 that thirst for gold was the sole motive for their 
 enterprises in the New World. I do not pretend 
 that the love of wealth and the hope of creating 
 for themselves great fortunes and grand estab¬ 
 lishments was a stranger to those enterprises. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 159 
 
 There are human motives in all the actions of 
 men; but for the credit of our species, we may 
 hold it as certain that, on all occasions when 
 there has been a display of heroic qualities well 
 sustained, man has been obedient to noble in¬ 
 spirations. It is repugnant to believe that cu¬ 
 pidity alone can beget heroes. In Cortez and 
 his companions there was more and better than 
 the desire of enriching themselves, or of making 
 a princely position in the Indies. To say the 
 contrary is as if we should assert that when, in 
 1789, France roused herself to take the cause of 
 liberty in hand, the enthusiasm that filled the 
 nation, and enabled her to run a glorious career 
 of a quarter of a century without drawing breath, 
 was inspired by aught else than a profound feel¬ 
 ing for the rights of the human race. It is as 
 if we should maintain that the prodigies with 
 which France astonished the world during that 
 period proceeded simply from a foolish vanity of 
 the bourgeois , envious of the precedence of the 
 nobility. 
 
 The records of history on the subject of the 
 Spanish conquests on the continent of America 
 are numerous and varied enough for us to find 
 therein all the information that can be desired. 
 They attest that the Spanish expeditions took 
 
160 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 place mainly under the auspices of a religious 
 sentiment. That interest and ambition should 
 ally themselves to this sentiment is nothing more 
 than the duality of human nature—the duality 
 in virtue of which the soul is united to the body. 
 I might cite Columbus, who set out with the 
 hope of meeting and converting the Grand Khan, 
 and who, when he beheld that there was gold in 
 the New World, went on in the search for it only 
 in order to furnish the outlay for a crusade 
 in the Holy Land—which did not hinder his 
 being infinitely jealous of what related to his 
 title of Admiral of Castille, and to the material 
 advantages that were attached to it. Cortez, 
 like Columbus, like all the Spaniards of the time, 
 who had but just recovered Spain from the 
 Moors, had in his soul a faith that was active 
 and aggressive. Men’s imaginations, throughout 
 the Peninsula, were excited on behalf of religion. 
 It was faith that had given to a troop of cava¬ 
 liers who took refuge in the Asturias strength 
 to resist the armies of the Caliphs, and bit by 
 bit to wrest from them the soil of the entire 
 country. Of what was a man not capable when 
 fighting for the faith! The religious ardour 
 natural to the time was heightened by every¬ 
 thing that the sacred flame of patriotism could 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 161 
 
 add thereto. To bring infidels to subjection, to 
 establish the worship of the Cross in countries 
 where the sign of redemption had never yet been 
 1 eared, was, to the youth who followed with 
 transport the steps of the conquerors of Cordova 
 and Grenada, glory in the supreme and happi¬ 
 ness unparalleled. An expedition to the New 
 World thus became a crusade. War against the 
 Indians was a holy war, from the single fact of 
 their being infidels. To make them confess to 
 the faith was a merit beyond comparison. With 
 that in hand, it little mattered that a man might 
 have given the reins to his passions, might have 
 been licentious or covetous, or have bathed in 
 blood: every sin was redeemed by so good a 
 wo 1 h, and the path to heaven made straight. 
 All means were excellent, and all acts lawful 
 towards such miscreants, provided they were 
 brought to accept baptism. 
 
 Cortez, like all other men, great or small, be¬ 
 longed to his own time. He partook in various 
 degrees of its illusions and prejudices, as of its 
 courage and faith. His chaplain, Gomara, has 
 preserved for us the harangue he addressed to 
 his troops on reviewing them at Cape San An¬ 
 tonio, at the moment of definitively quitting the 
 island of Cuba. It finishes with the words_ 
 
 VOL. I. II 
 
162 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 that if their number was small, they had with 
 them the Almighty, who had never abandoned 
 the Spaniards in their conflicts with the infidels. 
 What mattered the multitude of the enemy to 
 be encountered when fighting under the banner 
 of the Cross! This conviction never left him, 
 and he upheld it among his companions. Here 
 was a great reason why they should triumph. 
 The best way for a man to accomplish a work, 
 however difficult it may be, is to persuade himself 
 that he cannot fail. Cortez was a character of ex¬ 
 traordinary sagacity, of able policy, of unequalled 
 intrepidity, of unheard-of vigilance, ancl of con¬ 
 summate prudence, combined with prodigious 
 audacity. He possessed in the highest degree 
 command over himself—the pledge and condition 
 of command over others. To all these natural 
 gifts were added, from one end of the conquest 
 to the other, incredible good fortune: elements 
 and events seemed to conspire in his favour. 
 Still the principal cause of his success was his 
 faith. 
 
 At the island of Cozumel, the first point at 
 which he touched, scarcely had he reassured the 
 inhabitants, whom his lieutenant, Alvarado, hav¬ 
 ing landed before him, had terrified into flight 
 by his violence and his love of pillage, than he 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 163 
 
 set about converting them. On their refusal to 
 renounce idolatry, he ordered his men to seize on 
 the statues of the gods, and to throw them from 
 top to bottom of the temples, built, like those 
 of the Mexicans, on pyramids. An altar was 
 erected in the Pagan sanctuary, at which 
 Father Olmedo said mass; and the Indians, 
 astounded that the gods had not immediately 
 inflicted death on the foreigners who had out¬ 
 raged them in their sanctuaries and images, al¬ 
 lowed themselves to be baptized. Thence Cortez 
 passed into the province of Tabasco, where he 
 found a population more numerous, more war¬ 
 like, and more advanced in the arts. These 
 offered human sacrifices, after the execrable 
 custom propagated by the Aztecs. The natives 
 refused to hold communication with the expedi¬ 
 tion, and a battle was imperative. The combat 
 was obstinate and bloody. A saint, mounted on 
 a grey horse, was seen to descend from heaven, 
 to place himself at the head of the Spanish 
 cavalry, and to lead them to the charge. Not 
 a soul in the army doubted it, and in writing an 
 account of the affair to the sovereigns of Castille, 
 Cortez says, “ Your royal highnesses may hold 
 it for certain that this victory was won less by 
 our forces than by the will of God; for wha 
 11—3 
 
164 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 could we do, four hundred men as we were, 
 against forty thousand warriors?” Terrified by 
 the artillery and cavalry, bewildered at the 
 audacity of this handful of men, whom they took 
 for supernatural beings, the Indians renounced 
 their idolatry. Their conversion was celebrated 
 with pompous ceremony on the following Sun¬ 
 day, which happened to be Palm Sunday; and 
 then the Spaniards embarked again, bound for 
 the Mexican territories, where they had learned 
 there dwelt a great sovereign, the head of a very 
 numerous people w T ho possessed much gold. 
 
 Interviews took place between Cortez and 
 Teuhtlile, governor for Montezuma of the pro¬ 
 vince corresponding with what is now the neigh¬ 
 bourhood of Vera Cruz; and afterwards, with 
 
 Teuhtlile, appeared envoysdirectfromMontezuma. 
 
 There ensued an interchange of communications 
 and messages from the camp of the Spaniards to 
 the court of the Aztec emperor. Everything 
 passed between Cortez and the personages that 
 were sent to him with high etiquette, as became 
 the representatives of two potentates, each of 
 whom took himself to be the first monarch in the 
 universe. From the very commencement, Mon¬ 
 tezuma, by his representatives, assumed the atti¬ 
 tude of a sovereign who had no wish for 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 165 
 
 foreigners to make their way into his States. 
 Cortez demanded, in pressing terms, that he 
 should be permitted to go to the capital and 
 salute the Emperor on the part of his master. 
 The reply he received was always the same, that 
 he was not to come. The explanation of Monte¬ 
 zuma’s obstinate refusals is, that strange rumours 
 were in circulation through the Aztec empire at 
 the period when Cortez landed. Some said that 
 the moment assigned for the return of the God 
 Quetzalcoatl had arrived. According to others, 
 disasters were to be expected, and the empire 
 was under the stroke of imminent calamities. 
 The news of the arrival of the Spaniards in the 
 New World had reached the country, and at that 
 there is no reason for surprise; for several years 
 had rolled by since Christopher Columbus set 
 foot on the main land. That was far from the 
 Mexican shore; but the expeditions of Cordova 
 and Grijalva had exhibited Spaniards in arms 
 in Yucatan and the Gulf of Mexico. Thence 
 the Mexicans had positive intelligence of the 
 Spaniards, and almost the echo of their artillery, 
 which had scattered terror and death in the 
 former place. They were looked on as formidable 
 beings, with whom contact would be fatal. Their 
 hostility to the religion of the country was known, 
 
166 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 which added twofold to the terror inspired by 
 their approach. When a people’s imagination 
 is excited, they are prompt to see signs of the 
 Divine will in every fortuitous event that oc¬ 
 curs, and to perceive sinister prognostics in the 
 slightest incidents. The fall of a thunderbolt, 
 the overflow of a river or lake, a fire—still more, 
 a comet of more than ordinary blaze, or an earth¬ 
 quake, however little the earth may be shaken— 
 pass for auguries at which there is reason to be 
 alarmed, as the forerunners of some calamity. 
 In their excitement men’s minds give unheard-of 
 proportions to all the phenomena of nature, and 
 they invent some that never existed, though they 
 serve none the less to augment the general dis¬ 
 quiet and terror. 
 
 Such was the situation at the. court and capital 
 of the Aztec emperor. Monstrous prodigies 
 were talked of, and indications of an approaching 
 universal catastrophe had been beheld in all parts; 
 but no one was so frightened as Montezuma, pro¬ 
 bably because the priests, from a presentiment 
 that their bloodthirsty sway was about to be 
 overthrown, breathed a thousand fears into his 
 superstitious soul. If the Spaniards gained 
 authority in the country it was over with them, 
 and they persuaded Montezuma that he too 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 167 
 
 would be a lost man. In all that they neither 
 deceived themselves nor led astray the unfor¬ 
 tunate prince. 
 
 Thence it was that Montezuma, from the very 
 commencement of the negotiations opened by 
 Cortez, showed himself tormented by a desire to 
 keep the Spaniards at a distance from the capital. 
 By his envoys he deterred them from coming, 
 bidding them say, in the style of a man accus¬ 
 tomed to be obeyed, that it was not agreeable to 
 him; but at the same time, like a magnificent 
 prince, he loaded them with presents, not re¬ 
 flecting that the more he convinced them what 
 treasures he possessed, the deeper would he root 
 in them the determination to stay. The presents 
 consisted of cotton cloths of great beauty, and 
 feathered stuffs—a manufacture in which, as 
 mentioned before, the Mexicans excelled, and 
 which was indeed peculiar to them—with 
 trinkets and articles of gold and silver manufac¬ 
 ture of great weight, and of a fashion equal to 
 the material. Among those in the precious 
 metals, the Spaniards were struck above all 
 with two round plates—one of gold, the other 
 of silver—as large, say the chroniclers, as the 
 wheels of a carriage. The plate of gold was of 
 admirable workmanship, and from the weight of 
 
168 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the metal left far behind anything there was in 
 Europe. Bernal Diaz values the material at 
 more than 20,000 pesos de oro; and if the peso 
 was equal, as Prescott thinks, to 21. 12s. 6d. 
 sterling, we must set down the value of this 
 single article at 52,500/.* Gold-dust there was, 
 too, in helmets filled to the brim; for Cortez had 
 told Teuhtlile that his companions were subject 
 to an affection of the heart, for which gold-dust 
 was a specific remedy. The Spaniard responded 
 to the gifts as he could—by a cap ornamented 
 with a medal in gold representing St. George and 
 the dragon; by holland shirts, the finest he pos¬ 
 sessed (the Mexicans had no knowledge of 
 linen); and by articles of glass-work, that would 
 appear of great value to people ignorant of the 
 art and manufacture. By these exchanges of 
 presents good relations were thought to be estab¬ 
 lished. The Indians of the vicinity brought 
 provisions to the Spaniards in abundance, and 
 were put at their disposal for all their wants. 
 Cortez continued his negotiations for permission 
 to go to Tenochtitlan, the capital of Montezuma; 
 but the latter persisted in his refusals, endea- 
 
 * This is the value according to weight. The same weight 
 then represented a value at least quadruple what it would 
 at the present day. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 169 
 
 vouring to soften their unpleasantness by fresh 
 presents, gold always figuring among them. 
 
 Cortez profited by these conferences with 
 Montezuma’s officers to show them the means at 
 his command. He exercised his soldiers before 
 them, making his horsemen gallop and manoeuvre, 
 his war-trumpets sound, and his fire-arms peal 
 out their thunder. The artillery struck the 
 Mexicans aghast. The fire and the smoke these 
 pieces projected with a loud report, the balls that 
 broke or hurled down the distant trees, left an 
 impression of terror on their minds. 
 
 In the midst of one of these interviews that 
 settled nothing, the hour for vespers sounded, 
 and Cortez, tired of Aztec delays, resolved on 
 this occasion to produce an effect. By his order 
 Father Olmedo began a sermon, in which he set 
 forth the mysteries of Christianity, and an¬ 
 nounced that the Spaniards had come into the 
 country to extirpate idolatry and establish the 
 worship of the true God. On concluding, he 
 distributed little images of the Virgin with the 
 Christ in her arms. The two interpreters already 
 mentioned, Aguilar, the Spaniard who had been 
 prisoner in Yucatan, and Marina, the young 
 Indian girl given to Cortez by the principal 
 cacique of Tabasco, translated the good Father’s 
 
170 MEXICO, 
 
 address to the astonished Aztecs as well as they 
 could. This attempt at conversion, in place of 
 touching the people whom it was hoped to make 
 neophytes, inspired them with repugnance or 
 affright. From that moment all relations were 
 broken off. Not one of the natives was to be 
 seen at the camp; no more provisions came for¬ 
 ward ; and the malcontents among the Spaniards 
 began to say that it was time to think of re¬ 
 turning to Cuba with the sumptuous presents of 
 the Mexican emperor. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 171 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FOUNDATION OF VERA CRUZ—THE ADVANTAGE 
 CORTEZ DERIVES FROM IT—HE DESTROYS THE 
 FLEET. 
 
 During these incidents Cortez was reflecting on 
 his situation, and thinking of the means of 
 strengthening the ground under his feet. The 
 task he had undertaken exhibited itself, what 
 it really was, beset with difficulties. Perils sur¬ 
 rounded him on all sides. Peril muttering from 
 the bosom of the country to which he had come: 
 he might at any moment be crushed by the forces 
 of Montezuma, whose dissatisfaction was plain. 
 Peril on the side of Yelasquez, who in his rage 
 might allow himself to go all lengths and resort 
 to any perfidy, and who reckoned even among 
 the leaders of the expedition friends ready to 
 rally to his cause, if any emissary from Cuba 
 appeared on the coast. Peril among the body of 
 
172 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the soldiery, who were suffering cruelly: they 
 were roasted by the sun, a prey to myriads of 
 dangerous or disagreeable insects, and decimated 
 by disease. Thirty had already died; suffering 
 and inactivity made the rest lend an ear to every 
 insinuation and every plot. Still greater peril on 
 the side of Madrid, where he, Cortez, had been 
 denounced as a rebel to a suspicious King, and 
 to the President of the Council of the Indies, 
 Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos, a man of malevolent 
 disposition. It was necessary to quit an inac¬ 
 tivity that perverted the morale of his soldiers, 
 and opened every chance to the attempts either 
 of Velasquez or Montezuma. If was necessary, 
 without more delay, to create for himself, by 
 decisive acts, some title to the sympathy, or at 
 the least to the indulgence, of the Court. Cortez 
 resolved then on marching into the interior of 
 the country, and confronting Montezuma in 
 arms. But previously he deemed it proper to 
 found a city on the coast, at the best anchorage 
 he could find. It was to be a fortified place, 
 that should offer protection against any sudden 
 assault of the Aztec emperor and his satraps. 
 Under a commandant to be relied on, it would 
 be a means of getting notice of the expeditions 
 that Velasquez would probably despatch; and a 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 173 
 
 refuge might be found there in case of a reverse 
 on the march into the interior. The founding 
 this city would at the same time answer other 
 ends: it would furnish Cortez—we shall soon 
 see how—with a legal expedient by which to 
 shield himself before Charles V. against the de¬ 
 nunciations of Velasquez, and would deprive 
 the partisans the latter had in his army of 
 every pretext. 
 
 The project was carried into execution. The 
 name given by Cortez to the new town is worthy 
 of remark. It carries an indication of the two 
 passions that people are astonished to find linked 
 with each other in the Spanish soul—ardour for 
 religious proselytism and thirst for gold. It 
 was called the Rich City of the True Cross, 
 Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz. The site, chosen 
 after the coast had been explored by Montejo, 
 an intelligent officer, sent on that mission with 
 two vessels, was fixed some leagues to the north 
 of the point of disembarkation. Vera Cruz, 
 once before moved to the mouth of the river 
 Antigua, was established in its present position 
 under Philip III. 
 
 Meanwhile, Cortez had received a message 
 from the chief of the Totonacs, a tribe settled 
 round Cempoalk, a town in the neighbourhood 
 
174 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 of the Spanish camp. Tired of the exactions of 
 the Aztecs, by whom they had recently been 
 subju gated, and who extorted not only heavy 
 taxes but numbers of young men and women 
 for immolation at the capital, this cacique de¬ 
 manded a visit from, and the assistance of, these 
 wonderful strangers, who hurled thunder and 
 had with them animals of irresistible speed. He 
 frankly developed the motives he had for de¬ 
 siring the intervention of the Spaniards. He 
 boasted of having a hundred thousand com¬ 
 batants—an extreme exaggeration, though Cem- 
 poalla, his capital, really had thirty thousand 
 inhabitants. To Cortez this was a revelation. 
 This great Mexican empire was not then com¬ 
 pact and united; it had within it germs of 
 division. A skilful policy might find auxiliaries 
 within it to open the path to dominion. The 
 cacique’s overture was, therefore, welcomed with 
 amity, and preparations were made for marching 
 on Cempoalla. 
 
 Before putting himself in motion, Cortez con¬ 
 trived to ensure his personal position to the 
 utmost in his power. By favour of a new 
 organization, founded on the sort of autonomy 
 that had from time immemorial appertained to 
 the municipalities of Spain, he broke the chain 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 175 
 
 of that apparent subordination that still bound 
 him to Velasquez, the Governor of Cuba. This 
 revolution was effected without his appearing to 
 do anything more than follow the movement 
 going forward in the New World, by establish¬ 
 ing a colony that, in virtue of its • municipal 
 rights, would nominate its own officers. The 
 municipal council of Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, 
 founded partly for that very object, chose as 
 their head Cortez, who had beforehand resigned 
 all his functions; and they conferred on him 
 that entire authority which was consistent with 
 the situation of the Spaniards in a foreign 
 country, in the midst of future or already de¬ 
 clared enemies. They gave him the title and 
 attributes of Captain-General and Chief Justice. 
 
 The business, however, was not consummated 
 without opposition. The j)artisans of Yelasquez 
 broke out into violent speeches and threats; 
 Cortez replied by a severity the more opportune 
 that it was little expected. He ordered the 
 principal opponents to be put in irons and 
 carried on board the vessels. Prompt sup¬ 
 pression quieted the storm, and Cortez was 
 enabled to set the prisoners at large in a few 
 days. This creation of a colony gave Cortez a 
 title which he might in strictness oppose to the 
 
176 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 claims of Velasquez, who himself, in fact, held 
 his authority only at second-hand. He was in 
 Cuba not in virtue of a title emanating from his 
 sovereign, but simply as a delegate—a subaltern 
 of the Spanish commander residing in Hispaniola 
 (since called San Domingo). This commander 
 was Diego Columbus, brother of the defunct 
 admiral. To be successful at Madrid, however— 
 at that court that was looking for o;old from its 
 acquisitions in the New World, but saw very 
 little arrive—something more was necessary than 
 a resolution of the municipal council of a city 
 that was yet to be built, and was at best but a 
 kind of entrenched camp. It was necessary to 
 be able to show the gold; it was necessary to 
 pour it into the coffers of the monarch. Cortez, 
 therefore, proposed to his companions, wonder- 
 struck at the presents sent by Montezuma, and 
 impatient to have each his share, to give them 
 up for the king’s benefit, so that they might be 
 forwarded to Madrid entire and without delay, 
 where they would thus see with certainty what 
 sort of a country the expedition had laid hands 
 on, and what recognition had been merited by 
 the army and its captain. 
 
 The proposal was unanimously accepted, not 
 without leaving some regret in the inmost hearts 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 177 
 
 of the soldiery, as greedy as they were valiant, 
 though everybody carried it out nobly. Two 
 agents, of whom Cortez thought himself sure, 
 were commissioned to Spain—Montejo, a former 
 partisan of Yelasquez, who had rallied to the 
 fortunes of his new chief, and Puerto-Carrero, a 
 fiiend of very old date. They were charged 
 with a letter from Cortez to the king, and a 
 statement from the municipal council. What 
 was to have more weight at Madrid, the same 
 vessel bore the articles of gold given by Monte¬ 
 zuma, and among them the famous round plate 
 already mentioned, and an alligator’s head. 
 Orders were given to make all sail, so as to 
 reach the Peninsula as quick as possible, for 
 nothing could be of more importance than to 
 outstrip the effect of the manoeuvres of Yelas¬ 
 quez. To aid the vessel forward, Cortez con¬ 
 fided the command to Alaminos, one of the most 
 experienced navigators of the epoch. He it was 
 who directed the course of the vessel in which 
 Christopher Columbus embarked on his last 
 voyage, and who was pilot in the voyages of 
 Cordova and Grijalva, the expeditions to which 
 that of Cortez was the sequel.* 
 
 * Contrary to the formal orders of Cortez, Montejo fan¬ 
 cied himself under the necessity of touching at Cuba, under 
 
 VOL. I. 12 
 
178 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Cempoalla was entered a few days afterwards, 
 amid acclamations from the Indian populace. 
 Cortez artfully compromised the cacique with 
 the Aztecs, by getting him to offer an affront, 
 without the ostensible participation of the 
 Spaniards, to the collectors who had come to 
 receive tribute in the emperor s name. He next 
 reconciled him with a neighbouring tribe that 
 was annoying him, and guaranteed him pro¬ 
 tection against the world. He at the same time 
 set about to convert him. The cacique pro¬ 
 posed to marry eight young girls, taken from 
 the most considerable families of his district, to 
 as many Spaniards. Cortez accepted the offer, 
 on condition that they should be baptized, and 
 intimated to the cacique that it was necessary 
 he himself should become a Christian. The 
 Indian wanted to argue, and declared that he 
 
 pretext of visiting a property he possessed there, but perhaps 
 in reality to give such information to his former patron, 
 Velasquez, as he might turn to what advantage he could. 
 He was indiscreet enough to unfold all that had occur led in 
 Mexico, which had the effect of greatly increasing the spite 
 and anger of Velasquez against Cortez, and of determining 
 him to send a formidable expedition, so as to crush his ci- 
 devant lieutenant, and to substitute himself in his place. 
 Velasquez intended even to stop the vessel, but the older 
 came too late. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 179 
 
 would resist all attempts on the images of his 
 gods; he added that, though he might be re¬ 
 duced to passiveness, the gods themselves would 
 know how to execute vengeance. But the 
 Spaniards revolted at the bloody idolatry that 
 met their eyes, and at the cannibal festivals that 
 followed the homicidal sacrifices. They gave 
 vent to shouts of enthusiasm when their general 
 announced that an end must be put to them, for 
 if they bore longer with the spectacle of this 
 devilish worship, Gocl, who alone could cause 
 them to succeed, would withdraw himself from 
 them. They followed Cortez, who rushed to¬ 
 wards the temple sword in hand. The cacique 
 called his warriors to arms, and barred the way 
 against the Spaniards with his priest 3 , in their 
 blood-stained robes and hair dishevelled. Cortez 
 made his soldiers seize and surround the cacique, 
 the heads of the priesthood, and the principal 
 warriors of the Totonacs. “ You are mad,” 
 said he to them; “ you have no refuge but in me; 
 for if I abandon you, the hand of Montezuma 
 will soon lay heavy upon you. You must then 
 obey me, and I vow the destruction of your 
 idols.” At this suggestion the cacique bowed 
 his head, and, hiding his face in his hands, cried 
 that Cortez might do as he wished, but that the 
 12—3 
 
] 80 MEXICO, 
 
 anger of the gods would be immediately mani¬ 
 fested against the profane strangers. Fifty Cas- 
 tillians mounted to the summit of the pyramid, 
 tore down the wooden idols, rolled them on to 
 the pavement, and made a bonfire of them. 
 Instead of unchaining their wrath at this sight, 
 the elements remained unmoved. I he sun 
 trembled not, neither did the thunder growl, 
 nor the earth open to give passage to devouring 
 flames. The natives, who looked for an ex¬ 
 plosion of the fury of the gods, were not merely 
 astonished—they were shaken in their faith. 
 The ascendancy Cortez already exercised on 
 their minds, and the conviction that he alone 
 could shelter them from the vengeance of Mon¬ 
 tezuma, completed their improvised conversion. 
 The Spaniards, pursuing the labours of their 
 rough proselytism, cleansed and purified the 
 sanctuary of the false divinities, and erected an 
 altar. An image of the Virgin, decked with 
 flowers, was brought thither in procession. 
 Several of the priests of the sanguinary gods of 
 the country joined in the cortege , clothed in 
 white. Father Olmedo celebrated mass, and 
 addressed an exhortation to his audience, that 
 was translated for them as he proceeded, and 
 which, according to the chroniclers, drew tears 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 1S1 
 
 from all present. Cortez had satisfied the calls 
 of his conscience, and had at the same time 
 assured the fidelity of the people of Cempoalla, 
 who, willing or not, would henceforth have 
 reasons the most powerful for making common 
 cause with him. 
 
 His confidence was redoubled. He set out 
 from Cempoalla on his advance to Mexico, in 
 defiance of the prohibition from Montezuma, 
 taking with him four hundred foot soldiers, fif¬ 
 teen horsemen, and seven pieces of artillery. He 
 left the rest of his force at Vera Cruz, as a post 
 for observation seawards, under the command 
 of Escalante, who was devoted to him. Of 
 Totonac warriors, thirteen hundred, soon to be 
 reinforced by others, and one thousand tarnanes, 
 or porters, in charge of the luggage, were joined 
 to the Spaniards. 
 
 The moment having arrived for definitively 
 engaging in his chief enterprise, Cortez adopted 
 and carried out a vigorous resolution. A con¬ 
 spiracy had been concocted by the remnant of 
 the Velasquez party, and by some turbulent 
 characters, of whom there would not be a few in 
 a band like his. Their design was to seize on 
 the whole or a portion of the fleet, and return to 
 Cuba. A circumstance that shows to what 
 
182 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 pitch the germs of insubordination had risen, is 
 the fact that one of the two chaplains of the ex¬ 
 pedition, the licentiate Juan Diaz, a priest in¬ 
 ferior in every point to the excellent and worthy 
 Olmedo, was in the number of the conspirators. 
 Cortez discovered the plot, and punished the 
 greater part of its authors. To render it im¬ 
 possible for these attempts to be renewed when 
 his back was turned, he took the determination 
 to destroy his fleet. “ Of what good,” said he 
 to his confidants, “are these vessels, to guard 
 which will keep unoccupied some of our picked 
 men, such as the sailors, fellows of resource, 
 whose assistance will be so useful to us in coping 
 with the army of Montezuma? To annihilate 
 the fleet is, therefore, to reinforce the expedition. 
 Let us once conquer the Aztec kingdom, and 
 there will be no want of ships to come and 
 reopen the path to their native land, for con¬ 
 querors covered with glory and laden with gold, 
 if they wish to return there.” To have a reply 
 ready for the complaints that wouid probably be 
 heard from the body of the army when this bold 
 design should be carried into execution, he had 
 a report drawn up by seamen of experience, from 
 which it resulted that the greater part of the 
 ships were not in a condition ever to be fit for 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 183 
 
 sea again. Fortified with this document, he 
 gave orders for sinking all the hulls, after having 
 taken out the sails, the rigging, and as much of 
 the iron as was possible. One small vessel was 
 saved. The army murmured, but were quieted 
 by the certificate Cortez was prepared with, and 
 by the promise of great deeds, through which 
 every man would ensure his salvation in the 
 next world, and his fortune in this. 
 
184 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WAR WITH THE TLASCALANS, TERMINATED BY 
 AN ALLIANCE. 
 
 By the advice of the people of Cempoalla, the 
 Spaniards took their route through the country 
 of Tlascala, peopled by a nation who, in their 
 mountains, had maintained themselves inde¬ 
 pendent of the potent Montezuma; just as the 
 Swiss, after having shaken off the yoke, were in 
 their defiles amid the rocks invincible to the 
 Emperor of Germany, the haughty heir of the 
 Csesars, notwithstanding all his might and the 
 valour of his men-at-arms. The Tlascalans were 
 nearly of a similar origin to the Aztecs; they 
 spoke a dialect of the same language, and had 
 the same manners and customs, but with less 
 refinement and culture. Like them they were 
 given to the horrible practice of human sacrifice. 
 Notwithstanding all these traits of resemblance, 
 they detested the Aztecs with furious hatred. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 185 
 
 They were brothers at enmity. In marching 
 into their country, Cortez was led by the hope of 
 making them his auxiliaries against the Mexican 
 empire; but he had not dreamt of the pride of 
 these mountaineers. They had refused to submit 
 to Montezuma because they were bent on being 
 their own masters. What chance was there 
 that they would accept an authority that was 
 unknown to them? 
 
 Now began for Cortez the war of the conquest. 
 Hitherto he had met with obstacles in his way 
 that, one after the other, would have stopped 
 twenty ordinary men. There was the governor 
 Velasquez, in whose despite it had been necessary 
 boldly to set sail, after having provisioned and re¬ 
 cruited either unknown to him or in defiance of 
 him. There were the partisans of Velasquez in his 
 own small force, whom it had been necessary to 
 intimidate orgain over, lest their swords should 
 cut through the thread of the Vera Cruz combina¬ 
 tion,thanks to which he had freed himself fromany 
 dependence on the governor of Cuba, by calling 
 into existence a somewhat imaginary cabildo 
 (municipal council). He had to bend to obedience 
 men without discipline, got together from all 
 parts, and to watch over the plots they were 
 
IS 6 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 prone to form against his authority, and even 
 against his life. It had been necessary to obtain 
 from them that, without reserving anything for 
 themselves, they should abandon to the King of 
 Spain all Montezuma’s presents, which were their 
 property. Lastly,he had to put down the murmur- 
 ings that broke out, at the news of the burning 
 of the fleet, amongst soldiers henceforth separated 
 from their friends, and surrounded by valorous 
 and innumerable enemies. I say nothing of the 
 battles he had to gain against the people of 
 Tabasco. Thanks to his fertility in expedients, 
 to his rare dexterity, to his resolution, to the 
 circumspection in his audacity, to his precocious 
 experience, to the natural ascendancy he exer¬ 
 cised around him, to all the eminent qualities 
 united in him, Cortez had surmounted all these 
 embarrassments and trials. It was a matter of in¬ 
 tellectual resource and moral strength. But now, 
 to subdue, arms in hand, these brave Tlascalans, 
 who refused to welcome him, or give him a passage, 
 material strength was the thing needed. What was 
 to be done? Nothing was less difficult than for 
 the people of Tlascala to set fifty thousand war¬ 
 riors in battle array; they were all ready; their 
 defiles were easy to" guard; their mountainous 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 187 
 
 territory was rugged and covered with wood, 
 apt for ambuscades: numbers and the ground 
 are in their favour. 
 
 The Tlascalans were commanded by young 
 Xicotencatl, not less crafty than bold. A first 
 engagement came off, in which Cortez remained 
 conqueror, but with the perceptible loss of two 
 of his fifteen horses. A few days afterwards 
 there was a still rougher conflict; the battle 
 lasted the whole day; the artillery, the horses, 
 the lances, and the good Toledo sword-blades 
 did wonders. Xicotencatl was forced to aban¬ 
 don the field of battle, but retired in good 
 order. Cortez, whose little army counted 
 many wounded, sent to propose peace. The 
 brave chief replied, at the head of his troops, 
 that the road to Tlascala would not be open to 
 the Spaniards till they were marched to the 
 stone of sacrifice, and that if they remained 
 in their camp he would come and fetch them. 
 
 Some days passed away, and there was 
 another battle. The Indians were in great 
 numbers, and full of resentment. Cortez made 
 an appeal to the religious faith of his troops:— 
 “God was with them. God willed that the 
 Cross should be planted in those beautiful 
 regions. How would it be if they gave 
 
188 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 ground?” He gave them intelligent instruc¬ 
 tions how to derive most advantage from their 
 European weapons. The two armies engaged— 
 victory was undecided; when one of the 
 Tiascalan chiefs, who had had a quarrel with 
 Xicotencatl, drew off with his men, carrying 
 another chief with him in his own premeditated 
 flight. The Indian general held his position 
 for four good hours longer, and then beat a 
 retreat without being pursued. Cortez again 
 renewed his proposals of peace. Xicotencatl 
 replied by a night attack. Fortunately, Cortez 
 had accustomed his men to be always in 
 readiness; their arms never quitted them; they 
 slept in order of battle; vigilant sentinels 
 guarded the camp; and, by a happy chance, 
 the night was moonlight. The Tlascalans 
 once more met with a reverse. After this en¬ 
 gagement, Cortez, who followed his idea with 
 imperturbability, sent Indians as the bearers of 
 words of peace, no longer to the general enemy, 
 but to the city of Tlascala itself The proposal 
 was listened to favourably. A solemn embassy 
 was dispatched to find Cortez. The obstinate 
 Xicotencatl retained the members of it in his 
 camp, and prepared to take his revenge. Mean¬ 
 while, discouragement had crept in among the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 189 
 
 Spaniards. They counted their killed and 
 wounded, and beheld their general smitten with 
 fever. They suffered from the coolness of the 
 night in that elevated part of the country, being 
 compelled to sleep in the open air. They said 
 to each other that the idea of going as far as 
 Mexico was a folly. The Velasquez party again 
 showed itself; and a deputation of malcontents 
 came to lay the grievances of the army before 
 the general. “ It may be that nature is against 
 us, but God is stronger than nature,” was the 
 reply of Cortez. He quoted to them a verse 
 from an old romance, the meaning of which is, 
 that it is better to die with glory than to live in 
 dishonour. These grognards had their mouths 
 stopped; and a little while after, some people 
 of Tlascala made their appearance with white 
 badges, in token of peace. They were bearers 
 of provisions sent by Xicotencatl. Joy spread 
 through the camp. Marina, however, who 
 looked closely at this pretended embassy of 
 peace, warned Cortez that it was a stratagem, 
 and that these soi-disant friends were dispatched 
 as spies. Cortez convinced himself of this, and 
 immediately sent back these emissaries with their 
 hands cut off at the wrist. This is what Cmsar 
 did with much greater injustice at the siege of 
 
190 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Alesia to men who were not spies. “ Take back 
 word to your general,” said Cortez to them, as 
 they were ejected from the camp, “that he may 
 come by day or night, when he will, and how he 
 will, and he will see who we are.” Xicotencatl 
 was disconcerted at the sight of his envoys thus 
 sadly mutilated. These extraordinary foreigners 
 knew, then, how to read his thoughts! He 
 began at last to despair of triumphing over the 
 Spaniards, whether by open force or by craft; 
 and he bethought himself of peace. He went 
 in person to proffer assurance of it. Very few 
 days afterwards they set out, all together, in ex¬ 
 cellent harmony, for Tlascala, where Cortez was 
 received under the roof of Xicotencatl’s father; 
 and the completion of the union was cemented 
 in the bosom of a hospitality cordially given 
 and frankly accepted. 
 
 It was not precisely personal bravery that 
 gave to the Spaniards victory over the Tlasca- 
 lans. One of the companions of Cortez affirms 
 that no men could be braver than were these 
 Indians, and that he saw instances of individuals 
 defending themselves against several horsemen. 
 The superiority of their armour, gunpowder, 
 admirable discipline, vigilance beyond compare, 
 and, above all, the genius of Cortez, decided their 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 191 
 
 success. The horses—a sort of winged monsters, 
 the very sight of which unnerved the most de¬ 
 termined of the Tlascalan warriors more than 
 the elephants of Pyrrhus did the Romans—went 
 for a good deal. Cortez had trained his men 
 admirably. He had infused into them his own 
 energy and presence of mind, and had steeled 
 their frames by every kind of hardship. The 
 persevering will of a general operates like a bath 
 in the Styx. By a peculiarity of his tempera¬ 
 ment, the Spaniard, when animated by a grand 
 sentiment, evinces military qualities that may be 
 sought in vain elsewhere. Let but a great idea 
 take possession of him, and he can do without 
 anything—eating, drinking, or sleeping; he will 
 bear cold or heat, and march for ever on an 
 empty stomach. The soldiers of Cortez were 
 Spaniards of the stoutest stuff. Still, we may 
 believe that what sustained them most and best 
 was the conviction that the triumph of the Cross 
 by their hands was necessary and infallible. 
 They had become persuaded, since the expulsion 
 of the Moors, that the infidels could not resist 
 them. Such was the reply of Marina to a Cem- 
 poallan chief, who, in one of the battles with the 
 Tlascalans, said it was all over with him and his; 
 and Cortez, in his addresses to his companions, 
 
192 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 when they remonstrated with him on the diffi¬ 
 culties that surrounded them, always reverted 
 to the argument that they had the banner of the 
 Cross, whose assistance would suffice for them. 
 
 But this robust and indomitable faith, that 
 gave Cortez so much power, and gained him 
 such successes, created dangers for ever leading 
 him on to the edge of the precipice. Once at 
 Tlascala, he asked himself if he could tolerate 
 around him the worship of false gods. His new 
 friends, his allies, whose aid he could not dis¬ 
 pense with in his attack on Montezuma, were 
 idolaters; they slaughtered human beings, and 
 held grand festivals, at which they fed on the 
 victims. Were these sacrilegious atrocities to 
 continue their course, and was the Cross to have 
 penetrated Tlascala without purifying it from 
 the stain? Luckily, Father Olmedo checked the 
 hero: “ Everything is to be done in its own 
 time,” he said; “let us wait the occasion.” And, 
 in fact, the occasion soon presented itself; for 
 the Tlascalan chiefs proposed their daughters as 
 wives for Cortez and his officers. Cortez an¬ 
 swered that the thing was impracticable, unless 
 Tlascala became converted. He endeavoured to 
 make them comprehend the infinite superiority 
 of the Christian faith. He urged on them that 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 193 
 
 they were doomed to eternal perdition if they 
 did not shake off their idolatry. A controversy 
 ensued. The Tlascalan senators alleged, accord¬ 
 ing to a formula that was often found on Indian 
 lips, that every one who was content with his 
 gods ought to keep them; that they, the seniors 
 of the nation, would never abjure the worship of 
 the divinities that had protected their younger 
 days; that the abjuration would draw down on 
 the country the anger of Heaven, and would 
 raise the population; for the latter were as 
 jealous of their belief as of their independence, 
 and would shed their last drop of blood for one 
 as for the other. 
 
 After the conference, Cortez, whose ardour ill 
 accommodated itself to obstacles, again became 
 a prey to impulses of impatience and irritation, 
 and wanted to give them vent. Father Olmedo 
 renewed his recommendations to temporize. 
 “Patience; what good is there in offering vio¬ 
 lence to the consciences of these people? Forced 
 conversions are of no value. Though you should 
 overthrow their altars, supposing you are able to 
 do it, the idols will remain in their hearts. Let 
 us use persuasion; if the work is slower, it will be 
 more sure.” Alvarado and Velasquez de Leon, 
 joined their instances to that of the charitable 
 
 13 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
194 MEXICO, 
 
 and prudent monk. Cortez condescended to tole¬ 
 rance— a prodigious matter for a Spaniard of that 
 day, and a virtue rare among the statesmen of 
 that nation, even at this period of the latter half 
 of the nineteenth century. It was agreed that 
 the Spaniards should practise their religion pub¬ 
 licly, but that no constraint should be exercised 
 for the conversion of the inhabitants. A large 
 cross was reared in the centre of Tlascala, sur¬ 
 mounting an altar at which mass was daily cele¬ 
 brated. Five or six young girls, of the best 
 families in the republic, were baptized and mar¬ 
 ried to Spanish officers. One was a daughter of 
 the elder Xicotencatl, and sister of the young 
 general who had defended his native soil with 
 so much courage and firmness. She became the 
 wife of Alvarado, for whom the Tlascalans had 
 conceived a deep admiration, and who, from his 
 demonstrative manners, his bold bearing, and 
 his thick fair hair, curling on his fresh-coloured 
 cheeks, had received the name of Tonatiuh (the 
 sun). The children of this marriage made ffili- 
 ances with the noblest houses of Castille. 
 
 It was fortunate for Cortez that his ardour for 
 proselytism found moderating influences in the 
 prudence of Father Olmedo and the probably 
 worldly views of some of his lieutenants, and that 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 195 
 
 by their counsels he was induced to adopt a cir¬ 
 cumspection that was natural to him in all other 
 matters. He would have raised a storm that 
 would have swallowed up himself and his troops, 
 now exhausted, and with their ranks thinned. 
 Had he mastered the Tlascalans, which is not 
 probable, his outrages on the worship of the 
 country would have closed against him the road 
 to Mexico. His enterprise would have failed, 
 and his name would have been mentioned in 
 history as that of a condottiere who, by his fana¬ 
 ticism, annihilated the hopes his earlier successes 
 gave birth to. How much is there in a single 
 instant in the life of a great man! How great 
 is the value of good advice, when there is the 
 strength to follow it! A magnificent page in 
 universal history, in imperishable characters, in 
 place of one of those obscure and indifferent 
 references that fall to the lot of adventurers 
 abandoned to the current of their passions. 
 
 * Once settled down in the right path, Cortez 
 arranged his plan of campaign. He would now 
 go to Mexico; he had a powerful alliance, gua¬ 
 ranteed by the inveterate antipathy of the Tlas¬ 
 calans against the Aztecs. He had gained the 
 secret of the weakness of the Mexican empire. 
 He indicated it to Charles V. in one of his letters, 
 13—a 
 
196 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 quoting the words of the Gospel, “ Every house 
 divided against itself shall not stand.” What 
 he learnt at Tlascala confirmed the statement of 
 the Cacique of Cempoalla as to the hatred a 
 portion of the tributary populations of the em¬ 
 pire had vowed against their oppressors. Mon¬ 
 tezuma was detested in the conquered provinces. 
 A liberator who should offer to deliver the 
 peoples from this heavy yoke would, if he were 
 strong, find numerous auxiliaries. The Con¬ 
 quistador knew that he would have friends at 
 the very gates of Mexico. The brother of Caca- 
 rnatzin, King of Tezcuco—Prince Ixtlilxochitl, 
 like himself, a son of Nezahualpilli—driven from 
 his throne by the influence of Montezuma, and 
 reduced to a moderate apanage, was burning to 
 avenge himself; he was renowned for his dash¬ 
 ing courage, and he had made an offer of his 
 services to Cortez. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 197 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MARCH FROM TLASCALA TO MEXICO-THE 
 
 TRAGEDY OF CHOLULA. 
 
 At Mexico, meanwhile, the emperor was the 
 prey of cruel perplexity. Though at bottom 
 generous and intelligent, this prince, after hav¬ 
 ing distinguished himself by his bravery, had 
 become, as we have seen, abandoned to the most 
 excessive superstition, and to a bigotry thirsting 
 for blood. It is difficult to imagine what was 
 passing in his mind, because we are so entirely 
 strangers to the ideas that then held sway in 
 Mexico. Superstition, with its extravagances, 
 is like one of those tortuous and gloomy laby¬ 
 rinths in which it is impossible to distinguish 
 the road a man has to follow. What must it be, 
 then, when the blindest superstition takes astro¬ 
 logy for an associate ? Setting these motives aside, 
 which bar all logic and all regular sequence of 
 
198 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 ideas, Montezuma’s undecided conduct and the 
 contradictions of his vacillating policy may 
 be explained by saying that he was in turns 
 actuated by an inkling for conforming himself 
 to the prophecies that announced the return of 
 Quetzalcoatl or his race, and by the desire of 
 preserving the empire to himself, in spite of the 
 sacred rights of that venerated deity. As a 
 monarch jealous of his sovereignty, Montezuma 
 dreaded the approach of these strangers, of whom 
 he had received reports calculated to inspire him 
 with the deepest terror. On the other hand, 
 might it not be Quetzalcoatl that had returned, 
 conformably to the tradition, or might he not 
 have sent his descendants? And in that case, 
 was it not incumbent to receive the Spaniards 
 with respect and friendship, under pain of offend¬ 
 ing those on high? 
 
 In the agonies of his indecision Montezuma 
 had, on the arrival of the Spaniards, assembled 
 the grand council of the empire, of which the 
 kings of Tezcuco and Tlacopan formed part. 
 Who were these strangers ? What reception was 
 to be given them? Were they, or not, de¬ 
 scendants of Quetzalcoatl? Were they men or su¬ 
 pernatural beings ? They must be men, and there 
 were reasons that would lead to the belief they 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 199 
 
 were envoys from Quetzalcoatl: they came from 
 the East; they were white, and bearded; they 
 were courageous, nay, invincible. Yet, if they 
 came on the part o»f Quetzalcoatl, why were they 
 inimical to the gods of the country ? Some of 
 the council were inclined to receive them kindly, 
 and among them Cacamatzin, who, as has al¬ 
 ready been stated, had succeeded his father, 
 Nezahualpilli, on the throne of Tezcuco; but the 
 advice was not to the taste of Montezuma. 
 Finally, the Emperor did not know what to 
 think. He refused both to open his capital to 
 the Spaniards, and to employ open force to keep 
 them at a distance. He had them watched 
 and scanned by his ambassadors. Teuhtlile, the 
 most able among them, had instructions to esta¬ 
 blish what there was in common between the 
 Spaniards and Quetzalcoatl. Having remarked 
 a frilt helmet on the head of one of the sol- 
 
 O 
 
 diers, like that borne by the image of the god, 
 Teuhtlile asked that it should be given to him, 
 and sent it on in all haste to Tenochtitlan, as 
 a piece of convincing evidence. Meanwhile, 
 Cortez still persisted on personally delivering to 
 the emperor the message he pretended to be the 
 bearer of from his sovereign. He was doing 
 more: he was coming nearer, whilst permission 
 
200 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 was being denied him. He was now at Tlascala, 
 among the enemies of the Aztecs. He had shown 
 himself still more redoubtable than had been 
 supposed. It had become difficult not to admit 
 him to the presence, and there was still in re¬ 
 serve the possibility of getting rid of him by 
 some well-conceived treachery. Another em¬ 
 bassy then, from Montezuma, came to meet 
 Cortez at Tlascala, laden with presents as rich as 
 those sent before. This time Cortez was invited 
 to go on to the emperor, but was urged not to 
 link himself with the Tlascalans, who, it was 
 said, were barbarians, and fellows of low con¬ 
 dition. The route through Chololan, now 
 Cholula, was indicated as the one by which he 
 should proceed to the capital, and he was assured 
 that preparations worthy of him had been made 
 for his reception in that great city. 
 
 The Tlascalans, who were thoroughly aware of 
 Montezuma’s duplicity, and were even disposed 
 to exaggerate it, urged on Cortez that this invi¬ 
 tation covered some stratagem artfully concocted 
 by the Aztec emperor and the priests, and that 
 it was sought to draw him as far as Chololan 
 only to massacre him and his men, by over¬ 
 whelming them at some moment when they were 
 not on the defensive. Cortez paid little heed 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 201 
 
 to these warnings. He had acquired the mea¬ 
 sure of his superiority over the natives, and had 
 small fear of them. He was impatient to see a 
 populous and rich city, of great renown, and 
 from which he was only one day’s march; the 
 distance from Tlascala to Chololan is but from 
 fifteen to twenty miles. It was a kind of holy 
 place, venerated far and wide in Anahuac; pil¬ 
 grimages were made thither, as the Mahome¬ 
 tans go to Mecca, and Christians to Jerusalem 
 or Rome. The city was consecrated to the wor¬ 
 ship of Quetzalcoatl, who had there the noblest 
 temple in all Mexico, built, like all the temples 
 in the country, on the summit of a truncated 
 pyramid. The traveller of the present day 
 beholds this pyramid on the horizon as he ap¬ 
 proaches Puebla, on his route from Vera Cruz 
 to Mexico. But the worship of the beneficent 
 Quetzalcoatl had been perverted by the sombre 
 genius of the Aztecs. To this essentially good 
 deity 6000 human victims were annually immo¬ 
 lated in his temple at Chololan. A desire to 
 destroy this infernal worship in its principal seat, 
 and to substitute for it the adoration of the 
 Cross, was, we may be sure, not a stranger to the 
 determination taken by Cortez of advancing to 
 Chololan. The population must have been then 
 
202 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 150,000 at least. Devotion pushed to fanaticism 
 was no impediment to the inhabitants being very 
 industrious, and it was to their proficiency in the 
 useful arts that the city owed its wealth. 
 
 The Spaniards found at Chololan an eager, 
 and to all appearance at least, a perfectly cordial 
 welcome. The inhabitants, of a more civilized 
 exterior than the Tlascalans, feted their guests in 
 a manner that showed their breeding and their 
 wealth. When the soldiers made their appear¬ 
 ance, the citizens hailed them with garlands of 
 flowers and bouquets. A great number of priests 
 mingled in the crowd waving their censers laden 
 with perfumes, whilst native instruments of music 
 made the air re-echo with sounds of various 
 melody. The Spaniards were charmed; they 
 admired the cleanness of the city, the width 
 and regularity of the streets, the solidity of the 
 houses, and the number and grandeur of the 
 temples. They took up their quarters in the vast 
 court of the largest of these sacred edifices, and 
 in the surrounding buildings. The inhabitants 
 hastened to bring provisions in abundance, and 
 lavished on their guests every care and fore¬ 
 thought. It does not appear that any plot was 
 up to this time in concoction; but, according to 
 the Spaniards, envoys from Montezuma arrived 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN, 
 
 203 
 
 in a few days, and from that hour all was 
 changed. 
 
 These emissaries brought to the chief of the 
 town orders of ill omen. The attitude of the 
 people towards the Spaniards grew visibly cooler. 
 The Cempoalla Indians with Cortez warned him 
 that they noticed hostile preparations.. He had 
 taken care to encamp the Tlascalan force that 
 accompanied him outside the city, as he knew 
 their roughness and violence; he felt that con¬ 
 tact between them and the people of the place 
 would almost necessarily lead to a.conflict in 
 arms. Reduced to the part of observers, the 
 Tlascalans acquitted themselves with their usual 
 prying suspicion. They discovered that a great 
 sacrifice, principally of children, had taken place 
 in one of the suburbs, with the object of insuring 
 the favour of the gods. They brought word of 
 other still more significant facts; many of the 
 inhabitants had left with their wives and children, 
 as if to put them in a place of safety. Lastly, 
 Marina, Cortez’s faithful interpreter, had been 
 confidentially informed by the wife of one of the 
 caciques, that a terrible blow was about to be 
 struck against the Spaniards, and she found 
 means of getting acquainted with every detail of 
 the conspiracy. An army of Mexicans, sent by 
 
204 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Montezuma, was, it was also stated, at a short 
 distance from the city, ready to enter as soon as 
 the attack had been begun by the population. 
 
 According to the account of the Spaniards and 
 their friends, Cortez employed in this instance 
 every possible means to verify the reports that 
 were brought to him. He obtained an avowal 
 of the plot from two Aztec priests, after having 
 himself interrogated the wife of the cacique, who 
 had made a confidant of Marina. His doubts 
 once set at rest, he took his resolution with his 
 accustomed energy and foresight. He made his 
 dispositions for the very next day. He ac¬ 
 quainted the caciques of Chololan that he should 
 evacuate the city at break of dawn, and required 
 them to furnish two thousand porters, or tamanes , 
 for the baggage. The caciques then organized 
 their attack for the morrow morning, not without 
 a promise of the men required, whom, in fact, 
 they brought at dawn to the great court in which 
 the foreigners were domiciled. The conflict soon 
 began. The Spaniards, who were perfectly pre¬ 
 pared, commenced by massacreing the caciques. 
 The mass of Chololans that attempted to invade 
 their quarters, were crushed under the fire of 
 their artillery and musketry, and the charges of 
 their cavalry. Hearing the reports, the Tlascalans, 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 205 
 
 who had been left at the entrance of the city, 
 rushed on to the rescue. They fell on men 
 already terror-struck at the thunder of the fire¬ 
 arms, which they heard for the first time, and at 
 encountering horses, animals just as unknown to 
 them. They could now glut their hatred and 
 vengeance; they slaughtered as long as they, 
 could, and then set to work at plunder. The 
 Spaniards, too, after having killed all that re¬ 
 sisted, betook themselves to pillage. The un¬ 
 fortunate city of Chololan was thus inundated 
 with blood and sacked. Cortez, however, en¬ 
 joined that the women and children should be 
 spared, and we are assured that in that he 
 was obeyed, even by his cruel auxiliaries from 
 Tlascala. 
 
 Such was the tragedy of Chololan, which is 
 known only from the narrative of Cortez and the 
 Spaniards, or from that of the Indians leagued 
 with him. We must not then flatter ourselves 
 that we know the truth either of the incidents 
 that led to it, or of the events as they occurred. 
 One circumstance, however, is striking: the re¬ 
 cords of the chroniclers say nothing of what 
 was done during the day by the army of fifty 
 thousand men, according to some, and of twenty 
 thousand according to others, whom Montezuma 
 
206 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 had posted near the city, which leads one to 
 doubt the existence of such a force. We better 
 know the final result of this bloody adventure. 
 Montezuma’s perplexities, and the secret alarms 
 that weighed down his soul, were redoubled. 
 The Spaniards seemed to him more than ever 
 -invincible, and to be extraordinary beings, 
 superior to the human race, let loose upon him 
 by some insurmountable fatality; and he oc¬ 
 cupied himself the more frequently with the 
 oracles that foretold immense disasters to his 
 empire. 
 
 Mexican superstition manifested itself in a 
 strange fashion during this murderous tragedy. 
 The people of Chololan believed in a tradition, 
 according to which the great temple. of their 
 god Quetzalcoatl was to this city a palladium 
 that could not be violated with impunity. It 
 was said that, if any one attempted to demolish 
 it, a river would issue from the foundations that 
 would swallow up everything in its course. 
 When, then, they found themselves closely 
 pressed by the Spaniards, the warriors of 
 Chololan set to work, with their own hands, to 
 throw down the walls of the temple, hoping 
 that the oracle would be accomplished, and that 
 the river foretold would bubble up from the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 207 
 
 ground, and furiously burst its banks, just as 
 the Simois and Scamander issued from their 
 beds when Achilles, victorious, was pursuing 
 the routed Trojans. They would die in the 
 deluge—but that mattered little if the Spaniards 
 were drowned with them. Alas! the stones of 
 the walls were hurled down, but the destroying 
 river came not. They perished not by the out¬ 
 burst of a mysterious flood, but in the flames, 
 which they or the Spaniards lit up in the wood¬ 
 work of the sacred edifice, while the latter sur¬ 
 vived triumphant. Hernando Cortez reared 
 a lofty cross on the summit of the pyramid. 
 A Christian altar was erected in what remained 
 of the teocalli. And on the same spot now stands 
 a chapel dedicated to Our Lady de los Remedios , 
 surrounded with cypress trees, whose age is 
 unknown. An image of the Virgin is preserved 
 there, which, it is asserted, was left by the 
 Conquistador. An Indian priest, a descendant 
 of the ancient inhabitants of Chololan, celebrates 
 the peaceful offering of the mass in the very 
 place where his ancestors shed torrents of 
 blood. 
 
 To the praise of Cortez it must be said that, 
 after the victory, he once more showed himself 
 tolerant: he left the inhabitants at liberty to 
 
208 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 follow their old religion on condition that they 
 should no longer immolate human victims. 
 
 • After this signal blow, all the threats, all the 
 intrigues of Montezuma, had no possible effect, 
 and the Aztec emperor could be under no illu¬ 
 sion as to the inflexible intention of Cortez. The 
 latter, as soon as he had installed new chiefs at 
 Chololan, and effaced the more hideous traces of 
 the massacre and pillage that had desolated the 
 city, set out with his own troops and his Indian 
 auxiliaries from Tlascala for the capital of 
 the Aztec empire, the magnificent city of 
 Tenochtitlan. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 209 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 FIRST ENTRY INTO MEXICO. 
 
 I shall not dwell in detail on the inarch from 
 Chololan to Tenochtitlan, though it will be at 
 the sacrifice of a description of populous and 
 well-built cities, of gardens more sumptuous 
 than those of the haughty Semiramis, and of 
 mountains whose defiles recall the enchanted 
 countries of the romances of chivalry. Let us 
 enter the capital with Cortez. 
 
 On the day when the Spanish leader made his 
 entrance into Mexico at the head of his troops, 
 Montezuma came to meet him surrounded by a 
 display and an etiquette almost as punctilious as 
 that of Louis XIY. or the Great Mogul. Mon¬ 
 tezuma was then about forty years of age; his 
 stature was tall and upright, his physiognomy 
 serious, his demeanour full of nobleness tempered 
 by an air of kindness. He pleased his 
 
 VOL. i. 14 
 
 new 
 
210 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 guests, and, indeed, neglected nothing to cap¬ 
 tivate them. When they had all met together 
 again on the same day at the palace the 
 Spaniards were to occupy, the emperor drew 
 from a vase of flowers brought by a slave a large 
 collar, almost all of gold, very artistically worked, 
 and passing it round Cortez’s neck, he said— 
 “ This palace belongs to you and your brothers; 
 
 . rest from your fatigues; I shall soon come again 
 to see you.” In fact, Montezuma did return 
 the same day, still with a cortege consisting of 
 some of his principal nobles. 
 
 The Spanish leader and the Aztec emperor 
 seated themselves, and entered on serious con¬ 
 versation, interpreted through the medium of 
 Marina, the young and beautiful Indian girl; 
 whilst the Spaniards and the Mexican nobles 
 remained standing in respectful silence. Monte¬ 
 zuma addressed to his partner in the dialogue what 
 was to him the grand question—from whence 
 did he come?—who was his sovereign?—and, 
 above all, what motive brought him to Anahuac ? 
 The Conquistador ascribed his expedition to the 
 desire of seeing a monarch so distinguished, and 
 of making known to him the Christian religion, 
 the only true one there was in the world. Mon¬ 
 tezuma then put divers other questions, and 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 211 
 
 terminated the conference by ordering rich 
 presents to be brought. 
 
 Behold Cortez, then, in this splendid city, 
 which is surrounded, at a respectful distance, 
 by a screen of mountains. He was dwelling 
 in the palace built by the Emperor Axayacatl, 
 the father of Montezuma, at the foot of the 
 principal teocalli. This vast residence, com¬ 
 prising several buildings in one enclosure, 
 sufficed to accommodate the Spaniards, the 
 Tlascalans who had followed them, and the 
 host of servants given them by the Mexican 
 prince. They wanted for nothing, and the 
 inhabitants of the city showed them the greatest 
 respect: for decidedly those could not be men 
 who had put forth such efforts, had surmounted 
 so many dangers, and, without suffering a re¬ 
 verse, had passed through so many snares, and 
 accomplished so many deeds. They must be 
 deities; and they gave them the appellation of 
 the white gods. Their leader was admired and 
 feared by all, under the name they bestowed on 
 him of Malintzin. 
 
 But Cortez was not the man to be intoxicated 
 by this homage, and to content himself with 
 such an ephemeral kind of success. He kept 
 his purpose always before him, which gave him 
 14—2 
 
212 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 an immense advantage over Montezuma, who 
 was on the rack of hesitation. What Cortez 
 wished, with the strong will of a great man, 
 was that Mexico should, at the least, become a 
 country in vassalage to his sovereign the King 
 of Spain, and that the Catholic religion should 
 replace the worship of sanguinary idols. He 
 felt convinced that the power of the Mexican 
 emperor was shaken; the terror that was its 
 foundation had been weakened in proportion as 
 the Spaniards triumphed. Even between Cholula 
 and the capital, Cortez had caught much inui- 
 muring against the tyranny the people endured. 
 Notwithstanding, the emperor still preserved 
 great authority. Such was the opinion yet 
 entertained of his power, that at die "veiy gates 
 of Mexico, the Cempoallans, who had till then 
 faithfully followed the foreigner, came to tell 
 him that it was impossible they could pass them 
 and so expose themselves to the anger of the 
 Great Montezuma. 
 
 The next day, Cortez demanded of the em¬ 
 peror permission to return his visit. This was 
 granted immediately; and, dressed in his hand¬ 
 somest apparel, he went to the palace, accom¬ 
 panied by his principal lieutenants, with a few 
 soldiers by way of escort. The audience was 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 213 
 
 opened by a long speech from Cortez, the object 
 of which was to convert the emperor by giving 
 him an exposition of the Christian religion, trans¬ 
 lated by Marina in her best fashion. He drew an 
 outline of the mysteries of the Trinity, the Incar¬ 
 nation, and the Redemption. Then going back 
 to the origin of things, he related to the emperor 
 the creation of the world, of Adam and Eve, 
 Paradise, and the Fall of Man. He asserted 
 that the idols adored by the Mexicans were but 
 different forms of Satan; which was completely 
 demonstrated, he said, by the human sacrifices 
 that sullied their temples, and contrasted so 
 strongly with the pure ceremony of the mass. 
 The worship of idols would plunge Montezuma 
 into perdition. It was to save his soul and the 
 souls of his subjects from eternal fire, by reveal¬ 
 ing to them the true faith, that the Spaniards 
 were come to his empire. He besought the 
 emperor not to lose the opportunity of ensuring 
 his own salvation and that of his people, and 
 conjured him to embrace the Cross, the sacred 
 symbol of the redemption of the human race. 
 
 Montezuma listened to the Spanish leader's 
 exhortation attentively to the end, and without 
 interrupting him. He replied briefly that he 
 doubted not the God of the Spaniards was a good 
 
MEXICO, 
 
 214 
 
 god, but that his gods also had been good to him. 
 He confessed that he found a striking resem¬ 
 blance between what Cortez had developed rela¬ 
 tive to the Creation, and what he had himself 
 been taught in his childhood. Then, changing 
 the subject, he made a statement in his turn, the 
 substance of which was that from the number of 
 great deeds accomplished by the Spaniards, no 
 less than from the direction in which they had 
 come to his states, it was impossible not to re¬ 
 cognise them as the envoys of the divine Quet- 
 zalcoatl. The sovereign in whose name Cortez 
 professed to come could be no other than 
 the god himself. As for him he possessed 
 a great empire, which had descended to him from 
 his fathers, with much land, much gold, and much 
 silver; “ but,” added he, “ I recognise that your 
 sovereign, who resides beyond the seas, is the 
 legitimate master of all that I hold. I govern in 
 his name. Since you are his envoy, I will share 
 all these good things with you and your brethren. 
 The palace where you are belongs to you. You 
 shall have all that will be necessary for your 
 wants, and I shall take care that your desires 
 are obeyed in the same manner as my own.” 
 
 Montezuma’s eyes filled with tears as he 
 finished, as if he was conscious of a deep pang in 
 
AkNCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 215 
 
 even nominally consenting to so great a sacrifice. 
 Cortez replied by thanking him for recognising 
 that his sovereeign was the divine being he had 
 named, and to> reassure him, protested that his 
 master had mo intention of meddling in the 
 government orf the Mexican empire, and that 
 solely for his cown interest did he desire to see 
 him and his smbjects converted to the Christian 
 religion. On Ithat and the following days Monte¬ 
 zuma loaded all the Spaniards with presents; 
 there was not a private who had not two massive 
 necklaces of :gold. Thus, of all the army of 
 Cortez, from tdie highest of his lieutenants to the 
 meanest foot-ssoldier, every one expressed himself 
 in terms of resspect and gratitude with reference 
 to the Aztec rmonarch. The whole camp was in 
 good humour. 
 
216 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MONTEZUMA A PRISONER IN THE SPANISH QUAR¬ 
 TERS—HE ACKNOWLEDGES HIMSELF TO BE A 
 VASSAL OF THE KING OF SPAIN. 
 
 The superior mind of Cortez was occupied with 
 thoughts of another kind. The power of the 
 Aztec nation displayed itself before him much 
 greater than he had presumed it to be. It could 
 furnish valiant soldiers in vast numbers; it 
 was fiery, and it had become enraged against 
 the Spaniards. The violent temperament of his 
 companions in arms, raised higher by so many 
 victories, excited by the sight of so much wealth, 
 might at any moment bring on a collision that 
 would be terrible. The rough character of his 
 Tlascalan auxiliaries inspired him with no less 
 disquiet; the latter in effect were detested by the 
 Aztecs, and the feeling was thoroughly recipro¬ 
 cated. They could not keep down the arrogance 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 217 
 
 with which success had inflated them, and they 
 might in their savage humour be carried to ex¬ 
 cesses that would put arms into the hands of the 
 Aztecs. No doubt he was in appearance the 
 respected guest of Montezuma, but in reality he 
 was much rather his prisoner, shut up as he was 
 in that immense city, to get out of which would 
 he so difficult; for the streets and causeways 
 were cut by canals that would bar the passage 
 whenever desired, since it required but to destroy 
 or remove the drawbridges with which they were 
 so copiously furnished. And then, while he was 
 remaining with arms folded at Tenochtitlan, at 
 the mercy of any popular rising the Mexican 
 priests should foment, there might arrive from 
 Spain a negative response to his despatches—an 
 ignominious condemnation, the offspring either 
 of the accusations and intrigues of Velasquez, or 
 of the wretched envy vowed by Fonseca, the 
 Director of Indian Affairs, against every man who 
 distinguished himself. Might not even the 
 Governor of Cuba send at any moment a new 
 expedition, that would profit by his forced inac¬ 
 tion in the capital to render itself master of the 
 country, and hurl him from his pedestal? 
 
 There was then no time to lose. Montezuma 
 was under a charm that must be turned to use. 
 
213 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Such were the reflections that agitated Cortez, 
 after h.e had thoroughly weighed his true 
 situation in the imperial city of Tenochtitlan, 
 amid all the brilliant homage of which he was 
 the object. It was necessary to strike a great 
 blow; the guest of Montezuma, he must become 
 his master. Cortez trusted to his good fortune. 
 Montezuma should be to the eyes of all the vassal 
 of the King of Spain, with every one of the condi¬ 
 tions of subjection plain to the face of day; and 
 he, Cortez, would have a sure pledge for the 
 subordination and obedience of the people: that 
 pledge should be the emperor’s person. 
 
 But after so many fortunate acts of audacity, 
 this was supreme temerity. Under pretext of 
 perfidious conduct on the part of a Mexican 
 governor, named Quauhpopoca, who a little while 
 before had caused two Spanish soldiers to be 
 slaughtered, Cortez repaired to the imperial 
 palace followed by five or six of his most 
 courageous lieutenants, and concluded an inter¬ 
 view with the monarch by requesting that he 
 would accompany them to their quarters. 
 Montezuma refused: it was replied that he must. 
 He offered his children as hostages; he was told 
 that it was himself that was wanted, and the 
 Spaniards laid their hands on the hilts of their 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 219 
 
 swords. A mad scheme, it will be said! since 
 the palace was filled with guards; the city was 
 crammed with Mexican soldiers ready to fly to 
 arms; Montezuma was all-powerful; as he said to 
 Cortez, he had but to raise his finger and 
 myriads of warriors would rush on his little band 
 of Castillians and their Tlascalan followers. But 
 Cortez, with the glance of genius, saw that his 
 personal ascendancy over Montezuma was even 
 greater than the power of the latter over his sub¬ 
 jects. That absolute authority of the Emperor, 
 when he held him in his own hands, would serve 
 as the instrument of his purpose. Montezuma 
 would yield, and would let himself be conveyed 
 to the Conquistador’s quarters because he was 
 fascinated; the superstition that showed him in 
 Cortez the representative of Quetzalcoatl, had 
 destroyed in him the notion of struggling against 
 his assailants. He was vain in the highest 
 degree, and therefore he would act as if he went 
 from the sole impulse of his own pleasure. At 
 his court, among his guards, and in his capital, 
 they were tutored to obey him punctually, and 
 with the blindest submission. When therefore he 
 had expressed his will there would be no resist¬ 
 ance; but he would be conducted respectfully 
 to the residence that would appear to be his 
 
220 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 choice. However, when he ordered his litter, to 
 go and establish himself in the Spanish quarters, 
 the nobles who were the captains of his guard 
 and of his household seemed stupefied, as though 
 they could not believe their ears or their eyes. 
 The crowd in the streets looked on as he passed 
 as if terror-struck at the sacrilege; however, no 
 one stirred; Montezuma repeated that it was his 
 pleasure to go and live among his friends the 
 Spaniards. These last received him at their 
 quarters with an affected respect. His house¬ 
 hold followed him into captivity with all its 
 state. 
 
 Montezuma once in his hands, Cortez let him 
 see that though he was sovereign at Tenochtitlan, 
 he was none the less subordinate to the King of 
 Spain. The unfortunate Quauhpopoca was tried, 
 sentenced, and burnt alive; and while the execu¬ 
 tion was going forward, Montezuma was placed 
 in irons by the hands of Cortez himself as a felon 
 vassal. He must have been dishonoured in his 
 own eyes from that day. In vain, after the cruel 
 sentence had been carried out, did Cortez again 
 begin to treat him with every exterior mark of 
 respect; in his inmost soul Montezuma felt him¬ 
 self fallen, and his influence among the people 
 Avas shaken more than ever. Cacamatzin, the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 221 
 
 young King of Tezcuco, who was his nephew, 
 and owed his crown to him, openly expressed 
 his indignation, and was organizing resistance. 
 Montezuma enjoined his presence about his 
 person; Cacamatzin replied, that he “did indeed 
 reckon on making his appearance in Tenoch- 
 titlan, but it would be to renovate religion now 
 degraded, and to restore the renown and the 
 liberty of the empire; that he would come, not 
 with his hands on his bosom in the attitude of a 
 suppliant, but armed at all points, to exterminate 
 these Spaniards who had inflicted such ignominy 
 on the nations of Anahuac. Cacamatzin was 
 prosecuting his intentions, when Montezuma, 
 coupling perfidy with baseness, had him seized 
 at a palace to which he had invited him for a 
 conference, and gave him up to Cortez. A more 
 supple prince was placed on the throne of 
 Tezcuco. Delivered from any embarrassment on 
 that side the Conquistador , to whom each con¬ 
 cession obtained from Montezuma was but a 
 means for extorting another greater one, re¬ 
 quired from the unhappy emperor a last sacrifice 
 —the formal recognition of the suzerainty of 
 Charles V., and of himself as his master’s lieu¬ 
 tenant. One circumstance encouraged him much 
 to venture on this step; from their first inter- 
 
222 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 view Montezuma had declared that to him the 
 King of Spain was Quetzalcoatl, and by that 
 title master of the country. 
 
 All the chiefs of the empire were convoked, 
 therefore, to a sort of parliament. Montezuma 
 reminded them from his throne of the tradition 
 of Quetzalcoatl. “ You recollect (he said) 
 that, on leaving, this deity announced he would 
 return, to resume among us the royal authority. 
 The time foretold has arrived. These White 
 men are come from regions situated beyond the 
 seas, from the quarter where the sun rises, and 
 they claim for their king the supreme power in 
 our country. I am ready to abandon it to 
 them. You who have been my faithful vassals 
 during the long space of time I have occupied 
 the throne, from you I look that you give me 
 this fresh proof of your submission. You will 
 recognise as your master the great prince that 
 reigns on the other side of the ocean; in his 
 absence you will obey the captain he has sent 
 amongst us. The tribute that you brought to 
 me, you will pay to him; the services that you 
 rendered to me are to be now at his disposal.” 
 At these words sobs and emotion stifled his 
 voice, and at the example his illustrious audience 
 could not restrain their tears. Every one of them 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 223 
 
 replied that, as such were his orders, he should 
 be obeyed. The oath of fidelity Avas taken 
 immediately afterwards. A register of it was 
 drawn up by a notary attached to the expedition, 
 the same who had received and recorded in an 
 authentic form the oath of the Cacique of 
 Cempoalla. 
 
 Spaniards were now despatched to collect 
 the tribute from the different ‘provinces of the 
 empire. Cortez had already turned his attention 
 to founding a few important establishments. He 
 had detached a hundred and fifty men, under 
 the command of Velasquez de Leon, to form the 
 nucleus of a colony at a distance from the 
 capital, but not a long way off from Vera Cruz, 
 at the mouth of the Guazacoalco. The best port 
 in all Mexico is to be found there, on the gulf 
 to which it gives name. By ascending that 
 river, Cortez hoped to discover what he called 
 the secret of the strait —that is, a natural passage 
 from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
224 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE HOSTILITY OF THE MEXICANS INCREASES—A 
 RIVAL EXPEDITION, THAT OF NARVAEZ, FUR¬ 
 NISHES CORTEZ WITH UNLOOKED-FOR SUC¬ 
 COURS-THE MEXICANS ATTACK THE SPAN¬ 
 
 IARDS—DEATH OF MONTEZUMA. 
 
 All seemed finished. In six months the dream 
 of Cortez appeared to have become a reality; it 
 was not so. 
 
 The religious ardour of Cortez, so long re¬ 
 strained, was about to explode, and to create 
 difficulties to which the conflicts with the Tlas- 
 calans and Xicotencatl were barely more than 
 play. On the very first day that he beheld 
 Montezuma, Cortez, it will be recollected, spoke 
 to him of conversion, and brought to bear on 
 him, but without success, all his theological 
 knowledge. Visiting a few days afterwards, in 
 company with the emperor, the great temple in 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 225 
 
 which were collected the sanctuaries of all their 
 deities, at the sight of the human blood that 
 stained them, Cortez apostrophized his imperial 
 host in these terms: “ How can a prince so 
 glorious and so wise as you adore these idols, 
 representatives of Satan? Ah! if you would 
 permit us to erect here the Cross, and to place 
 with it the images of the Virgin and her Divine 
 Son, you would see what would become of these 
 gods of abomination.” “ These gods,” said 
 Montezuma, “ are those that have led on the 
 Aztecs to victory from their infancy as a nation. 
 They send us seed-time and harvest, and if I 
 could have fancied that you would have been 
 thus wanting in respect to them, I would not 
 have admitted you to their presence.” This 
 scene passed prior to Montezuma’s captivity. 
 The immediate interference of Father Olrnedo 
 quieted Cortez, and temporal cares soon dis¬ 
 tracted his attention; but when Montezuma had 
 solemnly made his submission to Charles V., the 
 religious zeal of his lieutenant revived with 
 twofold impetuosity. If he had laboured for the 
 crown of Castille, what had he done for the 
 Faith? Should it be said that human sacrifices 
 could now pursue their course with impunity in 
 VOL. i. 15 
 
226 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 a capital that recognised his Catholic Majesty 
 for master? 
 
 Followed by his principal officers, Cortez 
 entered the apartment of Montezuma and 
 demanded that he should hand over to the 
 Spaniards, for the exercise of their worship, the 
 vast precinct of the great temple, so that they 
 might invite the entire people to participate in 
 the benefits of Christ’s religion. “ Why, Ma- 
 lintzin,” replied the emperor, aghast, “ your 
 requisitions are pushed so far that the anger of 
 our gods will burst out, and my people will 
 rise rather than suffer the profanation of their 
 temple.” Indeed, a nation’s religion is of all 
 belonging to it that of which the sacrifice is the 
 most painful: so long as a people has faith, 
 the ruin of its religion would be more sensitively 
 felt than would be that even of its nationa- 
 litv. However, after a conference with his 
 priests, Montezuma announced to Cortez that 
 one of the two sanctuaries of the great pyramid 
 would be given up to him. An altar was erected 
 there, on which was reared the Cross; mass 
 was celebrated with great pomp, while the ad¬ 
 joining sanctuary remained consecrated to the 
 frightful worship of the god of war, and re- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 227 
 
 echoed at the same instant with the hymns of 
 the indignant Aztecs. 
 
 From that moment the aspect of things at 
 Mexico was entirely changed. Till then Monte¬ 
 zuma had exhibited extreme affability towards 
 the Spaniards; he had taken pleasure in the 
 society of certain among them, and had entered 
 into their amusements, always leaving them 
 proofs of his munificence. He became gloomy, 
 avoided them, and passed his time in interviews 
 with his principal warriors and the Aztec priests. 
 The population at large ill dissembled their ani¬ 
 mosity. The emperor sent for Cortez, and told 
 him the gods had made known to the priests 
 that they were incensed, and required, under 
 pain of the greatest misfortunes to the city and 
 empire, that the profane foreigners should be 
 sacrificed on their altars. “ You have no chance 
 of safety (he said) but in retreat; depart, go 
 from whence you came; you will be safe at that 
 price alone.” Cortez, whose coolness was undis¬ 
 turbed, answered that he did not refuse to quit 
 the country, but that first he must have vessels. 
 The construction of a fleet was therefore set 
 about at Yera Cruz, under the orders of Martin 
 Lopez; but care was privately taken that the 
 15—3 
 
228 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 work should go on slowly. In the capital, 
 meanwhile, things were assuming a sadder and 
 more menacing air. On the sid.e of the Mexicans 
 preparations were making for attack; on the 
 side of the Spaniards for defence. Swords 
 would be drawn on the first occasion. 
 
 Suddenly news came that m, numerous fleet 
 had appeared at Yera Cruz, conveying Spanish 
 soldiery. There were nine hundred of them, 
 of whom eighty were horsemien, as many ar- 
 quebusiers, and a hundred and fifty cross-bow 
 men; they had also plenty of artillery. This 
 was four times the strength of the Castillian 
 force that Cortez could rally round him at 
 Mexico. The Spaniards uttered cries of joy at 
 the intelligence—they were sawed. An illusion! 
 —it was the last blow for Cortez. The expe¬ 
 dition came from Cuba, where iit had been orga¬ 
 nized by Velasquez, for the purpose of over¬ 
 throwing Cortez and seizing; on his person. 
 Since the call made by Montejjo at Cuba, in de¬ 
 fiance of Cortez’s prohibition, the marvels that 
 he had related on the subject of Mexico had 
 come to the ears of Velasquez, and had excited 
 his fury beyond all bounds. He exhausted his 
 resources to form an army that Cortez should 
 not be able to resist, and that: should conquer 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 229 
 
 the rich Mexican empire for himself. Such was 
 the expedition that had just landed at Yera 
 Cruz, under the orders of Narvaez, an officer of 
 tried bravery. 
 
 Cortez soon decided on his course. He left 
 Mexico with seventy Spaniards, leaving the 
 command there to the valiant Alvarado, recom¬ 
 mending to him, what the latter was indeed too 
 ready to forget, prudence and moderation. On 
 his route he picked up a hundred and fifty men 
 whom he had confided to one of his lieutenants, 
 Velasquez de Loon, to found a colony with on 
 the banks of the Guazacoalco, and he marched 
 straight on Narvaez, who kept a bad look-out. 
 After having sent to his competitor Father 
 Olmedo, who was one of his devoted followers, 
 Cortez found means to distribute a little gold 
 and a great many fine words among the army 
 intended for his overthrow, and by a prodigious 
 chance of fortune made Narvaez himself pri¬ 
 soner after a night attack, in which, under 
 favour of the darkness, he caused it to be be¬ 
 lieved he was at the head of a large force. All 
 the enemy’s men, moved by his great deeds, 
 seduced by his exploits, excited by the spoil the 
 Mexican empire promised under such a leader, 
 passed over to h is standard, and Cortez proudly 
 
230 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 re-entered Mexico. This was on the 24th of 
 June, ]520. 
 
 This time, one would have said the populous 
 city was deserted. Not an Aztec showed him¬ 
 self to gaze on the triumphant hero. Along the 
 whole length of the causeways, not a canoe was 
 to be seen on the lake. This was because, to 
 the religious grievances of the Aztecs, Alvarado 
 had added another. By an infamous act of 
 treachery, that individual, who was as covetous 
 and as cruel as he was courageous on the field 
 of battle, had slaughtered the flower of their 
 young nobility, whilst they were celebrating the 
 festival of Huitzilopotchli, the god of war; under 
 the pretext that they were perpetrating hea¬ 
 thenish practices, but in reality to seize on the 
 ornaments of gold with which these six hundred 
 young persons were decked for the solemnity. 
 No sooner had Cortez re-entered his quarters 
 than he was surrounded. He had taken the pre¬ 
 caution to build two brigantines, so as to have 
 the means of escaping across the lake; but the 
 Aztecs had burnt them. 
 
 A furious siege was begun against the Spa¬ 
 niards. A shower of arrows and stones was 
 hailed on all points of the palace of Axayacatl, 
 which served as their fortress. They replied by 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 231 
 
 artillery and musquetry, that made horrible 
 breaches in the dense ranks of the Mexicans. 
 But what availed it? The assailants were innu¬ 
 merable, and demanded only to die, provided that 
 ten of their lives were exchanged for that of one 
 of the children iof the sun. Cortez made sorties, 
 in which he had the advantage; but he remained 
 none the less int a state of blockade. The terraces 
 of the houses "were crowded with warriors; the 
 bridges of the canals that intersected the streets 
 were removed,. 4i You are ours,” cried the 
 Aztecs ; “ the stone of sacrifice is ready—the 
 knife of the sacrificer is sharpened. The wild 
 beasts of the palace menagerie are roaring with 
 delight, because they scent your flesh which they 
 are to devour.. We have cages for the rascal 
 sons of Anahuiac that are in your ranks [the 
 Tlascalans], in which we will shut them up and 
 fatten them, tlhat they may be worthy of being 
 sacrificed.” T hus saying, they fought with such 
 bravery, says IBernal Diaz, that “ several of our 
 men who had served in Italy in the wars of the 
 giants against the French, or in the Levant 
 against the Tuirks, declared they had never seen 
 the like.” Montezuma’s brother himself com¬ 
 manded the besiegers and he was the bravest of 
 the brave. Happily, Cortez was not a man to 
 
232 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 despond or lose courage. He had a body of 
 iron and a soul of adamant. He hoped to compel 
 the Indians to submit by mere dint of carnage. 
 He endeavoured to strike terror into them by 
 war-machines—towers that moved forward, filled 
 with soldiers under cover. He essayed also the 
 path of negotiation, and put forward Montezuma 
 himself as mediator. The unhappy emperor 
 appeared on. a terrace of the Spanish quarter, 
 surrounded by his cortege . At sight of him, the 
 crowd, accustomed to obey him, at the first im¬ 
 pulse bent low. “Are you come to deliver me?” 
 he asked, in the quiet tone of a man accustomed 
 to command. “But I am not a prisoner; I re¬ 
 main here of my own good will, among the White 
 men, who are my guests. Do you come to compel 
 them to withdraw? They are of themselves 
 preparing for their departure.” The terms of 
 amity applied by Montezuma to the Spaniards 
 rekindled the fury of the Aztecs. From the 
 moment he styled himself the friend of these 
 profane foreigners, he was but a traitor to the 
 country and to the gods. A flight of stones and 
 arrows was aimed at him. He fell wounded, 
 and died a few days afterwards. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 233 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CORTEZ EVACUATES MEXICO — SIEGE OF THAT 
 CITY-REVERSES AND SUCCESSES-THE EM¬ 
 
 PEROR GUATEMOZIN. 
 
 This adventure convinced Cortez that the Aztecs 
 would not submit. On the other hand, his pro¬ 
 visions were exhausted, and there was but one 
 course left to take—to open a passage for him¬ 
 self at any cost. To get out of Mexico, however, 
 it was necessary to pass through long streets, 
 where the houses had been converted into cita¬ 
 dels, and their terraces filled with projectiles 
 and combatants. To the streets succeeded long 
 causeways traversing the lake, which were lined 
 by warriors watching in their canoes among the 
 rushes. More surely to seize on their prey, the 
 Mexicans had destroyed the bridges in their 
 streets, and erected barricades; the causeways, 
 too, were broken. Yet Cortez, by a night march, 
 
234 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 regained the main land by the Tlacopan cause¬ 
 way—the shortest of the three. But what a 
 night! In the narratives of the Conquistadores, 
 and in the Spanish annals, it is termed the Sor¬ 
 rowful Night (Noche Triste). Cortez lost therein 
 the half of his army. All those encumbered 
 with plunder perished, or were taken prisoners— 
 a worse fate, for they would be immolated in 
 sacrifice. The whole of the artillery remained 
 with the Aztecs, who, luckily, had been taught 
 neither the art of using them nor how to manu¬ 
 facture gunpowder. It needed the greatest 
 bravery in this small band of Spaniards to attain 
 the main land, even at the price of so many 
 losses. The very women distinguished them¬ 
 selves, arms in hand. Two heroes were the 
 main authors of the safety of the whole—Cortez 
 first, and then Alvarado, who surpassed himself, 
 to the degree of extorting cries of admiration 
 from the Aztecs. He came dismounted to a 
 place where the causeway had been cut. The 
 horsemen, hustling one against the other, got 
 across by jumping into the lake, and by their 
 assistance a part of tlie troops also were safe on 
 the other side of the gap. Alvarado was left 
 alone, having stood firm in the rear, to keep the 
 assailants in check. It seemed impossible that 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 235 
 
 he could escape, when, balancing himself on his 
 long lance, and summoning all his strength, he 
 bounded over the breach at one leap; then with 
 a look he jeered his astonished foes, who ex¬ 
 claimed that he was indeed the beloved child of 
 the sun. This incident is still famous. The 
 spot yet bears the name of Alvarado’s Leap, and 
 of all his exploits, this is the one selected to 
 make his name historical. The first lieutenant 
 of Cortez, he who was at a later period the con¬ 
 queror of the kingdom of Quichua, is spoken of 
 by the chroniclers as Alvarado of the Leap. 
 
 Soon after reaching the main land, Cortez 
 met an army that attacked him. Then was 
 fought the battle of Otumba, which he gained 
 after he had fancied, like Cassar did at Munda, 
 that it was all over, and that nothing remained 
 for him but to die gloriously. From thence he 
 proceeded to refresh his battered forces among 
 the Tlascalans, and to ‘get ready for a return to 
 Tenochtitlan with new resources. I pass over 
 the measures by which he assured himself of the 
 fidelity of the people of Tlascala—the expedi¬ 
 tions that re-established among the populations 
 the renown that had been shaken by the Noche 
 Triste —the alliances he formed, and the discon¬ 
 tents he appeased, as well as the plots among 
 
236 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 his own men that he defeated. They constitute, 
 nevertheless, a series of most extraordinary 
 events and incidents. I must at least mention 
 the embassy sent by the Aztecs to Tlascala, for 
 the purpose of entreating those people to coalesce 
 with the whole land of Anahuac in driving out 
 these cruel foreigners, enemies to gods and men, 
 and the debates that then ensued in the Tlas- 
 calan senate. They read like grand sittings of 
 the Senate of Rome. Let us again appear with 
 Cortez before Mexico, where he presented him¬ 
 self at the head of an army reinforced by large 
 numbers of auxiliaries, whose equipment he had 
 perfected, and whom he had in various respects 
 brought under severe discipline. A fleet of 
 thirteen brigantines, armed with artillery, was to 
 operate on the lake. 
 
 Montezuma’s brother, who had succeeded to 
 the empire, had, after a reign of four months, 
 died of the small-pox, which was imported by 
 Narvaez. In the place of Montezuma, choice 
 had been made of his nephew and son-in-law, 
 Guatemozin,* a fine and elegant young man of the 
 age of five-and-twenty, brave beyond all proof, 
 
 * I use here the name by which this young hero is known 
 in Europe. His real name is Quautemo, which, with the 
 honorific termination tzin, makes Quautemozin. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 237 
 
 of uncommon intelligence, and who had vowed 
 implacable hatred to the Spaniards, like that 
 sworn by Hannibal against the Romans at the 
 hands of Hamilcar. Cortez, who had measured 
 the difficulties of his enterprise, and was deter¬ 
 mined to neglect nothing for its success, esta¬ 
 blished regulations the observance of which he 
 enjoined on his men. This collection of military 
 ordinances has been preserved to us. The su¬ 
 preme object indicated to his companions in arms 
 is the conversion of the heathen. He lays it 
 down to them that their faith and their devotion 
 to religion is the secret of their strength and 
 the condition of their triumph. Otherwise, said 
 he, this war is sovereignly unjust, and all it could 
 procure for us would be wealth ill got. Thence 
 there were rules that, under severe penalties, 
 forbad blaspheming, gambling, &c.—suited to an 
 army of crusaders, and of disciplined crusaders; 
 and, in fact, Cortez believed himself the leader 
 of a crusade as much as Godfrey of Bouillon 
 could have done. On the opposite side, the 
 priests, who had great influence over Guatemozin, 
 preached to the Aztecs that no compromise was 
 possible with these Spanish violators of the 
 temples, and that against them it must be vic¬ 
 tory or death. As in the “Jerusalem Delivered,” 
 
233 
 
 MEXICO 
 
 Heaven is face to face with a pagan Olympus, 
 with fallen angels, companions of Satan—as in 
 the “ Iliad,” men believed they saw inhabitants 
 of the celestial abode take part with them 
 and descend to join their ranks—so the 
 Spaniards on many occasions were persuaded 
 that they distinguished the Virgin Mary in 
 the sky, or St. James on his white horse, 
 or St. Peter, the patron of Cortez, alongside of 
 them. 
 
 On either hand the multitude of combatants 
 was beyond numbering, for Cortez had as many 
 as 150,000 auxiliaries; on both sides there was 
 extraordinary devotedness and prodigious ardour. 
 The Aztecs defended themselves like a people 
 fighting for their hearths and their altars. The 
 Spaniards demeaned themselves at once like men 
 predestined to carry out a decree of Heaven, and 
 like men filled with ambition, who had to conquer 
 riches and distinction at the point of the sword. 
 The Indian auxiliaries sought to gratify ancient 
 resentments, and to inflict retaliation; they were 
 anxious to exterminate former masters, who, if 
 not destroyed, would annihilate them. Victory 
 was undecided more than once. Notwithstanding 
 the barbarous courage of the Tlascalans, and the 
 bloodthirsty valour of Ixtlixochitl, prince of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 239 
 
 Tezcuco, it was the intrepidity of the handful of 
 Spaniards, and often even the personal bravery 
 of Cortez, that determined success when victory 
 fell to the Christian standard. There was 
 fighting by land and by sea, at a distance and 
 hand to hand, by day and by night, on the plat¬ 
 forms of the pyramids, on the terraces of the 
 houses, on the muddy shores of the lake. Stra¬ 
 tagem was resorted to as well as audacity, and 
 Guatemozin succeeded in more than once placing 
 the Conquistadores in peril. Cortez had already 
 run great danger in the Sorrowful Night. At the 
 attack on Xochimilco (the Field of Flowers), one 
 of the cities in the valley, he was for an instant 
 prisoner. It had been all over with him, if the 
 Aztecs had not been bent on reserving him for a 
 solemn sacrifice. A Tlascalan and two of his 
 own servants rescued him. The next day in¬ 
 quiry was made for the Tlascalan warrior, that 
 he might be rewarded; but in vain; and it re¬ 
 mained the belief of the army that it was St. 
 Peter in person who, so disguised, had come to 
 the general’s assistance. 
 
 At the more than pressing solicitation of his 
 companions, who were suffering from the rains 
 and from want of provisions, Cortez at last de¬ 
 cided on proceeding to a general assault. “We 
 
240 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 are left (said the soldiers) exposed to all the 
 hardships of the weather, and a prey to famine, 
 when a coup de main would be so easy against 
 these heathens. Did we not the other day pene¬ 
 trate by sheer force into the heart of the city, to 
 the palace of the emperor, and to that temple 
 where Satan is adored under the name of that 
 infamous idol, Huitzilopotchli ? Could we not 
 then have set fire to that abominable sanctuary 
 and to the palace, and have thrown from the top 
 of the pyramid those ferocious priests that people 
 the den? Let us finish with it by an assault?” 
 “ You shall have an assault,” answered the 
 general, moved by their murmurs. 
 
 In the end, it was agreed to attack in two 
 distinct columns. Alvarado commanded one, 
 Cortez the other. The advance was made after 
 celebration of mass. Cortez formed his corps 
 into three divisions, whom he moved forward 
 each by a separate street, recommending circum¬ 
 spection to the leaders of the two from which he 
 was separated. The Aztecs beat a retreat; the 
 Spanish division, led by the Treasurer Alderete 
 (for in this expedition the very financiers were 
 heroes), and that at the head of which the 
 general had placed Andres de Tapia and Al¬ 
 varado’s brother, pressed them closely. At last 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 241 
 
 the centre of the city was reached—the great 
 market-place, where they were desirous of esta¬ 
 blishing themselves—and the cry of 11 victory” 
 was raised. On a sudden, the horn of Guate- 
 mozin was heard from the summit of a teocalli. 
 At this signal the Indians faced about; others, 
 occupying the houses, were seen on the terraces; 
 the side streets were filled with warriors, who 
 were issuing also from the rushes on the lake, to 
 the right and left of the causeway. They threw 
 themselves with fury on the Spaniards and their 
 auxiliaries. The ranks were thrown into dis¬ 
 order, and the artillery could no longer act: 
 it was a frightful melee. Numbers of the 
 Spaniards were taken or killed; Cortez himself, 
 wounded, was seized on by six foes of athletic 
 form, who, seeing him almost alone, rushed on 
 with frenzy, shouting, “ Down with Malintzin !” 
 Once more, however, was he torn from the grasp 
 of the enemy; but the horn of Guatemozin, that 
 seemed, like Astolpho’s, to exercise a magic in¬ 
 fluence, continued to sound, and the impetuosity 
 of the Aztecs went on increasing. They threw 
 to the feet of Cortez several Spanish heads, 
 crying, “ Behold Tonatiuh” (the name, as before 
 stated, which they had given to Alvarado). 
 “ There’s Sandoval” (the most cherished friend 
 
 16 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
MEXICO, 
 
 .242 
 
 of Cortez). To scatter terror among Alvarado’s 
 column, they in similar fashion threw before 
 them heads of individual Whites, calling out the 
 name of Malintzin. Fortunately neither Al¬ 
 varado nor Sandoval had fallen, any more than 
 the general. The Spaniards, however, were 
 completely routed; they with difficulty gained 
 their entrenchments, and in the evening, at sun¬ 
 set, they could contemplate with horror the 
 dreadful ceremony going forward on the top of 
 the great teocalli. Their captive brothers in 
 arms were slaughtered before the statue of the 
 god of war; and their bleeding bodies, thrown 
 from the summit of the pyramid, fell amid the 
 mob, who fought for their limbs as choice dishes 
 for a detestable banquet. 
 
 Guatemozin’s victory diffused immense en¬ 
 thusiasm among the Aztecs and those who re¬ 
 mained united to them. The priests proclaimed 
 that the gods, satiated by the sacrifice of the 
 Spanish prisoners, had promised to rid the 
 country of the foreigners, and that the promise 
 would be fulfilled within eight days. This in¬ 
 telligence spread alarm among the allies of the 
 Spaniards. They deserted in great numbers— 
 not to go over to the Aztecs, whose anger they 
 dreaded, but to return to their homes. Cortez 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 • 243 ' 
 
 had good watch kept in the camp. The sorties 
 of the besieged were repulsed; the eight days 
 passed without the Spaniards having lost more 
 than a few marauders. The allies, seeing that 
 the oracle was wrong, came back to their former 
 friends. The aggressive ardour of the besieged 
 grew cooler, and they soon found themselves as¬ 
 sailed by the plagues that ordinarily attack 
 troops massed in a city—not only famine, but 
 epidemic diseases, the result of want and over¬ 
 crowding. From excitement many passed to 
 discouragement; they with despair beheld their 
 former vassals demolish all those quarters of the 
 city that were in the power of Cortez, the build¬ 
 ings in which he ordered to be razed to the 
 ground, so that the sorties of the Aztecs were 
 of no possible advantage to them. 
 
244 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MEXICO TAKEN—GUATEMOZIN—SEQUEL AND END 
 OF THE CAREER OF CORTEZ. 
 
 Cortez, who had formed his own opinion as to 
 the position of the Aztecs, despatched to Guate- 
 mozin three chiefs who had been taken prisoners. 
 He conjured him to submit, promising that he 
 should still wear the crown, that the Aztecs 
 should retain their properties and dignities, 
 under the suzerainty of the King of Spain. The 
 young emperor received the envoys with distinc¬ 
 tion, and listened attentively to their message. 
 Probably because he was not yet sufficiently 
 master, he remitted it to a council composed of 
 the principal chiefs of the army and other per¬ 
 sons of the highest consideration. Some of them 
 advised that the proposals of Cortez should be 
 entertained; but the priests, who perceived that 
 under the Christians their influence would be 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 245 
 
 destro} 7 ed, were of an opposite opinion. “ Peace 
 (said they to the emperor) is a great blessing, if 
 it be not with the White men. There has not 
 been a single promise they have not violated. 
 Their cupidity is unbounded, and who can reckon 
 up their outrages on our gods? Let us trust to 
 the divinities that have so long been the pro¬ 
 tectors of our nation. Is it not better to die 
 than to live slaves of these lying and impious 
 foreigners?” Guatemozin was inflamed by their 
 eloquence. “ Well,” said he, “ we’ll die fighting; 
 woe to him who speaks of surrendering!” As an 
 answer to the offers of the Spaniards, two days 
 afterwards Guatemozin ordered a general sortie, 
 which, however, was unsuccessful. The Aztecs 
 were driven back, and further straitened for 
 room. Famine pinched them more cruelly day 
 after day. Lizards and such rats as they could 
 find were their richest nourishment; reptiles and 
 insects were eagerly looked for, trees stripped of 
 their bark, and roots stealthily sought after by 
 night. Meanwhile, Cortez, seeing there was no 
 other means of bringing them to submission, 
 pursued the work of destruction he had resolved 
 on with so much regret; the pyramids of the 
 gods and the palaces of the great were razed 
 equally with the huts of rushes inhabited by the 
 
246 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 populace. This demolition was accomplished by 
 the hands of his allies, amid threats from the 
 Aztecs like these—“Wretches! the more you 
 demolish, the more you will have to build up, 
 for if we are the conquerors, we will have a 
 capital as magnificent as before, and if the White 
 men carry the day, they will be more exacting 
 than we are.” Notwithstanding the bitterness 
 of their sufferings, these valiant Aztecs kept a 
 good front. They replied with haughtiness and 
 disdain when they were told of their wants, and 
 an Indian chief attached to Cortez having, at one 
 of the conversations that often occurred in the 
 interval between assaults and sorties, taunted 
 them with being at the last extremity, they 
 threw cakes of maize in his face, telling him 
 they had food for themselves and others too. 
 
 Nevertheless famine and disease were deci¬ 
 mating them. They could be seen wasting 
 away on their terraces or behind their barri¬ 
 cades. Heaps of bodies were found in every 
 street that was won from them; this people, 
 so punctilious in their customs of sepulture, had 
 ceased to bury their dead. Women and chil¬ 
 dren were left in the houses, reduced to skele¬ 
 tons, and unable to drag themselves off, for all 
 that were able to walk had concentrated them- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 247 
 
 selves in the quarters that still resisted. In this 
 sad situation the Spaniards were more than 
 once reproached with not bringing matters to 
 an end. “ You are not the children of the Sun, 
 for he is swift in his course, and you are slow in 
 your destruction. Finish us, then, that we may 
 go to our god Huitzilopotchli, who will recom¬ 
 pense us for all we are suffering for him.” At 
 other times they scoffed at the Spaniards, telling 
 them they would look in vain for treasure, for 
 everything had been buried in places of which 
 they would never have the secret. And to talk 
 to them of surrendering was worse. Cortez, 
 having sent in to Guatemozin a prisoner of high 
 rank, to press him to treat, we are told that 
 the latter consigned the envoy to the stone of 
 sacrifice. 
 
 Soon there was left to the besieged but one 
 quarter, and that the most incommodious of all, 
 forming barely an eighth of the city, where 
 there were not houses enough to give them 
 shelter. Many had to live night and day in the 
 open air on board boats, amid the reeds on the 
 lake. Corte:z daily acquired further proofs of 
 the extremity to which they were reduced. 
 They had supported themselves for some time 
 by devouring the prisoners taken in their sorties. 
 
248 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Even of that resource they were at last deprived. 
 They were then to be caught prowling in the 
 night for scraps that obscene animals would 
 have disdained, or to snatch a few handfuls of 
 grass; and it is even told that mothers were 
 seen to slaughter their children for the purpose 
 of eating them. Diseases, produced by the 
 foulness that impregnated the air, carried off 
 those that escaped famine and the sword. 
 Cortez was seized with pity, and gave the most 
 formal orders that all should be spared who 
 committed no aggression. But what means had 
 he of enforcing obedience on his allies, the im¬ 
 placable Tlascalans and the other former vassals 
 of the Aztec emperors, who had their revenge to 
 wreak ? At the same time he renewed his 
 efforts to obtain from Guatemozin his sub¬ 
 mission. At the instance of the chiefs about 
 him, the young monarch, who could no longer 
 be under any illusion as to the chances that re¬ 
 mained for him, at last consented to an inter¬ 
 view. The meeting took place in the vast 
 market-square, on an extensive platform, that 
 used to serve for popular representations. Cortez 
 had it carpeted, and got ready a banquet, at 
 which he thought of intreating his valiant 
 enemy to satisfy his hunger. Guatemozin did 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 249 
 
 not appear at the appointed hour—whether it 
 was that he feared his person would be seized, 
 and that the fate of Montezuma, reduced to 
 be the mere passive instrument of foreigners, 
 seemed to him the greatest of misfortunes; or 
 whether the priests, maintaining their ascend¬ 
 ancy to the last, had determined him to further 
 resistance. The Conquistador retained to dinner 
 the famished bearers of Guatemozin’s refusal, 
 and sent them back with provisions, and his 
 compliments to their master, reiterating his 
 demand for a conference. The haughty Mexican 
 returned present for present; the very same 
 individuals came back to the Spanish camp 
 laden with exquisite cotton cloths—but alone, 
 without the emperor. Cortez made still more 
 pressing appeals, so that a promise was brought 
 him next morning of a visit from Guatemozin 
 at noon. Another disappointment; and it was per¬ 
 ceived that in their place of refuge, so crammed 
 with the dead and dying, the besieged were 
 silently preparing for a last effort. On the fol¬ 
 lowing day there was again a battle, or rather a 
 slaughter. The auxiliaries of the Spaniards, 
 penetrating into the quarter occupied by the 
 besieged, put to death thousands of the Aztecs, 
 without distinction of age or sex. Their sangui- 
 
250 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 nary fury excited the indignation of Cortez, 
 who, giving an account of the scene to his 
 master, says : “ The cries of the women and 
 children, murdered one after the other, were so 
 lamentable that there was not a man amongst 
 
 US whose heart was not rent.Never was 
 
 there such cruelty seen [as that of the allies]; 
 never did beings in human form show them¬ 
 selves such strangers to humanity.” And yet 
 on the morrow, after a night passed in this 
 scene of disaster, Guatemozin again refused to 
 surrender, or to come and treat with the 
 Spanish commander. 
 
 The 13th August, 1521, had now arrived, 
 and that was to be the last day of this once 
 flourishing empire. Before making a final 
 assault, Cortez once more invited the emperor 
 to his presence. His envoys came back with 
 the cihuacoatl , a magistrate of the first rank, 
 who declared, with an air of consternation, that 
 Guatemozin knew how to die, but that he would 
 not come to treat. Then, turning towards 
 Cortez, he added: “ Do now whatever you 
 please.” “Be it so,” replied Cortez; “go and 
 tell your friends to prepare; they are going to 
 die.” In fact, the troops advanced; there was 
 a last mtilee, a last carnage, on land and on the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 251 
 
 lake. The jaded Mexicans drew from their 
 despair, their patriotism, and their attachment 
 to their gods, strength still to combat with 
 heroism. Guatemozin, driven to the shore of 
 the lake, threw himself into a canoe with a few 
 warriors, and endeavoured to escape by dint of 
 rowing; but he was pursued by a brigantine of 
 the Spanish fleet, taken, and brought to Cortez, 
 who received him with the respect due to a 
 crowned head. Advancing with dignity along 
 the terrace prepared for this melancholy inter¬ 
 view between a captive prince and his con¬ 
 queror, he said: “ I have done all that I could, 
 Malintzin, to save my crown and my people. 
 You see to what I have now fallen; do with me 
 what you will.” And, pointing with his finger 
 to a dagger borne in the general’s waist-belt, 
 he continued, with vehemence: “ Draw that 
 weapon, and make an end of me.” u No,” re¬ 
 plied Cortez, “you will be treated with pro¬ 
 found respect. You have defended your capital 
 like the bravest of princes; Spaniards know 
 how to honour valour even in their enemies.” 
 He then inquired after the empress, who was a 
 daughter of Montezuma, sent an escort to find 
 her, and ordered a repast to be served to his 
 august prisoners. The Aztec empire had ceased 
 
252 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 to exist; Spanish sway was established in 
 Mexico. The Cross was triumphant in that 
 fine country, and there was no sharer in its reign. 
 
 The number of persons that perished in the 
 siege has been differently estimated. The most 
 moderate calculation puts it at 120,000 on the 
 side of the Aztecs. Very many Indians fell 
 on the side of the besiegers. The historian 
 Ixtlixochitl says there were 30,000 dead of the 
 warriors of Tezcuco alone. All that were left 
 alive of the Aztecs were, at the request of 
 Guatemozin, allowed to leave the city in free¬ 
 dom, on the morning after it was taken. Never 
 was there a sadder spectacle than this evacua¬ 
 tion. The warriors still surviving were in 
 number 30,000 according to some, and 70,000 
 according to others. They marched out with 
 hosts of women and children, all w r an and deso¬ 
 late. They took three days in defiling by the 
 different causeways. They halted several times 
 after they had quitted the city, before definitively 
 leaving it behind them, either that their ex¬ 
 hausted strength commanded them to take rest, 
 or that they desired to cast a last glance on the 
 ruins of the magnificent city that had been the 
 seat of their dominion. When they had said a 
 final farewell to the wreck of their capital, they 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 253 
 
 dispersed in all directions, everywhere spreading 
 a terror of the Spaniards, and the feeling that 
 to resist them was impossible. That conviction 
 must have been established speedily and firmly, 
 for there was no further attempt at resistance, 
 unless it were at one point, in the territory of 
 Panuco, near the Atlantic Ocean. There the 
 natives rose and massacred a body of Spaniards 
 sent thither by Cortez; but they were punished 
 so promptly and with such severity that no one 
 dared to renew the crime. As soon as he was 
 master of Tenochtitlan, Cortez witnessed the 
 appearance of emissaries from the different pro¬ 
 vinces, who came to confirm with their own 
 eyes the catastrophe of the Aztecs, and to bring 
 him assurances of their submission. Of these 
 various embassies, the most important was that 
 from the King of Michoacan, who was at the 
 head of a great territory, where he had remained 
 independent of Montezuma. The king after¬ 
 wards arrived in person to contemplate the 
 ruins of Tenochtitlan, and to solicit the protec¬ 
 tion of its invincible conquerors. Michoacan 
 was situated to the north-west, between Mexico 
 and the Pacific Ocean. The submission of this 
 king gave Cortez an opportunity of getting 
 what information he could as to the coast on 
 
254 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 that side. A few years later it was the object 
 of an expedition, led by himself in person, which 
 he pushed as far as California. 
 
 Cortez deserves there should be rendered to 
 him the justice of admitting that, the city once 
 gained, he renewed his orders for sparing the 
 vanquished. After their departure they were 
 not molested. But about the same time the 
 cupidity of the Spaniards suffered a bitter dis¬ 
 appointment, that impelled them to deplorable 
 excesses. The gold got out of Tenochtitlan 
 was almost insignificant in comparison with 
 what had been hoped for, and with what it 
 seemed there ought to be. It is probable the 
 Aztecs had executed the threat they several 
 times made during the siege, of hiding their 
 gold so well that the victors would never be able 
 to find it. There is reason to believe they threw 
 a portion of it into the lake, and buried the rest. 
 The irritated soldiery indulged in violent talk, 
 and accused their general of having appropriated 
 a large share of the booty to his own benefit. 
 They covered the walls of their quarters with 
 inscriptions, in which these accusations were 
 repeated. Guatemozin, whom Cortez had re¬ 
 tained near him, replied to questions on the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 255 
 
 matter, that there existed no place of conceal¬ 
 ment in which the gold of the Aztecs had been 
 deposited in such a way as that it could be re¬ 
 covered. It was then asserted that Cortez had 
 come to an understanding with him on the 
 language he was to hold. The treasurer Al- 
 derete, from greed or from an intemperate zeal 
 for the interests of the king, to whom devolved 
 the quint , or fifth of the spoil, incited the soldiers 
 to demand that Guatemozin should be put to 
 the torture, to make him declare where he had 
 hidden his treasures. Cortez, who admired the 
 unfortunate monarch, and had promised him his 
 protection, at first resisted; but at length he 
 committed the fault of yielding, and of giving 
 way to the shameful outrage insisted on by the 
 soldiery. Guatemozin was handed over to these 
 rough men, clamorous for gold at any price, 
 even at the price of their honour. It was the 
 same with the King of Tacuba; both became 
 the victims of cruel tortures, to make them speak. 
 Their feet were put in the fire after being rubbed 
 with oil. The reply given by the generous 
 and valiant Guatemozin to the companion of 
 his misfortune, on his uttering lamentations 
 whilst they were both in the hands of their 
 
256 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 executioners, is still classical as a trait of 
 heroism.* 
 
 Ashamed of the part he was made to play, 
 Cortez put a stop to this cowardly malice against 
 a deposed sovereign; the torture ceased; but it 
 is a stain on his reputation that it ever began. 
 These indignities towards Guatemozin and the 
 former King of Tacuba were without result. The 
 young emperor had probably said all that he knew 
 when he made known what everybody suspected 
 before the torture, that a large quantity of gold 
 had been thrown into the lake. Researches 
 were "made there, but they were unproductive. 
 In a piece of water in Guatemozin’s gardens, a 
 golden sun, of great weight, was discovered; 
 but what was that in proportion to what was 
 looked for? In the anguish of torture, the 
 Cacique of Tacuba declared that there was gold 
 buried at one of his country-houses. He was 
 taken there, but, when arrived, he said he had 
 made the declaration only to be conveyed to his 
 old residence, trusting to die on the road (no 
 
 * The version in most currency, which makes him say, 
 “ And am I upon roses ?” does not appear to be exact. 
 According to the best evidence, be said, “ And am I taking 
 my pleasure in a bath V’ The words are not the same, 
 though the sense is alike. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 257 
 
 doubt, by the hand of the Spaniards on his 
 return). 
 
 The indefatigable Cortez busied himself with¬ 
 out delay in the organization of his conquest. 
 He sent out detachments in the principal di¬ 
 rections. He rebuilt Tenochtitlan, henceforth 
 called Mexico, on the site of the former city, 
 and in grand style. He sent two officers in his 
 confidence to Charles Y.—Quignones, who had 
 saved his life in battle, and Avila—with gold 
 and a number of articles of curiosity.* 
 
 In the end, Cortez triumphed at the court of 
 Madrid over the intrigues of Yelasquez, but 
 not without considerable difficulty. At one 
 moment, indeed, he was under condemnation. 
 The unworthy Fonseca, the natural enemy of 
 all superior men, enraged at the loss of Cortez, 
 as he had been at that of Columbus and Balboa, 
 had, on the 15th April, 1521, obtained from 
 Cardinal Adrian, the former preceptor of 
 Charles Y.—who was the substitute for that 
 
 * They touched at the Azores, where Quignones perished 
 in a quarrel. Avila re-embarked, but was taken at sea by 
 the French, with all he was the bearer of. Fi-ancis I., to whom 
 the captured articles were sent, was struck with admiration. 
 Avila was able to save the despatches entrusted to him, and 
 to get them conveyed to Charles V. 
 
 17 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
258 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 prince in Spain, under the title of Regent —a. 
 signature to an ordinance that recapitulated 
 the faults, real or supposed, of Cortez, and pre¬ 
 scribed that a commissioner should be dispatched 
 to Mexico, charged to draw up a report on the 
 conduct of the Conquistador , with power to sus¬ 
 pend him from his functions, and even to seize 
 on his person and effects. The commissioner 
 chosen was an inspector of mines in St. Domingo, 
 named Christoval de Tapia, a man of subaltern 
 q>osition, weak in character and intellect, and 
 already known to Cortez. This emissary landed 
 at Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz in December, 
 1521, some months after the conquest was a 
 fait accom/di. Those in command at Villa 
 Rica were men devoted to Cortez, who haggled 
 over the terms of Tapia’s commission. On his 
 part, Cortez wrote him a very polite letter, in 
 which he congratulated himself on again meet¬ 
 ing with an old friend; but he so arranged 
 matters that the commissioner, in spite of all 
 the powers with which Fonseca had invested 
 him, was unable to penetrate into the country, 
 or to get his authority recognised by anybody. 
 
 When Cortez saw that he was embarrassed 
 and disgusted, he sent to offer him a very large 
 price for everything he had brought with him— 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 259 
 
 horses, equipages, and slaves. The commissioner 
 resigned himself to the exchange of the power 
 he was forbidden to exercise for the gold he was 
 sure to obtain; and he returned to Cuba with 
 his pockets full. In the meantime, the friends 
 whom the family of Cortez possessed at court 
 laboured to disabuse the Cardinal Regent of 
 the unjust prejudices Fonseca had inspired 
 him with against the Conquistador. The Duke 
 de Bejar, a person of consideration, acted a part 
 in the matter that did him the highest honour. 
 Don Martin, the father of Cortez, himself a man 
 highly esteemed, had his share in this rehabi¬ 
 litation of his son at court. Fonseca received 
 orders to abstain from anything that touched 
 the interests of the hero to whom Spain was 
 indebted for so important a conquest. Thus, 
 the decision of the 15th April, 1521, was 
 revoked. Whilst this was being effected, 
 in July Charles V. returned to Spain. He 
 immediately constituted a commission that was 
 to render him a detailed account of the affair, 
 and to propose to him a definite solution. The 
 chances were better for a great man with this 
 prince, and under his inspiration; and, indeed, 
 on the 15th October, 1522, he signed a document 
 at Yalladolid that did full justice to Cortez. 
 
 17—2 
 
260 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The latter was appointed governor, captain- 
 general, and grand judge of the colony; thus 
 uniting in himself the civil, military, and 
 judicial powers. Rewards were given to the 
 officers and the army; and an autograph letter 
 from the emperor recognised and lauded their 
 services. Fonseca was forbidden to meddle 
 with the affairs of New Spain.* 
 
 Meanwhile Cortez was labouring to extend 
 the limits of his conquest. The most important 
 expedition he organized was the one directed to 
 Central America. This was confided to Alva¬ 
 rado, who took possession of all the country now 
 forming; the State of Guatemala. Another, of 
 which Olid was leader, was to march into the 
 same regions, but more to the eastward, into 
 what now constitutes the State of Honduras. 
 This officer manifesting an intention to make 
 himself independent of Cortez, the latter, not¬ 
 withstanding the distance, resolved to go thither 
 in person, with a chosen body of men; taking 
 with him Guatemozin, whom he wished to have 
 always under his hands, because he dreaded him 
 as the possible centre of an insurrection of the 
 Aztecs. This little force arrived at its destina- 
 
 He died of chagrin before a year had rolled over. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 261 
 
 tion after a long march and incredible fatigues. 
 It was found that the insubordination of Olid 
 had been suppressed, and that he himself had 
 been beheaded by the order of another officer, 
 whom Cortez had despatched on the first in¬ 
 formation. An act of cruelty was committed 
 amid the dangers and sufferings of this painful 
 march, with the sanction of Cortez, and under 
 his eyes. Guatemozin was tried, condemned, 
 and executed, for meditating a plan of revolt. 
 He was hanged on a tree with two other chiefs, 
 one of them being the former King of Tacuba, 
 who was tortured at the same time with him in 
 Mexico. Everything leads to the belief that the 
 ex-monarch of Mexico was innocent. Such is 
 the opinion of Bernal Diaz, who was one of the 
 expedition; and that chronicler adds that all his 
 companions in arms considered the condemnation 
 of the young hero to be unjust. The execution 
 stands as a blot on the memory of Cortez. What 
 aggravates the crime is, that it was signalized 
 by a refinement in barbarity. Guatemozin and 
 the two caciques were hung by the feet, that 
 their deaths might be slower and their agony 
 more excruciating. Cortez was in danger at the 
 moment; his men were in want of sustenance: 
 they were lost in the woods, and if the Indians 
 
262 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 forming part of the expedition had not, it is 
 urged, been restrained by this terrible act of 
 authority, they might have turned on the Span¬ 
 iards. It is probable that some of the persons 
 who lived in intimacy with Cortez felt that mis¬ 
 giving, and communicated it to him. But were 
 there grounds for the presentiment? Did not 
 the counsel that may have been given to Cortez 
 to get rid of Guatemozin emanate from that un¬ 
 lucky zeal so readily displayed by those who 
 surround sovereigns and persons in power, which 
 is an effect of narrowness of mind or baseness of 
 heart? History can scarcely accord to great 
 men, that permit themselves to be thus led on to 
 evil, the benefit of extenuating circumstances, 
 such as the suspicion made to hover on the head 
 of the unfortunate Aztec; for the appellation 
 11 great” to be bestowed on them without reserve, 
 they must have been capable of supporting the 
 weight of their position even when at the hea¬ 
 viest, and they must have resisted the culpable 
 suggestions of pretended friends just as well as 
 the shock of events. 
 
 Scarcely had Cortez returned to Mexico from 
 his expedition to Honduras, which took him a 
 couple of years, than he was informed of the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 263 
 
 approaching arrival of one of those High Commis¬ 
 sioners whom the Court of Madrid used to send 
 from time to time to its immense possessions 
 beyond sea, to examine how they were adminis¬ 
 tered, and who, the better to make their exami¬ 
 nation, took possession even of the government* 
 The intrigues against him had gained the as¬ 
 cendant. This time, however, the commissioner 
 or judge was Ponce de Leon, a man of great 
 personal distinction. He was the bearer of an 
 autograph letter from the emperor to Cortez, 
 intended to soften the blow. Unfortunately, 
 Ponce de Leon, who arrived in July, 1526, fell 
 a prey immediately afterwards to malignant 
 fever. On his death-bed, he delegated his au¬ 
 thority to a subaltern, an old busybody without 
 discernment, whose appointment was confirmed 
 by the Court of Madrid, and who, infatuated with 
 his sudden importance, seemed as if bent on 
 making himself offensive to Cortez. The latter 
 decided on going in person to explain his con¬ 
 duct to Charles V., who, on his side, moreover, 
 summoned him to court to confer, he said, on 
 grand projects in reference to the Indies, and to 
 confer on him a recompense proportioned to his 
 services. In reality, there were fears at Madrid 
 
264 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 that Cortez intended to make himself indepen¬ 
 dent. The emperor was full of courtesy to the 
 great man to whom he was under such an 
 amount of obligation. Cortez remained at court, 
 overwhelmed with attentions by his sovereign. 
 Charles paid him a visit while he was suffering 
 from fever—an incident referred to by the his¬ 
 torians of the time as a favour after which the 
 emperor might have considered himself quits 
 with his servant. Charles V. was not of that 
 opinion. He made him Marquis of the Valley 
 of Oaxaca, and attached to the title very ex¬ 
 tensive domains, containing twenty towns and 
 villages, and 23,000 vassals. Other possessions 
 also were attached to the dignity. The deed 
 conferring on Cortez the lands of the valley was 
 couched in the most flattering terms. His 
 fidelity and loyalty were exalted in it, and he 
 was praised for the services he had rendered to 
 the Crown of Castille and to the Catholic faith. 
 But Charles Y. had resolved never to re-establish 
 Cortez in the government of Mexico. All that 
 he could obtain on that score was, to be nomi¬ 
 nated Captain-general of the conquered country, 
 and of the coasts of the Southern Sea; that is to 
 say, the military authority was confided to him, 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 265 
 
 to the exclusion of political, civil, and judicial 
 functions. 
 
 Cortez decided on returning to Mexico in that 
 capacity. He there endured a number of vexa¬ 
 tions at the hands of other persons in high posi¬ 
 tion, who permitted themselves to be actuated 
 by a miserable envy. He consoled himself for 
 them by adding value to his estates from the 
 excellent cultivation, of modes and kinds new to 
 the country, that he introduced there; and still 
 more by organizing vo}^ages of discovery and 
 conquest to the still unexplored portions of the 
 shores of the Southern or Pacific Ocean. But 
 even there his designs were thwarted by the 
 Audiencia , or superior tribunal, that was for the 
 time the depository of government, and by a 
 functionary named Guzman—a type of that 
 venomous jealousy that dogs the footsteps of 
 great men. This did not prevent his dis¬ 
 covering California; and on the Spanish maps 
 his name is attached to the gulf that 
 separates peninsular from continental Cali¬ 
 fornia. The expedition, however, was un¬ 
 fortunate. Cortez and his companions had 
 all a narrow escape from perishing by ship¬ 
 wreck. Cortez spent on this expedition 100,000 
 
266 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Castellanos * and brought back not the value 
 of a single piastre. It may be said that he 
 at least gained an increase of renown. This 
 was the last of his American efforts. During 
 the voyage, the first Viceroy appointed to Mexico 
 arrived in the capital, and Cortez purposing to 
 renew his researches in the same quarter, this 
 
 * It is not always easy to assign the value that would be 
 represented in our days, weight for weight only, by the sums 
 mentioned in authors, even when the writings in which the 
 sums occur are but a few centuries old, so great is the varia¬ 
 tion in monies. There is reason to believe that the Castel¬ 
 lano and the peso de oro before mentioned were one and the 
 same thing ; but how much gold did they contain 1 I have 
 quoted the most recent estimate, that of Prescott, according 
 to which the peso de oro or Castellano would be equal to 
 21. 12s. 6t/. in our modern sterling coin. According to that 
 reckoning, the 100,000 Castellanos spent by Cortez on the 
 expedition to California would make, weight for weight, 
 262,500/. But the estimate considered most probable by 
 Humboldt is very much less, reducing the 100,000 
 Castellanos to 62,320 1. 
 
 All the gold found at Tenochtitlan after the siege 
 amounted, according to Cortez, to only 130,000 Castellanos, 
 or, following one valuation, to 341,250/., and by the others to 
 82,400/. But the precious metal then contained in the same 
 weight a value at least quadruple that it would contain at 
 the present day. Bernal Diaz makes the gold at Tenochtit¬ 
 lan 380,000 Castellanos—about three times as much as 
 stated by Cortez. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 267 
 
 high dignitary forbad his departure, because a 
 monkish traveller had told him that Eldorado 
 was in that part to which Cortez intended to 
 proceed; and from that moment he thought he 
 was bound to reserve the right and the profit of 
 the discovery to himself. The monk had told 
 the truth without suspecting it, as we came to 
 know in 1848, when the gold-mines of California 
 were brought to light. 
 
 The career of Cortez in America terminated 
 after this quarrel with the viceroy. He returned 
 to Spain, from whence he was no more to set 
 out for the New World. He took part, rather 
 as a simple spectator than one of the leaders, in 
 the unfortunate expedition of Charles Y. against 
 Algiers in 1541. In the tempest that destroyed 
 a portion of the fleet, he saved himself by swim¬ 
 ming, losing the precious stones of inestimable 
 value that he had selected out of Montezuma’s 
 treasures. At a council of war held by the em¬ 
 peror after the hurricane, it was decided to give 
 up the undertaking. Cortez, upon whom the 
 affront had been passed of not being invited to 
 the council, gave vent to warm indignation at 
 this intelligence. He engaged to take the place, 
 if the command were conceded to him. He was 
 
205 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 listened to as an impertinent dreamer. His 
 credit at court went on declining from that mo¬ 
 ment. He was treated as a troublesome person¬ 
 age, and died, worn out with vexations, on the 
 21st December, 1547, in his sixty-third year. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 269 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE CONQUEST OE MEXICO CONSIDERED IN A 
 DRAMATIC POINT OF VIEW, OR AS THE SUB¬ 
 JECT FOR AN EPIC. 
 
 The narrative of the conquest of Mexico re¬ 
 sembles an epic poem, or a romance of chivalry, 
 the events and even the incidents are on such 
 grand proportions, the actors exhibit themselves 
 so far above the ordinary stature, the marvellous 
 itself has so large a share in it. We behold an 
 adventurer who, setting out from Cuba with 553 
 soldiers, 110 sailors, 16 horses, 13 arquebusiers 
 (musqueteers), 32 cross-bow men, 10 pieces of 
 cannon, and 4 falconets (smaller cannon), dares 
 to attack an empire in which everything soon 
 reveals to him that the population is full of 
 bravery, and the sovereign of which makes the 
 world at a distance tremble at a sign, and can, 
 it is said, on an appeal to his vassals, put millions 
 
MEXICO, 
 
 270 
 
 of men under arms. Cortez does not propose to 
 himself simply to make Charles "V. be recognised 
 as their suzerain by the inhabitants of this for¬ 
 midable empire and its haughty emperor—he 
 forms the resolution of compelling them to abjure 
 their religion; in other words, to make the very 
 greatest sacrifice that can be demanded from a 
 people. He resolves it, he essays it, and he takes 
 but thirty months to succeed in it. 
 
 By side of such a subject the groundwork of 
 the “ Iliad” appears exceedingly mean. What 
 is it, indeed, but the quarrel and reconciliation 
 of Achilles and Agamemnon, with an action that 
 cannot be termed final, for it finishes nothin^ 
 in which the principal of the defenders of Troy 
 is vanquished and killed by the most valorous 
 of the Greeks? The “ iEneid” is not founded on 
 larger bases: two chiefs of tribes, .Eneas and 
 Turnus, with forces almost equal, dispute the 
 hand of the daughter of a petty King of Latium. 
 In each of these imperishable chefs-d'oeuvre the 
 poet was driven to draw from his own imagina¬ 
 tion for the marvellous with which the adventure 
 is so admirably set off. It was necessary to add 
 the fable to a meagre reality; it was needful, 
 with infinite art, to interlard the narrative with 
 historical traditions, geographical descriptions, 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 271 
 
 and notions of the most advanced philosophy of 
 the time. On this account, the “ Iliad” and 
 “iEneid” are encyclopedias of those two important 
 epochs in the annals of the human race in 
 which they were written—but encyclopedias of 
 the most attractive form, put together by the 
 hands of men of the rarest genius and the 
 greatest knowledge. They present a wonder¬ 
 fully animated picture of the creeds and opi¬ 
 nions, of the acquirements and usages, of the 
 manners and arts of two peoples of peculiar 
 mark, from whom we derive our civilization, 
 and to whom we feel ourselves linked as by an 
 umbilical cord. Thence it is, much more than 
 from the positive substance of their subject, that 
 they seize, so to say, on mind and soul, and that 
 they stand monuments immortal for the people 
 of existing Europe, and for their offshoots, 
 wherever scattered through the entire world. 
 “Jerusalem Delivered” relates the encounter 
 of two masses, in this instance considerable, 
 but of almost equal power. The Faith is 
 triumphant, because it is the Faith—doubtless, 
 a just conclusion, but too clearly foreseen, and, 
 on that account, leaving the reader unexcited. 
 It is in vain that the marvellous is infused, for 
 nothing marvellous can be made out of it, 
 
272 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 although it is a composition that, since its day. 
 has been unsurpassed. In regard to the in¬ 
 trinsic value of the events accomplished, there 
 is nothing to be compared to the conquest of 
 Mexico but the invasion of Asia by Alexander, 
 or the foundation of the Portuguese power in 
 India. In those two episodes of the history of 
 the human race, as in Mexico, the dispropor¬ 
 tion is enormous between the assailant force 
 and that which is assailed. The infinitely small 
 triumphs over the infinitely larger; genius re¬ 
 veals itself in all its splendour; by a sublime 
 effort man bounds beyond the sphere to which 
 he is ordinarily confined. It is the unexpected 
 and the unforeseen in their highest expression. 
 
 If the conquest of Mexico is a prodigy, taken 
 as a whole, the details are not less surprising. 
 We know not what to admire the most in this 
 crowded sequence of incidents, for the wonderful 
 springs out at all points from the womb of the 
 facts, as light from the diamond, or dazzling 
 lustre from purple or gold. Shall we fix on 
 the burning of the fleet, ordered by Cortez so as 
 to leave no choice but death or victory? Or on 
 the audacity with which the Conquistador made 
 Montezuma a prisoner in his own palace, in the 
 midst of his guards, in the heart of a devoted 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 273 
 
 capital ? Shall we adjudge the palm to the cam¬ 
 paign against Narvaez, or to the battle of Otumba, 
 in which Cortez, reduced to a handful of men, 
 without artillery, and almost demoralized, put 
 to rout the Mexicans, intoxicated with their 
 success in the No die Triste , and killed their 
 general with his own hand, at the instant when 
 he himself seemed lost? Where is the history, 
 where is the romance of the historical fashion, 
 in which an adventure is to be found that can 
 match with the combat fought on the platform 
 of the great teocalli , a hundred and twenty feet 
 high ? Go still further into the details, and you 
 will encounter romantic feats at every instant: 
 there is the leap of Alvarado; there are the two 
 Mexicans, who, in the melee on the summit of 
 the great pyramid, took each other’s hands, and 
 rushed with all their might on Cortez, to preci¬ 
 pitate him, together with themselves, from the 
 full height, content to die if by their own deaths 
 they purchased that of the enemy of their 
 country and their gods. Or, better still, you 
 have the ascent of the five soldiers who went to 
 get sulphur from the crater of Popocatepetl. For 
 want of sulphur the army was falling short of 
 powder. It was suspected that, like Mount 
 Etna, the volcano had a deposit of sulphur, 
 yol. i. 18 
 
274 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Five men were told oft to go and see. They 
 ascended—and heaven knows what it is to climb 
 Popocatepetl: since their time, till 1827, no man 
 dared the adventure. After journeying several 
 days they reached the top, in spite of the lava 
 and ashes, in spite of the blinding glitter of the 
 snow, in spite of the cold of those lofty regions. 
 A gulf a thousand feet in depth, at the bottom 
 of which could be discerned a bluish flame, and 
 from whence arose hot and pestilential vapours, 
 stood yawning before them. They coolly cast 
 lots who should descend; the chance fell to the 
 leader of the small band, Montagno; he is put 
 in a basket, suspended by a cord, and lets him¬ 
 self be lowered into the abyss. At a depth of 
 four hundred feet he gets his supply of sulphur, 
 and comes back as from a turn in one of the 
 gardens of Seville or Cordova. 
 
 A variety of characters appear in the drama 
 as strongly drawn—I say not as those of the 
 “ iEneid,” for that would not be enough—but as 
 those of the a Iliad” itself. He whom the Aztecs 
 called Tonatiuh (the Sun), on account of his tall 
 stature, his lofty look, and his long light hair, 
 Alvarado del Salto, has the colossal vigour of 
 the greater Ajax, the valour of the son of 
 Tydeus, and the audacious sallies of the other 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 275 
 
 Ajax, who stops at nothing, not even at sacri¬ 
 lege. By side of this terrific figure we love to 
 look on the young and heroic Sandoval, he 
 whom Cortez calls his son, and who towards him 
 represents the faithful Achates, or the well- 
 beloved Patroclus; but he looms twenty cubits 
 higher than the friend of iEneas, or the son of 
 Menoetius; he commands admiration by the 
 ardour and energy of his courage; he wins on 
 us by the affection he receives and returns. 
 After the assault, in which the Spaniards were 
 roughly repulsed by Guatemozin, when he leaves 
 his encampment in search of tidings of Cortez, 
 whom the Aztecs boasted they had slain, and 
 when alone, on a horse exhausted by a long 
 day’s combat, he crosses a vast plain covered 
 with merciless enemies, the reader follows him 
 with as much interest as Tancred and Rinaldo 
 can excite in the most critical conjunctures, or 
 as is aroused by the youthful Pallas at the last 
 moment. Christoval de Olid—at a later period, 
 however, a traitor to his general—Velasquez de 
 Leon, Avila, Quignones, Andres de Tapia, Es¬ 
 calante, may very certainly be compared with 
 Idomeneus, Philoctetes, Meriones, Menelaus, 
 Antilochus, or Mnestheus. Thersites, a coward 
 in fight, more a coward in the defamation with 
 18 —2 
 
276 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 which he bespatters the heroes, is nearly re¬ 
 produced in the conspirators who plot an at¬ 
 tempt ori the general’s life; or in those few com¬ 
 panions of Narvaez, who, surfeited with booty, 
 wanted to return to Cuba without carrying the 
 enterprise through. Good Father Olmedo, a 
 priest tilled with enlightened faith and unwaver¬ 
 ing charity, who moderatesthe ardent prosyletism 
 of the Spaniards, and restrains Cortez, impatient 
 on this point alone, is a character far more noble 
 and pious than the inanimate Calehas. And 
 who would desire to change the vigilant pilot 
 Alaminos for the drowsy Palinurus? Cortez, 
 the general of the army, united the inflexible 
 majesty of great Agamemnon, and all the quali¬ 
 fications for command that distinguish the 
 king of kings, to the irresistible impetuosity of 
 Achilles, and the ability of Ulysses, inexhaustible 
 in expedients and artifices. 
 
 Among the Indian auxiliaries stands promi¬ 
 nent Ixtlilxochitl, the prince of Tezcuco, a youth 
 of determination, of warm fidelity to his new 
 friends, and who, often stigmatized as a traitor 
 by the Aztecs, replies to the accusation by multi¬ 
 plied instances of brilliant courage; and young 
 Xicotencatl, of Tlascala, a more complete hero, 
 who is ever on the rack between his hatred for 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 277 
 
 the Aztecs and the suspicion that the White men 
 have come to make serfs of all the natives with¬ 
 out exception. These are two original types in 
 broad contrast. What a difference, also, in their 
 ends! The one becomes cacique of Tezcuco; 
 the other perishes on the gallows, as a deserter, 
 for having, during the siege, quitted the ranks 
 of the Spaniards, and, disgusted with them, 
 retired into the mountains—a terrible example, 
 which Cortez thought it his duty to give to the 
 new vassals of his sovereign, that they might 
 feel the extent of their obligations and the 
 vigour of the hand under which they were 
 marshalled. Another of the Tlascalan chiefs, 
 old Magiscatzin, by his prudence and loyalty, 
 by the bursts of energy that flow from him at a 
 critical moment, when the eloquence of the 
 Aztec ambassadors had almost determined the 
 Senate of Tlascala to abandon Cortez, then a 
 fugitive, resembles the sage Nestor, faithful 
 to the gods, when at the sight of the Greeks 
 giving way, and of Hector preparing to burn 
 the ships, he once more calls for his javelins. 
 He it is, too, who argues with Cortez on the 
 character of the religion of his fathers, as the 
 King of Pylos might have done. 
 
 The characteristics of the personages on the 
 
278 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Mexican side are no less strongly prominent. 
 The noble figure of Hector does not throw into 
 the shade that of Guatemozin, and one would 
 like as well to be in a city defended by the latter, 
 as under the asgis of the son of Priam. This 
 prince, the last of the Aztec emperors, renders 
 himself, at five-and-twenty, an object of admira¬ 
 tion for his activity and spirit of resource. 
 Brave beyond proof, he is at the same time fa¬ 
 miliar with the artifices of war. In his disasters 
 we behold him sublime in his resignation. He 
 is still a king, on the brazier, where, yielding to 
 the greediness of his companions, Cortez has him 
 placed to make him declare, by torture, where 
 he has hidden his treasures—treasures which he 
 had never hidden, for none were left him. He 
 dies a king, when the Conquistador , deceived by 
 false information during his toilsome campaign 
 in the isthmus of Honduras, robs him of life. 
 Cuitlahuac, the brother of Montezuma, the in¬ 
 trepid soldier, intelligent captain, and ardent 
 patriot, is a more captivating type than Agenor, 
 or even than iEneas. Of the other Trojan 
 chiefs there is none nobler than Cacamatzin, 
 the cacique of Tezcuco, when he receives 
 with generous indignation the order to obey the 
 Spaniards sent by Montezuma. And there was 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 279 
 
 no Paris in the ranks of the Aztecs who ignobly 
 fled; every individual there knew how to die. 
 
 Montezuma himself, the unfortunate Mon¬ 
 tezuma, is no common type. Generous to 
 prodigality, elegant to the utmost limits of 
 display, royally affable, he had also a cultivated 
 and acute mind. In his youth he showed him¬ 
 self intrepid in war, and belonged to the order 
 of the Quachictin , who were the bravest of the 
 brave; but he had fallen by degrees into imbe¬ 
 cile bigotry. He believed that the astrological 
 signs and the ancient prophecies of the country 
 commanded him to submit to the Spaniards. 
 By an inconceivable contradiction, betraying 
 great weakness of soul, religious superstition, 
 in reference to these audacious foreigners, ef¬ 
 faced in him the sentiment of patriotism, though 
 Cortez presented himself with the avowed in¬ 
 tention of putting an end to the Mexican reli¬ 
 gion. Vainly did the sentiment of ambition, 
 the passion for power that absorbs every one 
 who has tasted of it, unite itself with the love of 
 country to appeal to his energies; he could find 
 nothing with which to oppose the invaders but 
 tricks and craft that recall the Greeks of the 
 Lower Empire. Prescott somewhere compares 
 him to Louis XIV.—a supreme injustice to the 
 
280 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 latter. If, like Montezuma, Louis XIV. was 
 fond of excessive pomp, which, made him bur¬ 
 densome to the people; if, like the Mexican 
 prince, he allowed himself to be swayed by the 
 false and pernicious ideas that were presented to 
 him under the mask of religion, and if he com¬ 
 mitted the unpardonable and for ever fatal fault 
 to his country of revoking the Edict of Xantes 
 it is not the less true that never, either in his 
 unhappy old age or in his gay youth, did he 
 cease to feel that he was the representative of a 
 powerful and proud nationality, and to maintain 
 the dignity of the feeling. His words to the 
 audacious Villavs , on the eve of the battle of 
 Denain, in which the fortune of France was at 
 stake, are sublime. Xever would they have put 
 him in irons, living. Undecided characters make 
 a sad figure, however well endowed they may 
 otherwise be, when destiny calls them to play 
 the gieat characters of history. Such was 
 Montezuma, such was not Louis XIV. 
 
 Xeither are female characters wanting to the 
 epic of the conquest of Mexico. "We have not, 
 howevei, the noble and touching Andromache, 
 nor the gentle and plaintive Iphigenia, nor 
 Llecuba, with her unparalleled woes, nor the 
 tender and inconsolable Dido. Eut yet a fine 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 281 
 
 character is that of the young and beautiful 
 daughter of the banks of the Guazacoalco, the 
 offspring of a cacique, whom, in her infancy, an 
 unnatural mother shamelessly sells to slave- 
 dealers, and who, handed over to Cortez by a 
 cacique of Yucatan, becomes his interpreter 
 and trusted and loving adviser. Always at the 
 side of Cortez, Doha Marina, so the Spaniards 
 called her, did not confine herself to translating 
 his words to the Mexicans. By an effort of that 
 power of divination that a woman who loves 
 possesses far more than the man of the world, 
 she, in very difficult positions, gave him salutary 
 warnings. Through her Cortez detected the 
 spies despatched by Xicotencatl to hoodwink his 
 watchfulness, whom, in consequence of the dis¬ 
 covery, he sent back to their general mutilated 
 of their hands. By her, too, in the sacerdotal 
 and trading city of Cholula, he was informed of 
 the conspiracy by which it was hoped to exter¬ 
 minate the little Castillian army at one blow. 
 Marina produced a great impression on the na¬ 
 tives. “ Beautiful ,” says Camargo, the Tlascalan 
 historian, u as a goddess , she seemed to the 
 Mexicans a being superior to themselves, some¬ 
 thing above human nature. Her connexion 
 with Cortez, of which no one was ignorant, 
 
282 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 caused them to name him after her; Malinche 
 was the name by which the natives designated 
 her, and thenceforward Cortez was known as 
 Malintzin. The interview and reconciliation of 
 Marina with her mother, whom the strangest of 
 chances placed in the path of Cortez during the 
 expedition to Honduras, is a very interesting 
 incident. 
 
 If we choose to compare the material efforts 
 recounted in the Iliad and iEneid to those of 
 the conquest, the superiority would still be en¬ 
 tirely on the side of the latter drama. The 
 melee of the JVoche Triste has more of grandeur 
 and horror than the assault on the wall that was 
 encircled by the Greeks. What was that wall 
 itself to those by which the people of Tlascala 
 fortified themselves against the Aztecs, or com¬ 
 pared with the entrenchments in which Cortez 
 ensconced himself during the siege ? What the 
 attack on the ships by Hector to the furious as¬ 
 saults made by the Aztecs before the Noche 
 Triste , on the palace of Axayacatl, occupied by 
 the Spaniards? What contrast is there be¬ 
 tween the difficulty of constructing of planks 
 the hollow body of the horse fatal to Troy, as 
 proposed by the skilful Epeus, and the building 
 of thirteen vessels of war in the forests of Tlas- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 283 
 
 cala, by the labour of the craftsman, Martin 
 Lopez ?—and then the transport of this armada, 
 piece by piece, on men’s backs, across rugged 
 mountains, for twenty leagues, to the shores of the 
 lake on which was situated the Aztec capital? 
 
 The historian or poet has not to imagine 
 for the conquest of Mexico the intervention of 
 Heaven—the marvellous properly so called; the 
 actors in the conquest have spared them the 
 trouble. On the side of Cortez, these men inured 
 to combat, who had fought, some in Italy 
 against the French, others on the seas against 
 the Turks, believed they saw the venerated 
 Apostle St. James, drawing his sword for them 
 mounted on a white horse, and the "V irgin en¬ 
 couraging them. This they saw with their 
 own eyes they saw it. Bernal Diaz, one of 
 them, attests it. Cortez himself remained per¬ 
 suaded that Peter, his patron saint, assumed the 
 features and dress of a Tlascalan warrior to in¬ 
 tervene and save his life. To the Spaniards 
 the Mexican divinities were transfigurations of 
 Satan, who exhausted his malice against them, 
 to which Paradise, as was natural, responded by 
 miracles. On the Mexican side the horsemen 
 were, in the beginning, taken for peculiar beings; 
 the man and the beast formed one—it was the 
 
284 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 fable of the Centaurs revived in reality. The 
 White men had in themselves something divine, 
 as is shown by the epithet white gods bestowed 
 on them by the Mexicans. Another form of 
 the marvellous found in all epic poems, that 
 of gloomy forewarnings, is also found here. 
 Phenomena attesting the anger of the gods are 
 visible on all sides. A flaming comet appears; 
 the waters of the lake surge up and suddenly 
 burst on Mexico, without a tempest having dis¬ 
 turbed the atmosphere, or an earthquake shaken 
 the table-land of Anahuac on its massive base; 
 a vast conflagration lays waste the capital; low 
 and wailing voices are heard in the air an¬ 
 nouncing calamities, and the Princess Papantzin, 
 the emperor’s sister, though four days dead, 
 issues from the tomb to tell him a catastrophe is 
 imminent. Lastly, what more marvellous than 
 the tradition concerning the god Quetzalcoatl, 
 with white complexion and bearded visage, who 
 was one day to disembark from the east, or to 
 send his descendants to reign in his place—a 
 tradition that seemed so clearly to indicate 
 Cortez, and which he turned to great use! 
 
 Among the motives that authorize poets to 
 mix up heaven in the affairs of the earth, in a 
 direct and active manner, and that give, as it 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 235 
 
 were, a body to their fictions, to the degree that 
 the commonalty of mankind take their stories 
 literally, we may point out two as the chief: one 
 is the extreme difficulty overcome, which it may 
 appear cannot be explained but by superhuman 
 agency; another is, a concurrence of accidental 
 circumstances—in the number of which, however, 
 it is not forbidden to reckon genius—that brings 
 about solutions contrary to all probability. 
 When historical facts bear a deep impress of one 
 or other of these characteristics, it suffices to 
 look at them or to exhibit them through the 
 prism of the imagination, to see in them or cause 
 to be seen in them the marvellous. Now there 
 is nothing else in the conquest of Mexico from 
 one end to the other, from the landing of Cortez 
 to the taking of the city. At every instant we 
 have incredible obstacles surmounted by the 
 force of intelligence, of daring and energy, or of 
 fortuitous combinations that upset all chances. 
 The Spaniards—I should say, the entire Penin¬ 
 sula, for, when speaking of heroism, who would 
 desire to separate from it the country of Vasco 
 de Gama and Albuquerque—were at that moment 
 the great nation of Europe and of the world, 
 and it seemed that Heaven was pleased to render 
 them assistance. 
 
286 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Perhaps, at this point, the reader will not 
 consider so strange that which I put forward at 
 the commencement, that the principal charac¬ 
 teristic of the conquest was impressed on it by 
 religion, by religious proselytism. In our times 
 it is the love of glory, or enthusiasm for liberty, 
 that carries men on to great actions. Three 
 centuries ago, the dominant passion among the 
 Spaniards was that of the propagation of the 
 faith. It needed a motive as potent as the re¬ 
 ligious sentiment militant for these marvels to be 
 accomplished, even with instruments such as the 
 genius and the prowess of Cortez. Those who 
 would maintain that thirst for gold could inspire 
 so much heroism and cause these great thincr S to 
 be performed, do not know and would vilify 
 human nature. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 287 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE CONQUEST OF 
 MEXICO, AND THE INTOLERANT SPIRIT BY WHICH 
 IT WAS CHARACTERIZED, EXPLAINED BY THE 
 STATE OF THOUGHT AND FEELING IN SPAIN. 
 
 Religious faith, which must therefore be recog¬ 
 nised as one of the principal incentives to the 
 conquest of Mexico—and much more, as the 
 main cause of the success of the enterprise—and 
 which therein displays itself indissolubly united 
 with the spirit of intolerance, forms with that 
 very accompaniment a feature common to the 
 physiognomy of the Spaniards of the time, of the 
 most illustrious and of the vulgar alike. The 
 Spanish nation was then impregnated with an 
 ardent and exacting religious feeling, which, 
 before the inward tribunal of humanity, was no 
 bar to capitulations of conscience and compro¬ 
 mises dictated by interest, or even, to give 
 
288 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 things their proper names, by cupidity, because 
 self almost always has its share in the actions of 
 men. The struggle against the Moors had roused 
 —we might well say exasperated—Christian 
 feeling among the Spaniards. Victories gained 
 over the Mussulmans were regularly followed, at 
 the hand of this nation, full of honour, and dis¬ 
 posed to chivalrous ideas, not only by severities 
 but by atrocities. This was because a hateful 
 interpretation of religion so counselled or com¬ 
 manded. When Cortez was accomplishing his 
 heroic enterprise, but a short number of years 
 had passed away since God had summoned from 
 this earth the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, 
 of sinister memory, who himself alone* had 
 caused to be burnt one after the other nine 
 thousand persons, without reckoning the thou¬ 
 sands condemned who saved themselves from 
 torture by exile, and whom the Holy Office had 
 the vexation of burning in effigy only. When 
 Cortez was conquering Mexico the Inquisition 
 was stronger than ever, and was carrying out its 
 merciless maxims. In regard to the non-Chris¬ 
 tian population, the right of war was carried to 
 a limit that Christians ought never to have 
 
 * From 1481 to 1496. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 289 
 
 reached. At the close of the fifteenth century 
 the Spaniards believed themselves, as regarded 
 Jews and vanquished Mahometans, to be per¬ 
 mitted such excesses as those that sullied mili¬ 
 tary glory under the rough generals of the 
 Roman republic, ages before the doctrine of 
 Christ had come to change the discipline of 
 souls, and to teach men reciprocal goodwill. In 
 the wars against the Moors, the inhabitants of 
 an entire town were reduced to slavery and sold, 
 when they were not put to death in cold blood. 
 King Ferdinand made eleven thousand slaves at 
 the taking of Malaga. It was discussed whether 
 these unfortunates should not be slaughtered, 
 and it needed all the entreaties of Queen Isabella 
 to save their lives. Such were the lessons 
 Cortez and his companions brought from their 
 own country. 
 
 The atmosphere then to be breathed in Spain 
 was so intensely that of a faith fervent in its ex¬ 
 treme manifestations, but implacable towards 
 infidels, that foreigners themselves, when they 
 had lived there some time, came to be j>artakers 
 of the common passion against unbelievers. We 
 have a remarkable instance of this in Christopher 
 Columbus, who was of aldndly disposition, and 
 above very many of the prejudices of his epoch. 
 
 VOL. i. 19 
 
290 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 When he had become a Spaniard, and had been 
 in long contact with the men and things of his 
 new country, the boiling proselytism that we 
 have remarked in Hernando Cortez seizes hold 
 of him. He is mystical, he is intolerant, he is 
 cruel. 
 
 While he is in Lisbon, soliciting a ship from 
 the King of Portugal, and in the early days of 
 his sojourn in Spain, it is science that inspiies 
 him; it is to scientific researches that he attri¬ 
 butes the idea of which he pursues the execution 
 _that vast territories are to be found by navi¬ 
 gating in a Western direction. The learned 
 Toscanelli is his oracle, on account of his know¬ 
 ledge. During his first voyage, the most critical 
 and most serious of all, it is the scientific im¬ 
 pulse that is manifested in him. A little later 
 and he goes so far as to repudiate every motive 
 springing from profane knowledge; it is to the 
 Holy Spirit that he ascribes the inspiration to 
 which he has been obedient. He is thinking of 
 the Holy Places, of Jerusalem groaning under 
 the Infidels, he is revolving in his head the plan 
 of a crusade. “ Reason,” he says, “ mathemati¬ 
 cal science, and the charts of geography have 
 availed me nothing.” In his opinion, “ nothing 
 has come to pass but what the Prophet Isaiah 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 291 
 
 had foretold; the Sacred Prophecies must receive 
 their accomplishment before the end of the 
 world; the Gospel must be preached over the 
 whole earth, and the Holy City must be restored 
 to the Church.” Prior to the epoch at which he 
 traced these lines, which was but one year ante¬ 
 cedent to his death, he writes to the Catholic 
 monarchs, at the moment of setting out on one 
 of his voyages, that his object is to procure gold, 
 so that he may have the means of redeeming a 
 vast number of souls from purgatory. On his 
 return from his first voyage he sends word to 
 the Pope that his purpose is to organize a grand 
 expedition, a new and final crusade, that should 
 free the Holy Sepulchre from the yoke of the 
 Infidels; and he binds himself to set aside from 
 the profits he expects from his discoveries as 
 much as should keep on foot 50,000 infantry 
 and 5000 horse for seven years. He has already 
 calculated that in three years he will have all 
 the gold necessary for this great armament. 
 On another occasion, when he had landed some¬ 
 where at the mouth of the Orinoco, what he 
 flatters himself to have discovered. Is the 
 site of the terrestrial Paradise. The Bible, 
 the Gospel, the Sacred Prophecies, the triumph 
 of the Catholic Faith over the whole of the 
 19—2 
 
292 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 earth’s surface, throw his great intellect into a 
 ferment. 
 
 So much for the mysticism. 
 
 Let us next note intolerance carried to 
 cruelty. 
 
 The Indians having been discovered in Pagan 
 darkness, there was no harm in reducing them 
 to slavery, and sending them in that condition 
 to the Peninsula. It was for their good, for 
 once amongst Spaniards they could not fail to 
 become good Christians. If they were deprived 
 of liberty, a far greater good was given them in 
 exchange—the teaching of the Gospel and the 
 true Faith. And buoying himself up with these 
 sophistries, drawn from a false and corrupt 
 theology, Christopher Columbus, with a heart 
 fundamentally humane, was expediting cargoes 
 of Indians to Cadiz or Seville. A fortiori did he 
 constrain them to forced labour in the gold¬ 
 mines, telling them that it was to procure the 
 wealth with which to make the campaign that 
 should deliver Christ’s tomb. The kind feeling 
 of Queen Isabella put an end to the traffic in 
 slaves transported to Spain from San Domingo 
 and the other islands; but the destruction of the 
 unhappy race alone put an end to their slavery 
 in the gold-mines. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 293 
 
 With Columbus intolerance exhibited itself in 
 other ways than enslaving Indians, and pitilessly 
 condemning them to labour in the gold-mines. 
 He readily and on all occasions made open pro¬ 
 fession of it. In one of his first letters to 
 the two Catholic sovereigns Ferdinand and 
 Isabella, when he is explaining to them his views 
 on the government of the countries he has just 
 discovered, he expressly tells them that those 
 lands should be closed to every one that was 
 not a true believer. “ I maintain (he says), 
 that your Highnesses ought not to suffer any 
 foreigner, if he be not a Catholic and a good 
 Christian, to establish himself in that land which 
 was discovered only for the glory and aggran¬ 
 dizement of Christianity.” 
 
 It is to be remarked that at that very moment 
 the torch of the faith seemed rather to be dying 
 out in the major part of Europe. The abuses 
 that had become incorporated into the Catholic 
 hierarchy, and the vices of which the Court of 
 Rome presented a too notorious picture, de¬ 
 tached from the Holy See all the most enlightened 
 of the European population, even in Italy, and 
 separated from it the intellectual and moral elite 
 of France, Germany, and England. But fanat¬ 
 icism was not extinguished; on the contrary, 
 
294 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 its fury redoubled. Sovereign Pontiffs, who 
 had but to cast their looks downwards to their 
 own breasts to perceive there the Cross—the 
 emblem of patience, resignation, gentleness, and 
 of the spirit of peace and charity—gave them¬ 
 selves up to impious paroxysms, and ordered 
 exterminations that would have surpassed the 
 human sacrifices offered to Mexican idols if 
 they could have found executants whose sangui¬ 
 nary rage responded to their notions. A system 
 of religious persecution, that was a revolt 
 against Christian feeling, was being organized 
 over all Europe. France herself, yielding to 
 suggestions that were dared to be presented 
 under the veil of religion, was soon to offer the 
 spectacle of one of the greatest crimes that 
 fanaticism ever counselled and accomplished, the 
 Massacre of St. Bartholomew;* and the Papacy 
 of the day, in its wandering from the right path, 
 was to extol the misdeed as a glorious action— 
 as a work of piety. 
 
 In thus showing how the religious character 
 of the conquest, and particularly the intolerance 
 that was displayed, are explained by the spirit 
 
 * From the taking of Mexico to St. Bartholomew was 51 
 years. The first event was in 1521; the second in 1572. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 295 
 
 that then animated Spain, I have not intended 
 in any way to justify intolerance. I have pur¬ 
 posed simply to point to a chain of causes and 
 effects. In spite of his intolerance, Cortez is 
 inscribed by History in the number of great 
 men, because History must have indulgence— 
 human nature has need of it; but he would 
 have been greater if he had been less intolerant. 
 From the source whence he drew his intolerance 
 issued a poisoned stream for the Peninsula itself. 
 Hy it were paralysed the noblest faculties of the 
 Spanish nation, and a taint of consumption was 
 developed in it from which it all but perished. 
 
 It is easy to form an estimate of the fatal 
 germ contained in the system imported into 
 America by the Spaniards, by the assistance of a 
 comparison that naturally presents itself to the 
 mind—that of Mexico and the Spanish colonies 
 in general, with a neighbouring colony, that 
 founded by the Puritans, more to the north of 
 the same continent. Exactly a century after 
 the conquest of Mexico by Cortez, some pilgrims 
 quitted the, to them, inhospitable shores of 
 Europe, and went to seek in the New World an 
 asylum for their persecuted convictions; as if 
 the religious sentiment was to be, almost on all 
 hands, one of the chief motives for the colo- 
 
296 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 nization of the continent given to Europe by' 
 Columbus. These were the Puritans, whom the 
 hazard of the sea cast on the soil of Massa¬ 
 chusetts, in the harbour of Plymouth. They 
 were without the pale of the Catholic hierarchy; 
 but they formed none the less a branch of 
 Christianity, and not the one either to which 
 was reserved the least magnificent future. 
 
 These men, so much to be esteemed for their 
 private qualities, and to be admired for their 
 religious convictions and heroic firmness, by 
 whose hands Christian civilization was to be 
 acclimatized in vast countries scarcely peopled 
 by petty tribes of savages, were beyond all 
 things animated by the desire of carrying into 
 practice their religious belief. New England,* 
 where they fixed themselves, was a religious 
 establishment; it was far more so than Mexico 
 or Peru, since, at the commencement, the exer¬ 
 cise of civil rights was there inseparable from a 
 particular form of belief. The two powers, 
 temporal and spiritual, were at first confounded, 
 a combination which is justly considered as 
 
 * The name of New England is reserved to this day to 
 the group of six States peopled principally by descendants 
 from the Puritans; they are Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
 Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 2*97 
 
 necessarily engendering despotism, and which, 
 in fact, did for a moment result in tyranny 
 among this generous offshoot of the Anglo- 
 Saxon race. But from the effect of the peculiar 
 genius of that race, or from a virtue belonging 
 to those superior families, who had been fully 
 purified by passing through the crucible of 
 adversity, New England soon adopted better 
 courses. The two powers were separated, and 
 the country presented the double bloom of civil 
 liberty and liberty of worship, without prejudice 
 to that political liberty which was destined to 
 display itself there in proportions till then un¬ 
 known in the world. 
 
 Under the conditions they had chosen for 
 themselves, and which they understood not only 
 how to perpetuate but to develop, the Anglo- 
 Saxon race found themselves almost immediately 
 possessed of elements of vitality and expansion 
 wanting to other Europeans established in the 
 New World, and particularly to the Spanish 
 race. The impulse of civil, religious, and poli¬ 
 tical liberty made up to the population of New 
 England for the poverty of the soil on which 
 they had settled. They successively increased 
 in number, in personal power, and in wealth; 
 they peopled and fertilized boundless districts, 
 
298 MEXICO, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 better than those on which they had first landed, 
 and acquired in the new hemisphere a pre¬ 
 ponderance that in the end attracted all eyes. 
 
 This invariably maintained ardour for civil, 
 religious, and political liberty is the distinctive 
 characteristic of New England as compared with 
 the colonies founded in America by Spain. It 
 is, without doubt, the explanation and origin of 
 the complete change that has come into effect, 
 in the nineteenth century, in the political balance 
 of the New World, where the group of American 
 nations of Spanish foundation has been eclipsed 
 by the United States. 
 
PART III. 
 
 MEXICO UNDER THE COLONIAL 
 SYSTEM. 
 
 
301 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOW THE NATIVE POPULATIONS WERE TREATED 
 AFTER THE CONQUEST. 
 
 We have sketched the fall of the Aztec empire, 
 and the establishment on its ruins of the autho¬ 
 rity of the kings of Spain. Thus, then, we see 
 the Aztecs and the native populations, who were 
 more or less amalgamated with them, placed in 
 the condition of conquered races. How were 
 they treated, and what was the fate of the 
 country in the times that followed? 
 
 Mexico, become a dependency of the crown of 
 Spain, was not governed worse than the other 
 Spanish possessions of the American continent. 
 It was even governed less ill. It contained a 
 native population which was more numerous, 
 more advanced at the moment of the conquest, 
 and of greater aptitude for the exercise of the 
 useful arts. Equal, at least, to the countries of 
 
302 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the New World, the most favoured by Nature, 
 and even possessed of greater mineral wealth 
 than Peru, it became more productive than all 
 the rest put together to the treasury of the 
 mother country, to which eventually it con¬ 
 tributed a large sum annually. The country 
 was easy to reach by sea, and the voyage was 
 not long. Mexico, then, was destined to 
 be, and in point of fact was, an object of 
 greater solicitude to the Council of the Indies 
 and the Spanish Cabinet than the rest of the 
 colonies. Abuses were there repressed with 
 a less indolent hand. The officials charged to 
 govern it, under the imposing title of Viceroys, 
 were chosen with more discernment, and were 
 less absorbed by the care of making a personal 
 fortune, whilst neglecting the interests of the 
 kingdom* confided to their patriotism. Several 
 were eminent for their intelligence, and were 
 of generous sentiments, on which they acted. 
 Count de Revilla Gigedo and some others would 
 have been cited everywhere as able adminis- 
 
 * This was the designation given to the colony in all 
 official documents. Some other colonies, and among them 
 Peru, were likewise so designated; but the rest were called 
 Captaincies-General. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 303 
 
 * _ 
 
 trators, friends of humanity, and promoters of 
 civilization. 
 
 The Indians—for that was the name by which 
 the native population was designated, owing to 
 an error of Christopher Columbus, who believed 
 that he had landed in India,* not that he had 
 discovered a new continent—the Indians were 
 protected in Mexico with greater zeal and per¬ 
 severance than in the other colonies. The great 
 Queen Isabella, who all her life felt strong com¬ 
 passion for them, strongly recommended them, 
 on her death-bed, to the Christian sentiments of 
 her successors; and it is justice to the Court of 
 Spain to say that on many occasions it was far 
 from showing itself unworthy of this touching 
 inheritance, particularly in Mexico. If that 
 Court were far from understanding the full 
 extent of its duties towards the subjected popu¬ 
 lations, if it troubled itself little to make them 
 attain a more advanced state of civilization, it 
 
 * It is known that strictly speaking it was China and 
 Japan which he thought he had discovered by the Western 
 route, which was supposed by him to be shorter than tne 
 Eastern one. All these countries bore the general denomi¬ 
 nation of the Indies, and after the discovery of America it 
 remained to the latter. 
 
304 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 had at least the merit of combating the excesses 
 of their oppressors, in so far as that was possible 
 on the part of a not very enlightened govern¬ 
 ment, obliged to confide in agents at a distance 
 of eighteen hundred leagues, and with a political 
 system which, by excluding all representative 
 guarantees and all publicity, opened the door to 
 many abuses. In its efforts to be humane to 
 the Indians, it did not confine itself solely to 
 the wish of Queen Isabella; it also followed the 
 counsels of the man of genius who Overthrew 
 the empire of Montezuma and Guatemozin. 
 Hernando Cortez testified, in the most positive 
 terms in his will, to the necessity he felt of 
 being just and benevolent to this subjugated 
 race. The royal wish found in this work of 
 humanity valuable auxiliaries in the ranks of 
 the clergy, who in Mexico never forgot that 
 Christianity received from its divine founder the 
 high and holy mission of protecting the weak. 
 It also obtained useful co-operation from the 
 courts of justice or audiencias , which, if they 
 after, as will be seen, committed the error of 
 obstinately representing the spirit of domina¬ 
 tion, with which the Spaniards who had hastened 
 to the country to make fortunes were animated, 
 had also the merit to remain immovable in their 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 305 
 
 fidelity to the crown, and in the desire to cause 
 its designs to triumph. In its more sincere 
 than intelligent solicitude for the Indians, the 
 Court of Madrid found in the civil functionaries, 
 the intendants, appointed at a later period, more 
 efficacious instruments than the audiencias , which 
 were not numerous, and which were absorbed in 
 their judicial duties. Each of those functionaries 
 was placed in a province, and was entrusted 
 with its administration—properly so called— 
 as is the case with the prefects of departments 
 in France, but with greater power. Unfortu¬ 
 nately, the intendancies were only organized 
 towards the end of the eighteenth century, and 
 the evil which had then been done was incalcu¬ 
 lable. The Indian population of Mexico, so 
 interesting by the resigned submission it dis¬ 
 played after the conquest, and by the aptitude 
 for Work which distinguished it from many 
 other American races, had to suffer greatly from 
 the cupidity and brutality of the conquerors, 
 or the colonists their imitators. It had been 
 crushed and degraded, and to elevate it was a 
 task almost impossible. 
 
 The men who, when once the conquest was 
 consummated, rushed from the Peninsula to 
 Mexico, and, indeed, also to the islands in which 
 
 VOL. i. 20 
 
306 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the colonization of the New World commenced, 
 were generally avaricious and audacious, not 
 shrinking from the employment of violence to 
 satisfy their passions. On account of the pa¬ 
 ganism in which the natives lived when the 
 Europeans discovered them, the latter considered 
 them as out of the pale of the law, and treated 
 them without pity, following in that respect the 
 example set by the conquistadores, in whose eyes 
 the natives were a vanquished people, subject to 
 all the rigorous rights of war. The Indians were 
 therefore overwhelmed with work. They were 
 dragged from their villages to the mountains to 
 seek for gold and silver; they were buried in 
 the mines. The idea that these unfortunate 
 people were men and fellow-creatures did not 
 enter the minds of the first colonists. In the 
 islands, and particularly in Hispaniola (San Do¬ 
 mingo), and in Cuba, where the native popula¬ 
 tion was numerous, the fatal system of reparti- 
 mientos was applied ; and from the islands it 
 passed into Mexico. It consisted in dividing 
 the Indians among the Spaniards, as would have 
 been done with a drove of oxen or with horses. 
 This was purely and simply slavery, and slavery 
 without any guarantee. The cruelties and ex¬ 
 cesses of all kinds which were committed under 
 
 * 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 307 
 
 this system rapidly destroyed the Indian race in 
 the two great islands I have named, and deci¬ 
 mated it in Mexico. 
 
 The spectacle of this extermination of the 
 native race by the pitiless avarice of the colonists, 
 excited the indignation of a priest who was emi¬ 
 nently Christian in his charity and disinterest¬ 
 edness. Bartholomew Las-Casas made America 
 and Spain ring with his energetic and indefatig¬ 
 able protests. He obtained the appointment of 
 capable and pious commissioners, charged to 
 ascertain, and, if possible, repair the evil. In 
 the islands it could not be remedied; but on the 
 American continent, where the arrival of Euro¬ 
 peans was of more recent date, and where the 
 native race was more robust, and disseminated 
 over a wider space, the configuration of which 
 afforded greater means of hiding,—that race 
 resisted better the ill-treatment which was pro¬ 
 digally inflicted on it; and it was possible to 
 save it from destruction. 
 
 The system of repartimientos was abolished in . 
 Mexico, and was replaced by that of encomiendas , 
 which placed the Indians in a situation analo¬ 
 gous to that of peasants in Europe attached to 
 the glebe: they had a master to whom they had 
 been awarded by the authority of the mother 
 20—a 
 
303 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 country, by groups of hundreds of families, under 
 the condition of employing them in a specified 
 object; as for example, the cultivation of a do¬ 
 main. Thus was repeated in the New World 
 the march of social institutions on the Old Con¬ 
 tinent—serfdom after slavery. The improve¬ 
 ment was a real one, although it was still very 
 far from that civil liberty which is the necessary 
 accompaniment of Christianity,—so much so, 
 that in the absence of that liberty we are justi¬ 
 fied in saying that the Christian religion is turned 
 from its path and falsified. Under this system, 
 the parish priest, of whom frequently the Indians 
 constituted all the flock, could with better effect 
 raise his voice in their favour. 
 
 The masters among whom the Indians were 
 thus divided—the nobles excepted, who remained 
 free—were soldiers who had distinguished them¬ 
 selves in the conquest, or lawyers who were sent 
 from the Peninsula to take part in the govern¬ 
 ment of provinces, in order that they might form 
 a counterpoise to the conquerors, whose preten¬ 
 sions were unbounded; or, finally, they were 
 colonists of a certain degree of importance. It 
 was not easy for the clergy to make these diffe¬ 
 rent classes reasonable; and it was still more 
 difficult when the clergy were placed in a situa- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 309 
 
 tion which rendered them the accomplices of the 
 masters of the Indians. In order to endow the 
 religious orders, the unfortunate idea was con- 
 ceived of giving to convents a certain number of 
 encomiendas which were not the least in import¬ 
 ance. In this manner, religion, the essence of 
 which is to promote the enfranchisement of 
 populations, profited directly by their enslave¬ 
 ment. This measure, adopted for the tempoial 
 interests of the clergy, was greatly to be re¬ 
 gretted. 
 
 The system of e?ico7niendcis ) thus arranged, 
 could not fail to give rise to great abuses. But 
 it was overthrown in its turn by the Court of 
 Spain, and the merit of this excellent reform 
 belongs to King Charles III. 
 
 This prince, who was really enlightened, and 
 who made great efforts to raise Spain, bowed 
 down by the weight of retrograde institutions, 
 but who did not succeed, owing, so to speak, to 
 the spring of that great nation being then broken, 
 laboured also to regenerate and promote the 
 progress of New Spain 5 and in that freer field 
 he had a little more success. One of his mea¬ 
 sures was the abolition of encowiiendcis , of which 
 a part had already ceased to exist, because the 
 feudal holders invested with them had died with- 
 
310 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 out leaving the descendants required by law. 
 Another was the establishment of intendancies. 
 He instituted them in order that the Indians 
 spread over the different provinces should have 
 protectors highly placed, independent of the local 
 influences which were exercised contrary to the 
 interests and the rights of these poor people. 
 The intendants, twelve in number, were chosen 
 with intelligence. Their vigilance could not 
 change the basis of the system adopted for 
 the Indians, which was supposed to be paternal, 
 but was really oppressive ;* still, by the creation 
 of intendancies, there was now within the reach 
 of each locality an active surveillance inspired 
 by the love of justice. 
 
 This new organization, however, profited but 
 little to the conquered races. If it restrained acts 
 of violence scandalously notorious, it was power¬ 
 less to prevent the petty vexations constantly 
 repeated, and the exactions enveloped in subter¬ 
 fuges, with which the Indians were overwhelmed. 
 
 By the establishment of intendancies, the al¬ 
 caldes may ores, who had previously existed in 
 all localities, and who oppressed the natives, were 
 abolished. But what officers were put in their 
 
 * See following chapter. 
 
ancient and modern. 
 
 311 
 
 place? Agents called subdelegates , who were 
 interdicted from engaging in any sort of com¬ 
 merce, because commerce would have afforded 
 them the means of oppressing the Indians. It 
 would seem that in consequence of this prohibi¬ 
 tion it would have been natural to accord them 
 a rather high salary; but none at all was given. 
 What ensued may easily be divined: the sub¬ 
 delegates proved once more that, as a general 
 rule, there is nothing more onerous for the people 
 than unpaid functionaries. A venerable prelate, 
 Antonio de San Miguel, bishop of the vast diocese 
 of Michoacan, in a report to the King of Spain, 
 drawn up in concert with his chapter in 1799, 
 thus described the conduct of these agents. 
 
 “ The alcaldes mayores at least administered 
 justice with impartiality when their own inte¬ 
 rests were not at stake. But the subdelegates, 
 having no revenue except fees, consider them¬ 
 selves warranted in having recourse to illicit 
 means to procure a certain degree of comfort; 
 and hence they exercise perpetual vexations, 
 abuse their authority over the poor, act in con¬ 
 nivance with the rich, and make a shameful 
 traffic of justice.” 
 
 It was also Charles III. who prohibited the 
 corregidors from employing a practice by which 
 
312 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 they, like the alcaldes mayores , procured them¬ 
 selves troops of slaves. These functionaries 
 arbitrarily made themselves the creditors of the 
 Indians by selling them, at extravagant prices, 
 horses, mules, and clothing. The Indians, not 
 being able to pay, were forced to work for them; 
 and this obligation to work, or, to speak more 
 clearly, this servitude, once contracted, was 
 easily perpetuated by means of new sales, or by 
 the employment of artifices which such in¬ 
 fluential personages as the corregidors excelled 
 in devising; and, unfortunately, to these frauds 
 avaricious men had no difficulty in adding others. 
 There is no Security against the exactions and 
 the tyranny of powerful men in countries where 
 there are neither representative institutions nor 
 publicity. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 818 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON THE CONDITION OF THE INDIANS AT THE 
 BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, AND 
 ON THAT OF THE MIXED RACE. 
 
 At the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
 when Humboldt visited Mexico, he found the 
 Indians in a condition better than that of feudal 
 serfdom. The repartimientos and the encomiendas 
 had disappeared; but though ceasing to be 
 slaves or serfs, the Indians did not become free; 
 they bore the chains of a legal minority, which 
 weighed on them to the tomb. With the view 
 
 O 
 
 of preserving them from acts in which violence 
 was united to fraud, the natives were declared 
 unable to contract for any sum exceeding five 
 piastres (1 1 .)—a remedy which was worse than 
 the evil, for under pretext of guaranteeing them 
 in transactions in which they might have been 
 despoiled, they were placed under the impossi- 
 
314 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 bility of acquiring. The greater part of them 
 were forced to reside in villages in which the 
 Whites were interdicted from establishing them¬ 
 selves. The Indian was thus obliged to pass 
 his life within a narrow circle traced around his 
 village, where most frequently he was without 
 means of existence, wanting even land, in a 
 country where nine-tenths of the soil were un¬ 
 cultivated. He paid an annual tribute, so called, 
 which, from that name alone, was for him a 
 humiliation. As a set-off, he was free from the 
 indirect tax, the alcavala; but he would have 
 preferred to pay the alcavala , and not be a tri¬ 
 butary. 
 
 An important amelioration in the existence 
 of the Mexican Indians was, that they were 
 relieved from the mita , or forced labour in mines. 
 This burden, which was not suppressed in Peru 
 until the establishment of independence, ceased 
 in Mexico long before. No doubt the Mexican 
 Indians worked in the metallic veins in the 
 bosom of the earth, but they did so voluntarily, 
 and they were paid good wages. 
 
 A certain number of Indians were well off. 
 There was, first of all, the class of caciques, or 
 Indian nobles, who were freed from tribute, and 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 315 
 
 placed under peculiar regulations, of which we 
 shall speak presently. In addition to this class, 
 various circumstances had secured wealth to 
 some natives, who knew how to preserve it, and 
 in whose families it had remained. Humboldt 
 cites an old woman who died at Cholula whilst 
 he was there collecting information: she left to 
 her children fields cultivated with maguey , or 
 Mexican aloes, of the value of more than 
 300,000 fr. (12,000/.) Other Indian families 
 possessed fortunes of 800,000 fr.and 1,000,000 fr. 
 (32,000/. and 40,000/.); but the Indian, rich or 
 even well to do, was a rare exception. 
 
 The classes of mixed blood, consisting prin¬ 
 cipally of the crossings of Indians with Whites, 
 and, for a small part, by the mixture of ne¬ 
 groes with the two other races, were scaicely 
 better off than the Indians of pure race. All 
 these mixed people, who were very numerous, 
 and were classed under the denomination of 
 castes, were degraded legally and de facto {in¬ 
 fames de derecho y hecho ), according to the ex¬ 
 pression of the Bishop of Michoacan, in the 
 report we have mentioned. They paid tribute 
 like the Indians, but they were not kept like 
 them in that perpetual minority which had been 
 
316 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 invented at Madrid in order to protect them; 
 they, however, endured many wrong 3 , which 
 were committed in violation of the law, or by 
 fraudulent interpretations of it. 
 
 This class, which, more than the Indians, was 
 mixed up with the Whites, had less reason to 
 fear and respect them. It was also less de¬ 
 moralized than the pure Indian, and supported 
 more impatiently the abject condition to which 
 it was reduced. 
 
 There was employed in Mexico a denomination 
 which is not yet abandoned, and which well de¬ 
 scribed the condition of the Indians. Compared 
 with them, the Whites were called gentede razon 
 —the race endowed with reason. The Indians 
 were supposed not to have any, and were in the 
 general opinion out of the pale of the gente de 
 razon. This was an explanation and a justifica¬ 
 tion of the degraded state in which they were 
 kept. The mixed race, on the contrary, were ex¬ 
 pressly comprised in the category of “ reasonable 
 people.” 
 
 Not being able to employ properly their 
 reason and their liberty, this class, which the 
 Europeans might have turned to excellent 
 account, employed them at times very badly. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 317 
 
 Robberies, and especially those on the highways, 
 were, for example, most frequently perpetrated 
 by the men of mixed blood. Whenever a cara¬ 
 van or diligence was stopped, people were certain 
 that the criminals were not Indians; they never 
 did anything of the kind. Suspicion could only 
 fall on the Whites, or the half-breeds; and the 
 probability was for or rather against, the latter. 
 On this subject I will relate an anecdote which 
 was told me by Baron Deffandis, who, when 
 I was in Mexico, represented France in that 
 country with dignity. He was with his family 
 on an excursion in the north, and when he had 
 arrived at a few leagues from the Lake of Cha¬ 
 pala, he made inquiries on a subject which then, 
 as now, preoccupied everybody travelling in 
 Mexico—I mean thieves, who, since the Decla¬ 
 ration of Independence, commit highway rob¬ 
 beries with unexampled audacity. “ Are there 
 any robbers on the road ?” asked Baron Def¬ 
 fandis. “Oh, no!” was the answer. “You 
 have nothing to fear; in these parts there are 
 no qente de razon /” I will not affirm at the 
 present day that Indians do not possess tbclsoti , 
 and that they do not take part in robbing dili¬ 
 gences and isolated travellers. 
 
 O 
 
318 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 On the whole, notwithstanding the kind¬ 
 ness towards them manifested at the Court 
 of Madrid, the condition of most of the Indians, 
 who formed the major part of the population of 
 Mexico, was wretched in both a moral and ma¬ 
 terial point of view. 
 
 The principal cause of their misery was the 
 error into which people fell at Madrid, relative 
 to the means of governing them in conformity 
 with their interest. It was sincerely believed in 
 the King’s councils, that the narrow restrictions 
 on the free will of the Indians which had been 
 erected into a system, gave them guarantees and 
 protected them, as if any protection could be equi¬ 
 valent to liberty! How can the man deprived of 
 his liberty defend himself? Is not the man whose 
 hands are tied at the mercy of every one who 
 attacks him? The measures adopted at the 
 Court of Madrid in favour of these unfortunate 
 Indians, turned against them by virtue of the 
 laws of human nature itself. The Bishop of 
 Michoacan judged this system with sagacity and 
 profundity when he said to the King, in the ex¬ 
 cellent report quoted above—“ Solorzano, Fraso, 
 and other Spanish authors, have in vain sought 
 for the secret cause by which the privileges ac- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 319 
 
 corded to the Indians constantly produced effects 
 unfavourable to that caste. I am astonished 
 that these celebrated lawyers did not see, that 
 what they call a secret cause is founded in the 
 nature of those privileges themselves. They are 
 arms which have never served for the protec¬ 
 tion of those they were meant to defend, and 
 which the other castes cunningly turned against 
 the native races. A number of such deplorable 
 circumstances has produced in the latter a lazi¬ 
 ness of mind, a state of indifference and apathy, 
 in which man is moved neither by hope nor 
 fear.” 
 
 The natives who, under pretence of being pro¬ 
 tected, were thus unfortunately placed out of the 
 reach of the means of legitimate defence, were 
 illtreated and plundered even by their own 
 fellows. In each of the villages exclusively oc¬ 
 cupied by people of this race, were found, down 
 to the end of Spanish domination, eight or ten 
 old Indians, exercising the monopoly of local 
 magistracy, and living in idleness at the expense 
 of the others. Their authority was based, either 
 on the distinction of their family, which, how¬ 
 ever, was often imaginary, or on skilful policy 
 practised from father to son. These chiefs were 
 
320 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 almost always the only inhabitants of the village 
 who spoke Spanish, and they had great interest 
 in maintaining their brethren in the most pro¬ 
 found ignorance. They contributed as much as 
 they could to maintain prejudice and barbarism 
 among their people. 
 
 There was reason to believe, that if ideas 
 favourable to independence were to gain ground, 
 the native race, who had not forgotten the time 
 when it was master of the country, might rise in 
 insurrection; and in that case was it not likely 
 that it would indulge in all the excesses which 
 resentment long suppressed may inspire in a 
 people kept out of the pale of enlightenment and 
 civilization? It had for some time been of ur¬ 
 gent importance to provide for the amelioration 
 of the condition of the Indians, by acts that 
 should be more efficacious and more deter¬ 
 minate than all that had been hitherto done, 
 and be conceived in a different spirit. It was 
 necessary, in a word, to adopt measures of 
 the kind suggested by a sentiment of liberty. 
 And the same was the case for the people of 
 mixed blood. At the end of the eighteenth cen¬ 
 tury, the Government of the mother country 
 had received warnings on this point which it 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 321 
 
 did wrong to neglect. The most remarkable is 
 the report of the Bishop of Michoacan, from 
 which I have already quoted. The abuses of 
 which the Indians and the castes were victims, 
 and the moral degradation which oppression had 
 caused among them, were described therein with 
 a firm hand. The misfortunes of the future 
 were predicted with sinister clearness, which the 
 kindliness and the spirit of charity of the pious 
 Bishop did not disguise. u What attachment to 
 the Government can be entertained,” said he, 
 “ by the Indian, who is despised and degraded, 
 who is almost without property, and without the 
 hope of ameliorating his condition ? Pie is at¬ 
 tached to social life by a tie which presents no 
 advantage to him. Your Majesty must not be¬ 
 lieve that the fear of chastisement will alone 
 suffice to preserve tranquillity in this country; 
 there must be other and more powerful motives. 
 If the new laws which Spain awaits with im¬ 
 patience do not regulate the position of Indians 
 and of coloured people, the influence of the 
 clergy, however great it may be over these un¬ 
 fortunate creatures, will not suffice to retain 
 them in the submission and the respect due to 
 their sovereign.” 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 “ The new laws which Spain awaited with im¬ 
 patience,” to employ the expression of the Bishop 
 of Michoacan, were not adopted, and the conse¬ 
 quences which that venerable prelate foresaw 
 were not long in coming. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 32a 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE CACIQUES, OR INDIAN NOBLES, SYSTEMA¬ 
 TICALLY DEGRADED. 
 
 The conquerors, as we have already indicated, 
 recognised and consecrated the inequality exist¬ 
 ing among the natives, in this sense, that the 
 caciques, or Indian nobles, were classed apart 
 from the lower order of the natives. They were 
 even nominally admitted to participate in the 
 privileges of the nobles of Castille; but they did 
 not profit by the advantage, or were prevented 
 from profiting by it. Faithful in that respect to 
 the example presented almost everywhere by the 
 aristocracies of conquered countries, they had 
 little inclination to associate with the Spaniards, 
 and to marry into their families. They even 
 went the length of preferring to plough with 
 their own hands the fields which, under the 
 ancien regime , they made their vassals cultivate. 
 
 21—3 
 
324 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Their natural pride, and the resentment they 
 felt at their defeat, induced them to remain 
 mixed up with the Indian people, and to live 
 like them, affecting the same simplicity in food 
 and clothing. This humble existence was 
 perhaps at the beginning an expedient adopted 
 by the Indian nobles, in order not to attract the 
 attention of the Spaniards whom they had com¬ 
 bated with the rage of despair. Perhaps, also, 
 they adopted it because, in isolating themselves 
 from their conquerors, and living among their 
 old vassals, they found vestiges of their down¬ 
 trodden country and their destroyed nationality. 
 This illusion was prompted by the respect which 
 was testified for them by the Indians, who had 
 remained imbued with the notions of the social 
 hierarchy established in the Aztec empire. 
 Education, aided by a little time, would have 
 triumphed over this spirit of isolation and this 
 patriotic repugnance. The Spanish authorities 
 had for a time the idea of having recourse to the 
 powerful instrument of education. Nothing else 
 could, in an equal degree, cement the fusion of 
 the conquerors and the vanquished, and acce¬ 
 lerate the movement of civilization in the 
 country. It was proposed to attract to esta¬ 
 blishments founded for the purpose, under the 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 325 
 
 'name of Colleges for Indian nobles, the young 
 generations of the native nobility, and the 
 generous project was to be extended to all 
 Spanish America. But such a measure, though 
 as politic as it was humane, did not accord with 
 the systematic distrust which Spain entertained 
 towards her colonies. Bad governments fear 
 everything—and really they are not wrong so to 
 do, for their authority is never firmly esta¬ 
 blished, and is always at the mercy of accidents. 
 The Spanish Government imagined that if the 
 descendants of the Indian nobles were initiated 
 in the knowledge of Europe, they would employ 
 it to agitate the country and reconquer their 
 independence. Accordingly, the sage design of 
 spreading instruction among the Indians, be¬ 
 ginning with the remnants of their aristocracy, 
 was not carried out. 
 
 M ; . Alaman relates that in Mexico, before any¬ 
 thing of the kind was established for Spanish 
 youth, a college for Indian nobles was founded 
 in the convent of Santiago de Tlatelolco, belong¬ 
 ing to the Franciscan order. The first Viceroy of 
 Mexico, after the ephemeral apparition of Cortez 
 in the government, Don Antonio de Mendoza, 
 came in person to preside at its solemn inaugu¬ 
 ration. But no sooner had that college been 
 
326 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 opened than the policy of degrading the Indians 
 beginning to be acted on, it was treated in such a 
 way that it became disorganized; and the institu¬ 
 tion of others was prevented. Towards the end of 
 the last century, a wealthy cacique residing at 
 Puebla, Don Juan de Castilla, went to Madrid 
 to solicit the authorities to establish a college 
 for Indians in his native city. He passed years 
 in haunting the antechambers of that capital, 
 but obtained nothing. The viceroy of that epoch, 
 the Marquis de Branciforte, was accustomed to 
 say that in America instruction ought to be con¬ 
 fined to the Catechism. In conformity with this 
 maxim, the mass of Indians learned nothing, 
 except what they could pick up in the religious 
 lessons of the parish priest in their infancy; and 
 even those lessons, says M. Alaman, were, as 
 regards their object, very incomplete and very 
 short. Subjected to the same system, reduced 
 to the same intellectual pittance, the Indian 
 nobles knew no more than the vulgar. 
 
 With the kind of life which they led, and 
 the torpor in which their minds were left plunged, 
 the Indian nobles could not fail to become de¬ 
 graded. That was what the Spanish government 
 wanted, and the result fully equalled its expecta¬ 
 tion. At the beginning of the century, and no 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 327 
 
 doubt long before, the same absence of education, 
 the same grossness of manners, was observed in 
 them as in the lower Indian people. They did 
 not hold any of the offices which are sought after 
 by civilized classes. Whatever might have been 
 the rank of their ancestors in the Aztec hierarchy, 
 they were found neither in the career of arms 
 nor in that of justice. And after having re¬ 
 mained plunged in the profound ignorance we 
 have described, how could they be admitted to 
 the latter? The sole magistracy they exercised 
 was that of the Indian villages; and there, instead 
 of trying to promote the welfare of their fellow- 
 countrymen, they more frequently appeared to 
 take pleasure in oppressing them. Charged to 
 levy the poll-tax, they took advantage of it to 
 extort small sums. They made themselves the 
 instruments of the Spaniards to torment their 
 brethren, provided they derived some profit for 
 so doing. They thus presented the sad spectacle 
 of a complete and humiliating degradation. 
 
328 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 HOW THE INDIANS BECAME CHRISTIANS. 
 
 The Christian religion was easily introduced 
 among the Mexican people, when once the con¬ 
 quest was consummated. The inferior classes, 
 who, in the time of the Aztec empire, formed 
 the majority of the population, were still 
 greater in proportion after the siege and cap¬ 
 ture of Mexico, because the superior classes 
 had been almost entirely destroyed in the ter¬ 
 rible war. They were prepared to accept from 
 the hands of the conqueror new divinities as 
 well as new laws : their native gods appeared 
 to them vanquished. Besides, amidst the ex¬ 
 treme complication of the theology and cosmo¬ 
 gony of the Mexicans, it was not difficult to 
 discover or invent a certain connexion between 
 the Aztec Olympus and Biblical or Christian tra- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 329 
 
 ditions. We had a proof of this in the manner 
 in which Cortez cleverly turned to account the 
 resemblance between the physiognomy of the 
 Spaniards and that of the king-god Quetzalcoatl. 
 The rituals of the Catholic Church, translated 
 immediately after the conquest into hiero¬ 
 glyphics, in order that they might be understood 
 by the natives, testified to the effort which was 
 then made to induce the people to adopt Chris¬ 
 tianity, by means of the analogies it presented 
 with the Mexican mythology. It was thus that 
 the Holy Ghost became identified with the Sacred 
 Eagle of the Aztecs. Most of the missionaries, 
 seeing how much their task would be facilitated 
 thereby, not only tolerated, but favoured, at least 
 in a certain manner, this confusion of ideas, 
 which did not prevent them from teaching Chris¬ 
 tian morality. In order to attach the natives to 
 the Gospel, they persuaded them that it had been 
 previously preached in America at a very distant 
 epoch, and that their ancient creeds bore pro¬ 
 found traces of it. 
 
 Up to a certain point, we may be permitted to 
 believe that it was less one dogma that replaced 
 another, than a new ceremonial substituted for 
 an old one; for to at least the great majority of 
 
330 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Indians, the external forms of worship were, and 
 still are, religion itself. Catholic worship pre¬ 
 sents them with ceremonies which are the delight 
 of the lower classes of the Indian people. By 
 their pomp and splendour, the festivals of the 
 Catholic Church are, in all Spanish America, a 
 great relaxation and even amusement. The addi¬ 
 tion of what, among a more advanced people, 
 would be considered as a blamable alloy, is there 
 tolerated—fireworks, for example, dances, and 
 even parodies. Everywhere, with the view of 
 better establishing religion, the Catholic rites 
 have assumed a character suitable to the country 
 to which they have been transplanted. “ In the 
 Philippine and Ladrone islands,” says Hum¬ 
 boldt, “ the populations of Malay race have 
 mixed them up with their own peculiar cere¬ 
 monies. In the province of Pasto, on the top of 
 the cordilleras of the Andes, I have seen In¬ 
 dians masked, and ornamented with small bells, 
 execute savage dances around the altar, whilst 
 a monk of St. Francis raised the host.” 
 
 A certain number of Indians were admitted to 
 holy orders. The men willingly adopted an 
 ecclesiastical life, especially that of a parish priest, 
 and Indian girls consented still more willingly 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 331 
 
 to enter convents. The priests taken from the 
 ranks of the Indians possessed very little instruc¬ 
 tion. The seminaries in which they were edu¬ 
 cated could only present very indifferent teach¬ 
 ing : it was, in fact, confined to the dogmatical 
 and theological knowledge which is indispensable 
 for the exercise of the sacred ministry. 
 
332 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOW THE WHITE POPULATION BORN IN MEXICO 
 WAS TREATED. 
 
 There Avas in Mexico another part of the popu¬ 
 lation whom the ties of complete affinity ought 
 to have made dear to the Spaniards—I mean the 
 Creoles, or Whites born in Mexico, in whose veins 
 Spanish blood floAved unmixed. Let us give a 
 succinct account of the condition in which they 
 Avere placed under Spanish domination. 
 
 With respect to this population, rules were 
 adopted which appeared well drawn up, and 
 skilful, but Avhich contained a radical vice— 
 public liberties were completely absent from 
 them. Each of the States of Europe Avhich 
 had founded great establishments in the NeAV 
 World, had modelled them on its OAvn institu¬ 
 tions. Thus, in the English colonies, the genius 
 of the mother country, Avhich could not do 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 333 
 
 without deliberative assemblies, obtained a 
 certain degree of satisfaction. Nothing of the-, 
 kind existed in the Spanish Colonies, when once 
 they had obtained a regular \organization. No¬ 
 where else in America were the inhabitants of 
 European origin kept in a state of such political 
 nullity; and that was because nowhere else in 
 Europe was absolute power carried to the same 
 extent as in the Peninsula. No government 
 professed and practised so far as the Spanish the 
 opinion that peoples are minors, and that the 
 exercise of their free will is contrary to the 
 rights of the sovereign, and fatal to their own 
 interests, even if it be not a sort of rebellion 
 against Divine Providence. Assuredly in France, 
 from the time of Louis XIV., absolute power 
 existed in the manner the most offensive to 
 public reason, and to the dignity of the people, 
 both in the designs of the government and in 
 the forms employed by it. The conclusion of the 
 edicts of the French kings, “ for such is our good 
 pleasure ,” affords, in conjunction with various 
 maxims historians have collected, proof that the 
 royal government entertained on the subject of 
 its prerogative an idea which was exaggerated 
 to the height of absurdity. But in France, the 
 absolute power of the king was tempered not 
 
334 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 only by chansons , as was then said, but also by 
 a certain force of public opinion, which the 
 Parlements , notwithstanding the narrowness of 
 their minds and their selfishness, contributed 
 not a little to keep alive, and by the persevering 
 efforts of writers who constantly claimed the 
 rights of human intelligence. In Spain, the 
 Inquisition broke down all resistance, and or¬ 
 ganized in the regions of thought the silence of 
 the tomb. The only homage which liberty re¬ 
 ceived in the Peninsula was a few protests that lay 
 buried in the ulcerated hearts of generous men. 
 
 The policy of the Spanish Government in 
 Mexico, and in its other possessions, presented 
 the same leading characteristics that one finds in 
 all systematic tyrannies: to divide in order to 
 reign; to keep alive dissensions among different 
 classes, especially those which had the greatest 
 means of influence; to restrain and enchain in¬ 
 telligence ; to confine man in the narrow limits 
 of his individuality, in which he is necessarily 
 weak, and to interdict association; finally, to 
 centralize the government, so that the complete 
 exercise of it was reserved to the direct agents 
 of the mother country. It was also a rule to 
 keep the colonies isolated one from another— 
 from the fear that they might seek, by a 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 335 
 
 common effort, the means of respiring more 
 freely. 
 
 The following are the terms in which M. 
 Lucas Alaman, who, however, is very in¬ 
 dulgent in judging the government of the 
 Spaniards in Mexico, describes the manner 
 in which intellectual productions were treated 
 throughout Spanish America:—“ The power of 
 printing was not only subjected, as in Spain, to 
 the surveillance of the civil and ecclesiastical 
 authorities; but nothing could be printed with¬ 
 out the permission of each of them, and that 
 permission was not accorded until after an 
 examination of the manuscript by persons spe¬ 
 cially commissioned for the purpose, and until 
 after they had certified that it contained nothing 
 contrary to the dogmas of the Holy Homan 
 Church, to the prerogatives of his Majesty, and to 
 public morality. Moreover, no work treating of 
 the affairs of America was allowed to be printed 
 without the approbation of the Council of the 
 Indies. Orders were even given to withdraw 
 from circulation all that had been issued without 
 the fulfilment of this condition. These restric¬ 
 tions were observed with so much rigour, that 
 Clavigero, an ecclesiastic, and an inoffensive man, 
 could not obtain permission for his ‘ History of 
 
336 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Mexico’ to be printed in Castilian in tlie Penin¬ 
 sula; and be was obliged to get it translated 
 into Italian, and printed in Italy. The works 
 relative to America, published in Spain or 
 foreign countries, could not be delivered in the 
 colonies without a similar permission. In order 
 that these severe rules might be observed, and 
 that the admission into the colonies of 1 all books 
 treating of profane or fabulous matters or ro¬ 
 mances,’ might be prevented, the contents of 
 every work embarked for that destination had to 
 be inscribed on the ship’s register; and ecclesi¬ 
 astical superintendents and officers of the Crown 
 were required to visit vessels on their arrival, to 
 receive the books. And then came the examina¬ 
 tion of the Inquisition. There was afterwards 
 some relaxation in these rules, but not in the 
 last one.” 
 
 One of the precautions which the Spanish 
 Government considered particularly efficacious 
 in maintaining its domination in the colonies, was 
 an absolute preference for the natives of Spain, 
 to the exclusion of the white Creoles. The 
 Spaniards, properly so called, thus formed a 
 caste apart, to which even their own children 
 were not allowed to belong:—for the simple 
 reason, that the latter first saw the light in 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 337 
 
 Mexico, they were suspected and placed under 
 ban. To the natives of the Peninsula, and 
 to them alone, were reserved political, adminis¬ 
 trative, and judicial offices. That this unna¬ 
 tural plan, which separated the father from the 
 children, and even the brother from the brother, 
 when one was born in Spain, and the other in 
 Mexico, should have been adopted by the Cabinet 
 of Madrid as a system of government easy 
 to maintain, need not occasion much surprise, 
 for when carried beyond a certain point, des¬ 
 potism indulges in the strangest illusions: it 
 thinks everything possible, and it deduces with 
 a sort of simplicity the consequences of its bad 
 principle. 
 
 The Creoles long seemed resigned to this 
 absence of all influence in the government and 
 administration of their country; it was like pro¬ 
 perty which men abstain from claiming because 
 they do not know of its existence. They 
 were kept strangers to the rest of the world 
 because they were allowed to read only books 
 approved of by the Inquisition. They did not 
 suspect that the thing called political liberty 
 existed anywhere in the world. In their igno¬ 
 rance, they were persuaded that the narrow 
 circle composing their horizon was the boundary 
 vol. i. 22 
 
338 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 of the view, the hopes, and the felicity of all 
 mankind. Life, however, was for them not un- 
 mixed with certain joys. They enriched them¬ 
 selves by working the mines, or cultivating the 
 soil, which was not less profitable. They in¬ 
 dulged in simple pleasures. The government 
 did not neglect, by the employment of baubles, 
 to satisfy one of the passions which occupies the 
 greatest place in the heart of man—vanity. 
 Titles of nobility were accorded to some of 
 them who had realized large fortunes. Another 
 distinction which was lucrative to the treasury, 
 or to the private coffers of the Viceroy, 
 was largely distributed—commissions in the 
 militia—and the wealthy considered them¬ 
 selves happy in paying dear for them. The 
 foreigner who by chance was permitted to 
 traverse Spanish America, was surprised to 
 see in the little towns all the traders trans¬ 
 formed into colonels, captains, or sergeant-majors, 
 and even occasionally to find these militia 
 officers, in full uniform, gravely seated in 
 their shops weighing sugar, coffee, or vanilla— 
 “a singular union,” says Von Humboldt, “of 
 ostentation and of simplicity of manners.” 
 
 The independence of the continental colonies 
 of England, however, who formed themselves into 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 339 
 
 a federal republic under the name of the United 
 States, awoke from their intellectual slumber 
 the more intelligent classes both in Mexico 
 and everywhere else on the New Continent. 
 This great event, which occurred at their very 
 gates, and the renown of which resounded 
 through the world, filled the Creoles with asto¬ 
 nishment, and opened to their imagination per¬ 
 spectives which they had not previously known. 
 At a later period the great prosperity of the 
 United States, and the part they began to 
 play in the world, made them reflect still more. 
 They sought for European books, especially 
 those of the innovators most in fashion, and 
 as they had plenty of money, they procured 
 them in spite of the watchfulness of the Inquisi¬ 
 tion ; after which they devoured them in secret, 
 assimilating what was bad in them as well as 
 what was good. The revolution that trans¬ 
 formed the continental colonies of England in 
 America, and made them the Republic of 
 the United States, was not the only one that 
 contributed to the awakening of the Mexi¬ 
 cans, and made them incline to political in¬ 
 novations. The French revolution of 1789, 
 which broke out like thunder, resounding in all 
 parts of the world, caused in Mexico, as in all 
 22—a 
 
340 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 other places, strong emotions in the classes who 
 had received some intellectual cultivation. It 
 was thus that the Mexican Creoles acquired, 
 little by little, a more correct notion of their 
 rights. A mysterious agitation spread. And 
 how did the Spanish authorities of the New 
 World treat this new disposition of public 
 opinion? They employed the coercive measures 
 which governments stricken with vertigo con¬ 
 sider a panacea. “ They saw,” says Humboldt, 
 “the germ of revolt in all the associations of 
 which the object was the spread of enlighten¬ 
 ment ; they prohibited the establishment of 
 printing-offices in towns of from forty to fifty 
 thousand inhabitants; they considered that 
 peaceable citizens who lived retired in the 
 country, and read in secret the works of 
 Montesquieu, Robertson, and Rousseau, were 
 tainted with revolutionary ideas. When war 
 was declared between Spain and the French 
 Republic, they thrust into dungeons unfor¬ 
 tunate Frenchmen who had resided for twenty 
 or thirty years in Mexico. One of these French¬ 
 men, fearing that he would be made the victim 
 of the barbarous auto-da-fe , committed suicide in 
 the prison of the Inquisition. His body was 
 buried in the Quemadero which was set apart to 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 341 
 
 these odious executions. At the same epoch the 
 local government thought it discovered a con¬ 
 spiracy. at Santa Fe, capital of the kingdom 
 of New Granada. It placed in irons indi¬ 
 viduals who, in trading with the Isle of San 
 Domingo, had obtained copies of French news¬ 
 papers. It condemned to torture young men of 
 sixteen, in order to wring from them secrets of 
 which they knew nothing.” How could such 
 brutal and insensate policy fail to bring down 
 an exemplary chastisement on its authors? 
 
 The Court of Spain had received, shortly 
 before this epoch, a warning, which time proved 
 to be prophetic, from one of the statesmen who 
 has left the best reputation in its annals—Count 
 de Aranda. He took part, as representative of 
 the Cabinet of Madrid, in negotiating the treaty 
 of Paris of 1783, which established the inde¬ 
 pendence of the United States. After this 
 act, which he regretted, he wrote a letter to 
 Charles III., sketching with admirable sagacity 
 the great future reserved to the new Republic. 
 “ It is now,” he said, “ a pigmy; but before long 
 it will be a giant, a formidable colossus in the 
 New World. “ It will forget,” he continued, “ the 
 immense service which France and Spain have 
 rendered to it, for it is to them that it owes its 
 
342 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 4 
 
 independence, and will only occupy itself with 
 its own greatness. The liberty of conscience it 
 has proclaimed, the certainty which industrious 
 men will have of gaining a patrimony in that 
 vast territory, and the peculiar advantages of 
 the political institutions established there, will 
 attract to the Confederation, from all parts of 
 the civilized world, an intelligent and laborious 
 population, and we shall have the mortification 
 of seeing it exercise an exclusive and tyran¬ 
 nical sway in the New World.” After these 
 predictions, which time has verified almost in 
 every point, De Aranda announced the policy 
 of conquest which the United States would one 
 day adopt towards Spanish America, and the 
 facilities which, under the organization of the 
 latter, the North Americans would possess in 
 order to accomplish their ambitious projects 
 against the territories placed in proximity to 
 them, and separated from the mother country 
 by the Atlantic: “ They will begin by taking 
 Florida, which will make them masters of the 
 Gulf of Mexico, and afterwards they will at¬ 
 tack the beautiful empire of New Spain.” He 
 pointed out with no less foresight the success of 
 ideas of independence among the inhabitants of 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 843 
 
 the Spanish possessions of the New World. 
 Those populations were, he said, badly governed, 
 and were destined so to be as long as they should 
 be abandoned to authorities subjected to no con¬ 
 trol, except that of the mother country, placed at 
 a great distance. It was a law of Nature that 
 such vast territories should not remain in¬ 
 definitely under the dependence of distant 
 States. It was therefore necessary, if not to try 
 to prevent a separation which appeared inevi¬ 
 table, at least to regulate and soften the conse¬ 
 quences of it. It was to attain this object that 
 he proposed to the king a plan, which he re¬ 
 presented as the result of long meditation. 
 The Crown of Spain should retain in North 
 America only the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, 
 and in South America a post as far as pos¬ 
 sible correspondent. It should grant indepen¬ 
 dence to all the Continent in this form: Three 
 thrones should be erected, and each be occupied 
 by an Infante of Spain—one in Mexico, the 
 other in Peru, the third in the Mainland The 
 King of Spain should take the title of Emperor, 
 and keep grouped around his throne these three 
 monarchies by every tie possible—a political 
 alliance offensive and defensive, commercial 
 
344 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 relations on the basis of entire reciprocity, and 
 marriages between the sovereign families. In 
 acknowledgment of the independence thus ac¬ 
 corded, Mexico was to have paid to the mother 
 country an annual tribute in bars of silver, the 
 production of its mines; Peru one in ingots of 
 gold; and the Mainland in its natural produc¬ 
 tions, particularly tobacco. The programme of 
 Count de Aranda would probably not have at¬ 
 tained the perpetual existence which the illus¬ 
 trious statesman hoped for it, but it would have 
 spared Spain, and particularly her colonies, cruel 
 trials. In any case it attests the perspicacity of 
 the author, and does honour to his patriotism 
 and to the elevation of his ideas. Count de 
 Aranda expressed himself like a man who 
 understood the beneficial influence which 
 liberal institutions exercise over the condition 
 of nations and the power of states. It does not 
 appear that the Court of Spain took these sage 
 counsels into serious consideration. What is 
 certain is that it did not act on them. Events, 
 however, soon demonstrated how opportune 
 they were. In New Granada, Venezuela, and 
 Peru, the sentiment of independence gradually 
 gained ardent proselytes, and attempts at insur- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 345 
 
 rection were made.* In Mexico the movement 
 was confined to some obscure conspiracies, 
 almost all concocted by uninfluential Spaniards, 
 which were stifled without difficulty before 
 they could explode; but the fire smouldered 
 beneath the cinders, until at last it burst forth 
 into a conflagration. 
 
 * One of the chief insurgents who gained notice, and who 
 went into exile when the insurrection was put down— 
 Miranda—served as a general in the armies of the French 
 Eepublic. 
 
346 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE SPANIARDS IN 
 MEXICO. 
 
 The economic system established in Mexico, and 
 in the other Spanish colonies, was that which 
 was practised three hundred years ago by all 
 the States of Europe towards their possessions 
 in the New World. It was the belief of those 
 times that colonies existed for the exclusive 
 advantage of the mother country, were entitled 
 to trade only with it, and to have no other in¬ 
 dustries than those that suited its monopoly. 
 Thus, it was a principle that certain manufac¬ 
 tures should be forbidden to them, in order 
 that they might present a safe market to the 
 productions of the mother country. England, 
 which, however, accorded to her colonies much 
 greater liberty than other States, was almost as 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN, 
 
 347 
 
 rigorous on this point as the Castillian kings. It 
 was, for example, proposed to the Parliament to 
 prohibit the inhabitants of Pennsylvania, for the 
 advantage of English ironworks, from smelting 
 the iron ores which that province contained in 
 abundance. It was also a maxim of that his¬ 
 torical epoch, that colonies ought to be herme¬ 
 tically closed against the rest of the world. 
 Spain applied in excess the principles com¬ 
 monly admitted at that epoch, and persevered 
 in them without any change, or nearly so, after 
 other States had mitigated the rigour of them. 
 Almost all manufactured articles had to be 
 brought from the mother country. The head of 
 a family was allowed to manufacture in his 
 house only ordinary articles, necessary for his ser¬ 
 vants. Admission into the country was prohi¬ 
 bited to foreigners, especially to those whom it 
 was feared would spread innovating ideas among 
 the inhabitants. Humboldt had to obtain a 
 royal authorization, and to seek for it personally 
 at Aranjuez, in order to be able to make in the 
 Spanish colonies his great exploration of the 
 equinoctial regions, which has been so profitable 
 to science. With the greatest candour in the 
 world, M. Lucas Alaman (who, notwithstanding 
 a degree of information rare among the Mexicans, 
 
348 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 remained to the end imbued with the decrepit 
 maxims of the old mother country) has, in his 
 vast work on the “ Independence of Mexico,” ex¬ 
 pressed the regret that Humboldt was allowed 
 to collect materials for his “ Political Essay on 
 New Spain,” a book as remarkable for the sage 
 moderation of the reflections presented relative 
 to the organization of society in Spanish America, 
 as for the profusion of scientific instruction it 
 contains. According to M. Alaman, this excellent 
 work contributed to create the movement in 
 favour of independence in Mexico, by giving the 
 Mexicans “ an excessive idea of the wealth of 
 their country,” from which, he says, “ they 
 pictured to themselves that, once independent, 
 Mexico would be the most powerful nation of 
 the universe.” 
 
 Commerce, even with the mother country and 
 the other Spanish possessions, was only per¬ 
 mitted through two ports—that of Yera Cruz for 
 Spain, and that of Acapulco for the Philippines, 
 by which communication took place with China. 
 Only two towns in all Spain—Cadiz and Seville 
 —could carry on trade with Mexico; and the 
 merchants of those places did not give them¬ 
 selves much trouble with respect to that great 
 colony. Every three or four years, not oftener, 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 349 
 
 a certain number of vessels freighted with 
 merchandize, sailed together from Cadiz, under 
 the designation of The Fleet. All that they 
 carried out was sold in advance to six or eight 
 firms in Mexico, who thus exercised a monopoly. 
 On the arrival of the fleet from Cadiz, a great 
 fair was held at Xalapa, and the supply of an 
 empire was provided like that of a blockaded 
 town. Smuggling, it is true, corrected a little 
 this restrictive system. It was facilitated by the 
 privilege accorded to England under the name 
 of asiento , of sending every year into Spanish 
 America a vessel of five hundred tons burden 
 filled with slaves. Frauds were committed in 
 the cargo of the vessel, and the still bolder fraud 
 of sending several vessels instead of one ? was 
 practised. It was only in 1778 that part of the 
 framework of these monopolies, piled one on the 
 other, was thrown down by a reform which ex¬ 
 tended to all Spanish America, and of which the 
 honour belongs to King Charles III. This re¬ 
 form, which has been decorated with the pompous 
 name of liberty of trade, consisted in allowing 
 fourteen ports of Spain to trade directly with 
 the colonies of the New World, through certain 
 ports, very few in number, which were expressly 
 designated. Foreigners remained excluded, and 
 
850 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 yet the effects produced by the new commercial 
 system were considerable, as all documents 
 testify. As to the trade with Asia by Acapulco 
 and the Philippines, it was confined, so long as 
 Spain remained the mistress of Mexico, to one 
 single vessel a year, called the galion , a vessel of 
 fifteen hundred tons, commanded by an officer 
 of the royal navy. 
 
 Spanish despotism was manifested in a multi¬ 
 tude of regulations sent direct from Madrid, and 
 which the viceroys could not change. It was the 
 Council of the Indies, to which, at Madrid, all 
 colonial affairs were confided, that drew up 
 these regulations, and we must believe that the 
 council was animated by good intentions; but 
 they were prepared without a sufficient know¬ 
 ledge of the people to whom they were to be 
 applied, and what is still more to be regretted, 
 they were conceived and combined with that spirit 
 of minuteness, which asserts the impossible pre¬ 
 tension of foreseeing everything, and which is 
 the negation of free-will among the governed. 
 Being in that respect contrary to human na¬ 
 ture, they oppressed the populations, and pre¬ 
 vented them from engaging in productive busi¬ 
 ness. Volumes would not suffice to expose the 
 acts of bad administration, the fatal restrictions 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 351 
 
 on the spirit of enterprise, the excessive control, 
 the decisions dictated by favour, the indefinite 
 delays of the administrative system practised by 
 Spain in the New World. In order to complete 
 this picture of all the embarrassments and all the 
 annoyances which the industrious man met with, 
 we must add the exactions that were made by 
 the functionaries. The viceroys enriched them¬ 
 selves by the arbitrary distribution of quicksilver 
 among the workers in the mines; other agents 
 made fortunes by smuggling, and others by 
 oppressing the Indians. Even when the officials 
 were animated with good and upright senti¬ 
 ments, the principles of the Government they 
 served were so radically bad that they had for 
 effect—even when it was desired that they should 
 do good—of sacrificing certain elements of co¬ 
 lonial prosperity. I will cite examples of this 
 principally from M. Lucas Alaman, who presents 
 them, without, however, dissimulating his indul¬ 
 gence for the defunct government of the mother 
 country, and who, even in certain cases, ex¬ 
 poses them with the idea of its rehabilitation. 
 
 In the seventeenth century, when Mexico was 
 far from possessing the wealth she has since 
 attained, and when Peru herself was not what 
 she afterwards became, there was some com- 
 
352 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 merce between the two kingdoms of New Spain 
 and Peru. The province of Puebla manufac¬ 
 tured a great quantity of stuffs for Peru, par¬ 
 ticularly of cotton.* On all the line from the 
 town of Puebla to that of Cholula were cotton 
 manufactories. Representations were made at 
 the Court of Madrid, that under colour of this 
 commerce between the two colonies, the Dutch 
 and the English smuggled into Peru Chinese 
 stuffs, which they declared to be of Mexican 
 manufacture. Any other government would 
 have sought for and would have found—a not 
 very difficult thing—the means of preventing this 
 irregular commerce of the English and the 
 Dutch. But the Council of the Indies acted 
 differently. In order to put down smuggling, 
 it limited cargoes from Mexico to Peru to two 
 vessels, which were not to carry fabrics to more 
 than the value of 200,000 ducats (24,000/.). At 
 a later period, the Government decided that the 
 stuffs imported should be of certain determined 
 qualities, and eventually it absolutely pro¬ 
 hibited trade between the two colonies. Peru, 
 on its part, sent wines to other Spanish pos¬ 
 sessions, particularly to the province of Gua- 
 
 * The reader has learnt that cotton is indigenous in 
 Mexico. 
 
ANCIENT AND MpDERN. 
 
 353 
 
 temala; no doubt Peru had, as a favour, been 
 allowed to cultivate vines, though that was for¬ 
 bidden elsewhere. The wines were demanded by 
 the Indian population of Central America; but 
 after a while, it was seen that the Indians made 
 too copious libations, and became intoxicated; 
 and so from interest for them the wines of 
 P eru were prohibited in the Government of 
 Guatemala. 
 
 Manufactories of woven stuffs were established, 
 as we have said, in some of the colonies, more 
 particularly in Mexico, because hands were more 
 numerous, and had a tendency to increase; but 
 the idea of protecting the Indians created an 
 impediment. It was represented that the heads 
 of manufactories had committed or might commit 
 abuses towards the native population who worked 
 or might work for them. Accordingly, by suc¬ 
 cessive laws, the Council of the Indies con¬ 
 tinuously thwarted the establishment of manu¬ 
 factories. The local authorities were authorized 
 to close them whenever they thought they had 
 sufficient motives, based on interest for the 
 Indians, so to do. In such cases, the viceroys 
 and the audiencias were even empowered to 
 demolish the manufactory, and to inflict penal¬ 
 ties on manufacturers personally. It will be 
 vol. i. 23 
 
354 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 conceived that, under such circumstances, en¬ 
 terprising men were but little disposed to erect 
 such establishments. 
 
 Without being too much inclined to think 
 evil of one’s neighbour, we may believe that the 
 Council of the Indies, when it drew up such 
 unintelligent laws, was not indifferent to the 
 idea of securing a market for the wines and 
 stutfs of the Peninsula, and that the interest 
 of the Indians, which was alleged, was only a 
 pretext. There is, however, one fact which 
 seems to authorize the contradiction which 
 M. Lucas Alaman gives to this supposition. 
 According to him, the principal, and even the 
 sole motive of these abusive restrictions, was 
 kindness to the Indians, as stated in official 
 documents. As a proof, he remarks that the 
 cultivation of a plant, from which the Indians 
 made an intoxicating liquor, was prohibited in 
 Guatemala, for the sake of their health. This pro¬ 
 hibition, he says, could have nothing in common 
 with the protectionist system, since the cultiva¬ 
 tion referred to was not carried on in Spain. It is 
 true, that the protectionist system had nothing 
 to do with the special fact cited by M. Alaman, 
 but it does not follow that it had nothing to do 
 with the measures I have recapitulated, and 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 355 
 
 of which I might have extended the list. The 
 Spanish Government loved the Indians, in its 
 way, but it loved the prohibitive system at least 
 as much. 
 
 After all, when we have to pronounce on the 
 economic system imposed by Spain on her colo¬ 
 nies, the question is not whether the measures, 
 of which we have given some examples, were 
 dictated by this or that notion, but whether 
 they were in themselves judicious and civilizing; 
 whether they promoted the development of the 
 Spanish colonies, or whether, on the contrary, 
 they did not check the growth of them. They 
 were fatal, because they depended on the policy 
 which prohibits use, in order to prevent abuse— 
 a policy which is the negation of liberty, and 
 which, so to speak, drags backwards the car of 
 reason and progress. It is therefore not easy 
 to see what the renown of the old Spanish 
 Government can gain by the explanation of its 
 apologists. What results, on the contrary, is 
 its condemnation—is the explanation of the 
 general insurrection which overthrew it not 
 only in America, but in the Peninsula.* 
 
 * This is perhaps the place to remark that the French 
 colonial system was, down to these latter times, marked 
 with the same vice we reproach in the Spanish Govern- 
 
 23—2 
 
356 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The beau ideal of this system was the design, 
 warmly supported by numerous persons, but from 
 the accomplishment of which the government 
 shrank, of forbidding the cultivation of the 
 banana in Spanish America, in order, as was 
 said, to make the Indians of the hot districts 
 more industrious. The defenders of this project, 
 according to what M. Yon Humboldt says, 
 reasoned nearly in this way:—The banana is 
 a plant which feeds man with the greatest 
 facility; therefore it encourages Indians in 
 habits of idleness; therefore it is a scourge; 
 and therefore it must be extirpated. This 
 
 ment. The prohibitive spirit was there displayed in the 
 largest proportions, for the pretended interest of the mother 
 countiy. Commerce between one colony and another was 
 prohibited, or surrounded with restrictions which were the 
 equivalent of prohibition. And less than two years ago 
 this abusive system remained nearly intact. After the 
 Treaty of Commerce with England, the liberal system of 
 political economy which at last prevailed in France, was 
 applied to the colonies, in so far as to open them to foreign 
 commerce, which was done by the law of 3rd July, 1861. 
 Moreover, that law happily modified the legislation on inter¬ 
 colonial commerce. Spain had many years before profoundly 
 changed the commercial system of the colonies which re¬ 
 mained to her—the Philippines, Cuba, and Porto Rico. On 
 the whole, compared to her, France was much behind¬ 
 hand. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 357 
 
 project, which openly and premeditatedly tended 
 to render difficult the feeding of the people, was, 
 very luckily for the population, impracticable. 
 In Mexico alone, twenty or thirty thousand 
 functionaries would have been required to watch 
 cultivation, and root up the hostile plant in the 
 deep valleys that, throughout the whole length 
 of the country, cut the double inclined plane 
 which, as we shall show in another part of this 
 essay (Part Y. chap. 1), is placed between the 
 immense table-land constituting the interior, and 
 the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific. That 
 number would have constituted an army, 
 the pay of which would have ruined Mexican 
 finances. Besides, there are things against which 
 humanity and common sense protest with so 
 much force that they are impossible. And this 
 would have been of the number. 
 
 If it had been desired to cure the Indians of 
 the apathy to which they abandoned themselves, 
 a plan was clearly indicated: it consisted not 
 in depriving them of the banana, which would 
 have augmented their misery, but in granting 
 them civil liberty, by means of which their in¬ 
 tellectual and moral qualities would have been 
 strengthened, and their desire of comfort would 
 have been augmented by the hope which, having 
 
358 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 become free, they might have conceived of attain- 
 ing it. It was necessary, according to the 
 advice of the respectable Bishop of the diocese 
 of Michoacan, to abolish the perpetual minority 
 which had been imposed on them for their good, 
 to let them reside where they pleased, to divide 
 among them the collective property of the 
 villages, and a portion of the crown lands which 
 remained uncultivated.* It was necessary, 
 besides, to instruct them seriously, and, in a 
 word, to employ the means which are well known 
 to possess the virtue of encouraging labour, and 
 by labour of promoting the people’s welfare. 
 
 Here is another example calculated to show 
 into what contradictions and what embarrass¬ 
 ments men fall, and how much evil they drag after 
 them, when they abandon themselves entirely to 
 a system of regulation, and to absolute centraliza¬ 
 tion. In the supposed interest of the Indians, 
 they were confined, as we have said, to villages 
 closed against Europeans. Limited to a narrow 
 
 * The Bishop of Michoacan went farther—he demanded 
 “an agrarian law similar to that of the Asturias and 
 Galicia, where it is permitted to the poor farmer, under 
 certain conditions, to clear the lands which the large owners 
 have left uncultivated for centuries, to the detriment of 
 national industry.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 359 
 
 space (less than three furlongs in ciicuit), the 
 natives, so to speak, had no individual pro¬ 
 perty ; they were bound to cultivate the lands 
 of the community. The produce of these com¬ 
 munal lands was farmed out by the intendants, 
 who thought they did well in so doing. The 
 revenue thus obtained was poured into the 
 royal treasury, on account, as was said, of each 
 village; but when it was necessary to dispose 
 of these funds, a sort of impassable barrier was 
 raised, consisting in endless formalities and 
 delays. One regulation prohibited intendants 
 from disposing in favour of villages, by their 
 own authority, of such funds, once paid into 
 the royal treasury; it was necessary previously 
 to solicit and obtain special permission from 
 the Superior Council of Finance of Mexico. 
 This council demanded reports from different 
 functionaries, who did not hurry themselves to 
 make them; years passed away in collecting 
 documents, and the Indians, wearied out, aban¬ 
 doned their demands. The Spanish authorities 
 had become so accustomed to consider this 
 money of the Indian villages as a sum without 
 destination, that at the time of M. Von Hum¬ 
 boldt’s visit the intendant of Valladolid sent to 
 Madrid nearly 40,000£. of it, which had been 
 
360 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 collected in the space of two years; and he 
 represented to the king that it was a free and 
 patriotic gift, which the Indians of Michoacan 
 were too happy to offer to his Majesty, to aid 
 him in continuing the Avar against England. 
 
 I do not, however, affirm that there was 
 nothing but evil in the economic or adminis¬ 
 trative measures which were taken by Spain, or 
 which she authorized. Absolute evil no more 
 exists in this world than absolute good. Good 
 has always a place, small or great, in the heart 
 of man and in his acts; it is even not rare that, 
 in virtue of a superior law, political systems, 
 even when they are based on a bad principle, 
 produce some good effects. It would be unjust 
 not to render homage to the generous and en¬ 
 lightened projects of Charles III., relative to the 
 government of the Spanish possessions in the 
 New World. The system which he wished to 
 establish there was a salutary one. If he did 
 not sufficiently change the basis of institutions, 
 he made efforts which were generally successful, 
 to pi event the abuses of the existing system, and 
 to introduce serious improvements. After he 
 had been succeeded on the throne by a good and 
 upright piince, but of radical incapacity, his 
 ideas survived in the New Continent by the force 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 361 
 
 of things, or, to speak more clearly, because the 
 genius of political and social progress, having 
 taken its spring in Europe, endeavoured to make 
 its influence felt in all the parts of the world to 
 which the spirit of European civilization had 
 penetrated; and it succeeded more or less, except 
 in places in which the retrograde system had 
 employed all its resources completely to paralyze 
 the intelligence and activity of populations. In 
 the two principal commercial centres of Mexico, 
 the capital and Vera Cruz, the wish for public 
 reforms was, at the end of the eighteenth 
 century and the beginning of the nineteenth, 
 stronger than in the Peninsula itself. Whilst 
 the detestable administration of the favourite, 
 Godoy, powerless to throw off retrograde tra¬ 
 ditions, and to promote the innovations which 
 are justly dear to modern civilization, allowed 
 everything to perish in Spain, the Spaniards 
 established in the principal towns of Mexico, and 
 especially in the two I have just named, made 
 strong efforts to fecundate the germs of pro¬ 
 sperity with which nature had enriched the 
 country. Each of these cities, and with them a 
 third one, that of Guadalaxara, had a Consulado — 
 a body which would be similar to the Chambers 
 and Tribunals of Commerce of France, supposing 
 
362 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the latter united to the former, and possessing, 
 under the control of the viceroy, more extensive 
 attributes than those which would exist in France 
 by the concentration of the two assemblies into 
 one. The Consulados levied taxes either for the 
 king or themselves; they drew up plans of roads 
 and other public works, and carried them into 
 execution. The traders who composed the 
 Consulado of Mexico and that of Vera Cruz, 
 nearly all natives of the Peninsula, displayed in 
 behalf of the public interest an intelligent ac¬ 
 tivity which would have been repressed in the 
 mother country. To that of Mexico was due 
 the completion* of one of the boldest enterprises 
 in the New World in the eighteenth century— 
 the Desague or canal of Huehuetoca—destined 
 to carry off the surplus water of the lakes, in 
 order to preserve Mexico from the inundations 
 which visited it periodically. A cutting in it 
 was much admired, because it had no equal in 
 
 * The Desague works were commenced almost at the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century, in 1607. The enter¬ 
 prise, though supposed to be terminated, was really un¬ 
 finished in 1767, when the Consulado of Mexico took it in 
 hand. It was completed in 1789. The Consulado promised 
 to finish it in five years, but the difficulties were greater 
 than had been anticipated, and at that time the people in 
 Mexico were not very expert in canal-works. 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 363 
 
 Europe* until this latter time, in which, in 
 the construction of railways, it has been neces¬ 
 sary to employ means previously unknown in 
 the history of roads and canals. In the latter 
 part of the eighteenth century, and the begin¬ 
 ning of the nineteenth, the Consulado of Mexico 
 redoubled its zeal in useful enterprises. It 
 constructed beautiful public edifices in the capi¬ 
 tal, among them the Custom-house, and com¬ 
 menced a road of vital importance to the country, 
 that from Mexico to Vera Cruz by Orizaba, 
 with a branch to Oaxaca, and consequently 
 towards the Pacific Ocean. The Consulado of 
 Yera Cruz, rivalling with that of Mexico, under¬ 
 took at the same epoch to join Mexico to Yera 
 Cruz by Xalapa, and it constructed with Roman 
 solidity a magnificent roadway, rising from the 
 level of the sea to a height of more than 7700 
 feet at Perote. It moreover constructed a light¬ 
 house, which for the epoch was a very good one, 
 in the fort of San Juan de Ulua; and it built in 
 the port of Yera Cruz a mole capable of resisting 
 the extreme violence of the north-west winds. 
 It improved the hospitals; and it took measures 
 
 * For the length of more than two miles it had a depth 
 of ninety-eight feet. 
 
364 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 for supplying the town with drinkable water, the 
 want of which contributed not a little to give 
 great intensity to the yellow fever. 
 
 In addition to these works, executed by cor¬ 
 porations composed of natives of Spain, a class 
 of the community of which Creoles formed the 
 great majority, the workers of silver-mines, were 
 authorized, in 1774, to form an association under 
 the name of La Mineria. A small percentage of 
 the silver extracted from each mine was awarded 
 to it, and owing to the development of the 
 working, secured it abundant resources. 
 
 The Mineria proposed to itself various objects 
 of public utility; and, first of all, the reform of 
 the laws relative to mining, which it obtained in 
 1783. It endeavoured to spread in the country 
 the special knowledge required in the working 
 of mines and the treatment of ores. It founded, 
 with that object, a Mining College at Mexico, 
 and organized it with care. It had twenty-five 
 scholarships for young men of White race or of 
 the Indian nobility, and an indefinite number of 
 paying pupils. It erected in Mexico an elegant 
 edifice, which, however, was not sufficiently 
 strong to resist the not very violent but repeated 
 shocks of earthquake with which the city is 
 visited. It made advances to miners, but did 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 365 
 
 not display in the distribution of its loans the 
 discernment and spirit of order that were re¬ 
 quired. It thus effected loans beyond its means, 
 and ended by a bankruptcy of 4,000,000 piastres 
 (840,000/.). The public drew a comparison 
 between the management of the Mineria and 
 that of the Consulados of Mexico and Yera 
 Cruz; and the Spaniards concluded, therefore, 
 that they understood the management of public 
 affairs better than the Creoles. 
 
 The government of Charles III. was favour¬ 
 able to the sciences, and at Mexico they were 
 cultivated with success, even in the higher 
 branches, as that of astronomy. Humboldt 
 cites as men of scientific attainments Alzate and 
 Gama, and especially Velasquez, who possessed 
 genius. The latter, though born of a poor 
 family, and an orphan at the tender age of four, 
 was a self-taught man, and he employed prodi¬ 
 gious efforts in acquiring knowledge. He ren¬ 
 dered very eminent services of different kinds to 
 his country.* 
 
 * “ When the Abb6 Chappe, more celebrated for his 
 courage and his devotedness to science than for the exact¬ 
 ness of his writings, arrived in California, he found the 
 Mexican astronomer already established there. Velasquez 
 had built for himself, of planks of mimosa, an observatory 
 
366 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 At Guanajuato, the intendant Riagno effected 
 important improvements. Even in secondary 
 towns the spirit of amendment was manifested 
 by useful foundations. At Xalapa, for example, 
 a good school of design was maintained by the 
 wealthier inhabitants, and it gave elementary 
 instruction to artizans. A school of painting 
 and sculpture, established at Mexico, produced 
 most satisfactory results. The sculptor, Tolsa, 
 designed and cast in bronze an equestrian statue 
 of King Charles III., and foreign connoisseurs 
 who visit it in the place in which it has been 
 sequestered since the fall of the Spanish sway 
 still admire it. Notwithstanding the numerous 
 
 at Santa Anna. Having determined the position of that 
 Indian village, he announced to the Abbe Chappe that the 
 eclipse of the moon of the 18th June, 17 69, would be visible 
 in California. The French mathematician doubted the 
 assertion until the announced eclipse took place. Yelasquez 
 alone made very correct observations of the transit of Yenus 
 across the sun’s disc, on the 3rd June, 1769. He communi¬ 
 cated the result the day after the transit to the Abbg 
 Chappe and to the Spanish astronomers, Don Yincente Doz, 
 and Don Salvador de Medina. The French traveller was 
 surprised at the harmony between Yelasquez’s observation 
 and his own. He was no doubt astonished at meeting in 
 California with a Mexican, who, without belonging to any 
 Academy, or having ever left New Spain, did as much as 
 Academicians.”— Humboldt’s “ Essay on New Spain.” 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 367 
 
 and profound vices of the system which pre¬ 
 vailed in the Government the population in¬ 
 creased, the welfare of the people progressed in 
 a great many localities, and even enlightenment 
 began to spread. But the progress was not 
 rapid enough for men of eminent intelligence; 
 and the permanency of institutions condemned 
 by reason wounded the sentiments of the inha¬ 
 bitants, who knew something of Europe and 
 of the bases on which modern civilization is 
 founded. 
 
368 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE MEXICAN CLERGY. 
 
 We must describe the situation which the clergy 
 occupied in the colony of New Spain. In every 
 civilized country, the clergy constitute a power 
 of the first order, and in most Catholic countries, 
 down at least to these later times, it may be 
 said to be superior to all others. 
 
 In a country organized by Spaniards, we 
 instinctively expect to see the clergy enjoying 
 ample powers, and possessing very great in¬ 
 fluence. Such was, in fact, the case, but not, 
 however, so much so as may be believed. The 
 kings of Spain, or the administrative councils 
 which governed under them, understood the 
 warning presented by the state of things in the 
 Peninsula, where they were no longer the 
 masters. In consequence, for the sake of their 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 369 
 
 own power, they were more circumspect in their 
 possessions beyond the seas. They gave there to 
 religious authority a large part in the govern¬ 
 ment, but they did not abandon to it the reins 
 of the State. 
 
 From the beginning, before Mexico was con¬ 
 quered, and even before the existence of it was 
 suspected, the husband of the great Isabella, 
 Ferdinand—a prince more far-seeing and more 
 really able than Philip II., who came after 
 him—took precautions against the encroach¬ 
 ments of religious on royal authority in the 
 dependencies of the Crown beyond the seas; and 
 he did so apparently to compensate the sacrifices 
 which were made to the Papacy in the Penin¬ 
 sula itself. The government of the Church in 
 the Indies was rendered entirely independent, 
 not only of the Church in Spain, but of the 
 Tribunal of the Kota, and of all nunciature, that 
 is to say, of the Court of Rome—that govern¬ 
 ment being expressly delegated to the Catholic 
 kings by an act of Pope Julius II., in 1508. 
 The appeals, which in the Peninsula were made 
 to the Holy Apostolic See, were in the colonies 
 made from one episcopal see to another. The king- 
 nominated the bishops, and the latter, by the 
 mere fact of that nomination, were invested with 
 vol. i. 24 
 
370 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the government of dioceses. The Council of the 
 Indies, sitting at Madrid, had the power to 
 authorize or refuse pontifical bulls and briefs 
 in the possessions beyond the seas. It was 
 through it that all demands from the colonies to 
 the Court of Rome were to be addressed, and it 
 could stop them if it pleased. The acts of the 
 Provincial Councils could not take effect until 
 after they had been sanctioned by the same 
 Council, and could not be published without its 
 authorization. The Court of Spain, in order to 
 render still more complete the independence of 
 the Churches of the Indies as regards the Holy 
 See, wished to place them under the direction of 
 a patriarch, of whom it was to have the choice. 
 But the Court of Rome, which likes to see such 
 dignitaries nowhere, because their extensive 
 powers give it umbrage, would not lend its hand 
 to the establishment of such a high office. As, 
 however, the Court of Madrid insisted, a com¬ 
 promise was come to, which consisted in con¬ 
 fiding to one and the same person the functions 
 of Grand Almoner of the Crown at Madrid, and 
 those of Vicar-General of Spain and the Indies, 
 with the title and the honours of the Cardi- 
 n.xlate, but without being a Patriarch. 
 
 Immediately after the conquest, a great many 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 371 
 
 priests and monks were needed in New Spain, 
 since they had to catechize a people spread over 
 an immense surface, and to keep them in religious 
 practices after being converted. A great many 
 religious houses were accordingly founded; they 
 were for the two sexes, and there was a super¬ 
 abundance of each. The ayuntamiento (muni¬ 
 cipality) of Mexico, a corporation which was 
 always independent, made this the subject of a 
 petition to King Philip IV., in 1644. It prayed 
 the king to check the indefinite increase of com¬ 
 munities of monks and nuns, remarking that 
 the number of convents was in particular ex¬ 
 cessive, and that of nuns still more exorbitant. 
 It demanded that a limit should be assigned to 
 the amount of property held by convents, and 
 even that they should be prevented from ac¬ 
 quiring more. It complained that the greater 
 part of the territorial domains had become, either 
 by donations or purchase, the property of the re¬ 
 ligious orders, and affirmed that if no obstacle 
 were raised, all the land in Mexico would soon 
 be theirs. It recommended that no more priests 
 should be sent from the Peninsula, and that the 
 Mexican bishops should be ordered to postpone 
 farther ordinations. It remarked, that there were 
 already in the country more than six thousand 
 24—2 
 
372 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 priests who had nothing to do, and who had 
 been ordained on pretext of serving insignificant 
 chapels. Finally, it demanded a diminution in 
 the number of holidays, which were excessive, 
 and which gave a pretext for idleness, and for all 
 the vices that idleness occasions. 
 
 A sort of Cortes, which was accidentally as¬ 
 sembled at Mexico at about the same time, pre¬ 
 sented a similar wish; and the same opinion, 
 according to M. Alaman, is said to have been ex¬ 
 pressed by the Council of Castille, which was the 
 superior council of the Government at Madrid, 
 but which did not decide on American affairs, 
 the latter devolving on the Council of the Indies. 
 M. Alaman says that the Spanish Government 
 took no heed of these representations. It was 
 therefore the natural course of things, and the 
 spontaneous change of vocations that caused the 
 diminution in the number of persons embraced 
 in the religious orders, which was noticed at the 
 beginning of the nineteenth century. 
 
 When M. Von Humboldt explored the 
 country, the clergy was only composed of 
 10,000 monks and nuns; adding the lay 
 brothers, or servants, and the lay sisters—that 
 is, the simple servants not in orders—there 
 were only from 13,000 to 14,000 persons, a 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 373 
 
 number less than that of Franciscan monks 
 alone in Spain. The Spanish clergy, at the 
 same epoch, consisted of 177,000 persons, or 
 16 per 1000 of the inhabitants; whilst in New 
 Spain the number was less than 2. 
 
 The wealth of the clergy was considerable. 
 On this point, however, the best authorities are 
 not in accord. Humboldt, relying on a docu¬ 
 ment which emanated in 1805 from the inhab¬ 
 itants of Valladolid, says that the real property 
 of the clergy was then only from 12,000,000 frs. 
 to 15,000,000 frs. (480,000?. to 600,000?.); 
 whilst the personal property, consisting of dota¬ 
 tions and the funds of pious works, amounted 
 to 234,000,000 frs. (9,360,000?.). The sum is 
 large, assuredly; it appears, however, much 
 beneath the reality. M. Alaman, who wrote 
 long after Humboldt, and who had in his hands 
 all the information which a long participation in 
 the government enabled him to collect, affirms 
 that the property, real and personal, of the 
 Mexican clergy could not, at the time of 
 Humboldt’s visit, be estimated at less than half 
 the value of all the real property of the country. 
 
 The clergy, moreover, levied tithes, which 
 annually amounted to about 10,000,000 frs. 
 (400,000?.). 
 
374 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 The wealth of the clergy was very unequally 
 divided among its members; some prelates were 
 extravagantly paid, and many parish priests were 
 reduced to a modest stipend. The Archbishop of 
 Mexico had a revenue of 700,000 frs. (28,000/.); 
 the Bishop of Valladolid one of 550,000 frs. 
 (22,000/.); and the priests of Indian villages 
 received only 500frs. or 600frs. (20/. or 24/.). 
 
 The capital, properly so called, of the clergy, 
 —its personal property, distinct from lands and 
 houses,—was administered in a very remarkable 
 manner. The Mexican clergy, without troubling 
 itself about antiquated ecclesiastical prescrip¬ 
 tions relative to the levying of interest, lent 
 its capital principally to landowners on the 
 guarantee of a mortgage, and on moderate 
 terms. The rate of interest was ordinarily 
 six per cent.—a sum which must be judged, not 
 according to the usages of the markets of Paris 
 and London, but according to what is generally 
 paid in the colonies. The Mexican clergy had 
 thus the management of a sort of mortgage 
 bank, or Credit Foncier, the capital of which 
 belonged to it. The course of events had natu¬ 
 rally led it, so to speak, to assume this financial 
 office, and it fulfilled it with a laudable spirit of 
 forbearance towards the borrowing public. These 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 375 
 
 loans on mortgage, which generally presented a 
 sufficient guarantee, were ordinarily renewed 
 when they fell due. There was a tacit con¬ 
 vention, in virtue of which every landowner 
 who desired a renewal obtained it without 
 objection. 
 
 The morality of a part of the Mexican clergy 
 was not very exemplary. It appears that it 
 was less so the greater the distance from the 
 capital. A considerable number of parish 
 priests did not respect the law of celibacy, and 
 often in the villages did not take the trouble to 
 keep secret the connexions they maintained, 
 contrary to the rules of ecclesiastical discipline. 
 As to the public, as has been remarked in other 
 Catholic countries, they conformed themselves 
 externally to the letter without caring for the 
 spirit of religion. They saved appeal ances, 
 but in secret gave free course to their passions. 
 And yet it must be said in favour of the women 
 of White race, that they were generally good 
 mothers and chaste wives, attentive to the edu¬ 
 cation of their children; though, however, not 
 without extreme indulgence to their sons, whom 
 they were far from making economical and in¬ 
 dustrious. The religious holidays affoicled the 
 inferior classes a pretext for wasting in a day 
 
376 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 the fruits of whole months of labour; and, for 
 the higher classes, they were an excuse for 
 luxury and expense. Splendid parties were 
 given, and in them the sensations caused by 
 combats of bulls and cocks were indulged, and 
 frantic gambling with cards took place. This 
 was considered honouring God and the saints. 
 The Viceroy, the Duke de Linares, in a report 
 which he prepared for the guidance of his 
 successor, said justly: “ In this country people 
 believe themselves Catholics because they carry 
 a rosary and kiss the hand of a priest; but the 
 observance of the Ten Commandments is a mere 
 formal ceremony.” 
 
 The intestine division which ranged the 
 whole population into two groups, ready to be¬ 
 come factions, and even belligerents—that of the 
 Creoles and that of the Europeans—existed in 
 the clergy. The dignitaries of the Church were 
 chosen by the Crown from among the natives 
 of Spain. Of nine episcopal sees that were 
 established in the country, eight, at the begin¬ 
 ning of the century, were occupied by priests 
 born in the Peninsula; only one, that of Puebla, 
 was held by a Creole. The parish priests were all 
 .Mexicans, principally Creoles—often, however, 
 Indians. They regarded their superiors with a 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 377 
 
 jealous eye. The part they played in the insur¬ 
 rection for independence will be seen hereafter. 
 
 The opposition between the Creoles and the 
 Spaniards, or Gachupines , was manifested in 
 another manner in the ranks of the clergy. Such 
 an order, or such a monastery or convent, was 
 under the banner of the Gachupines, such an¬ 
 other under that of the Creoles. These divisions 
 were not calculated to augment the respect which 
 religion ought to inspire among the population. 
 
 One of the events which in Mexico marked 
 the history of the clergy, and even that of the 
 country, was the abolition of the Order of the 
 Jesuits, in 1767. This famous Order held the 
 first rank in New Spain, as in all Spanish colo¬ 
 nies. It possessed there great wealth, and still 
 greater influence. It was distinguished from 
 other religious communities by being better 
 educated, of more regular conduct, and also by 
 the union and perfect order of which it set the 
 example. It was not divided into Gachupines 
 and Creoles; it was exclusively Apostolic and 
 Roman, and it did not consider that in that 
 quality it had to demand from political in favour 
 of religious authority anything beyond what 
 existed in Mexico. It had neither agitated elec¬ 
 tions nor noisy meetings; the elective and de- 
 
378 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 liberative system was not, indeed, in accordance 
 with the spirit of its institution. It enjoyed 
 great credit among all the classes of the popula¬ 
 tion, and bore a very useful part in the teaching, 
 not only of religion, but of letters and sciences. 
 Its disappearance from the scene of the world 
 was certainly a misfortune for Spanish America, 
 where it was the promoter of civilization. 
 
 It is not probable, however, that history will 
 blame the Governments of the great States of 
 Europe which imposed on the Court of Rome the 
 closing of the establishments of Jesuits in that the 
 most civilized part of the world. The influence of 
 the Jesuits then impeded the movement of the 
 world in the path of progress. The Jesuits had 
 taken an active part in the violent and anti-Chris¬ 
 tian measures by which the Holy See, in accord 
 with certain kings, had succeeded in re-establish¬ 
 ing in Europe its authority, which was shaken 
 or overthrown by the Reformation. This Order, 
 the members of which individually were benevo¬ 
 lent and mild, had been the accomplice of all the 
 horrors committed by the Inquisition, of all the 
 persecutions of Protestants, and of all the san¬ 
 guinary attacks on civilization, of which the 
 massacre of Saint Bartholomew’s Day is the 
 most striking example. It was an assemblage 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 379 
 
 of men of cultivated minds; and yet it made 
 systematic efforts to maintain gross superstitions, 
 and to accredit miracles which were manifestly 
 false; thereby appearing to have at heart the de¬ 
 gradation and the disgrace of public intelligence. 
 The Jesuits committed another fault, that of 
 being in Europe the indefatigable instruments for 
 realizing a hope which, though impossible of 
 success, the Papacy cherished, and which it has 
 not yet renounced—the hope of regaining over 
 kings and peoples the political domination it 
 exercised in the Middle Ages. They have thus 
 justified much of the antipathy felt for them by, 
 among other bodies, the French Parlements , 
 which gave them terrible blows, and by the 
 philosophers of the eighteenth century, in whose 
 eyes the pretension of the Holy See to supremacy 
 in the political world was even more culpable 
 than chimerical. 
 
 After the first half of the eighteenth century, 
 when a liberal spirit had assumed its ascend¬ 
 ancy over men’s minds, the Order of the Jesuits 
 had terrible accounts to' settle with public 
 opinion and with European civilization. The 
 essential doctrines of the Order were more re¬ 
 pugnant than those of any other to the sentiment 
 of independence, which was at last in honour 
 
3S0 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 among men; for it was in direct opposition with 
 the generous spirit which then excited peoples to 
 conquer or regain representative institutions for 
 societies, and guarantees for individuals. Or¬ 
 ganized in the sixteenth century for the purpose 
 of extirpating the spirit of free inquiry, the Order 
 was the declared antagonist and irreconcilable 
 enemy of liberal ideas. When, then, a century 
 ago, the moment arrived at which the genius of 
 Liberty had to unfold its wings in Europe, the 
 Order of the Jesuits was weighed in the balance 
 of destiny, and found wanting. But in other 
 parts of the world it was still capable of render¬ 
 ing brilliant services. In America, it is probable, 
 it would have drawn from barbarism the native 
 populations, which were still very numerous, al¬ 
 though they had been decimated by the con¬ 
 querors. In the great monarchies of Eastern 
 Asia, it conducted itself with a moderation and 
 ability which would have ended by producing 
 the best fruits in those populous empires, and 
 would, perhaps, have spared the present genera¬ 
 tions of Europe the task, which it seems they 
 are destined to undertake, of saving them from 
 destruction, and of placing them in regular and 
 harmonious contact with the civilization of the 
 West. Confined to the duties of missionaries 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 381 
 
 out of Europe, the Jesuits might, then, have been 
 useful auxiliaries for the advancement of man¬ 
 kind. When they disappeared from Mexico, 
 they were not replaced in scholastic establish¬ 
 ments; they were only imperfectly replaced in 
 their relations with the Indians; and the example 
 of pure and dignified conduct which they set the 
 clergy was lost. 
 
 The clergy were allowed from the first special 
 rights of jurisdiction, and they had besides their 
 fuero or legal privilege, in virtue of which ecclesi¬ 
 astical tribunals had the power of trying cases in 
 which one of their members was concerned or 
 accused. But in time these prerogatives were 
 diminished. The political authorities claimed the 
 attributes which belong to them according to the 
 new political law laid down by sovereigns after the 
 Middle Ages. They established in many cases, and 
 particularly in criminal ones, the jurisdiction of 
 the ordinary tribunals. The viceroy was in¬ 
 vested with the power of deciding in each special 
 case whether it should be referred to ecclesias¬ 
 tical or civil jurisdiction. It was on the propo¬ 
 sition of Count de Revilla Gigedo that this power 
 was conferred on the viceroys. The interven¬ 
 tion of the ecclesiastical authorities was not, 
 however, suppressed, even in the case of crimes 
 
382 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 in nowise connected with religion; and the fuero , 
 that is the special right of the clergy, remained 
 such that it would not have been impossible to 
 a bishop to suspend the course of justice, if he 
 had wdlled it. The political authorities would 
 have been disarmed, if they had not possessed 
 the resource, the employment of which is always 
 to be regretted, of deciding difficulties in the 
 style of Alexander, that is by material force. 
 When an ecclesiastic was prosecuted for a crime, 
 it was necessary before sentence was pronounced, 
 and still more before execution was proceeded 
 to, for him to be condemned and degraded by 
 his superiors, and given up by them to the secu¬ 
 lar arm. 
 
 When the parish priest Hidalgo, who was the 
 first to organize the struggle for independence, 
 had been made a prisoner, with the greater part 
 of the staff of the insurgent army, the eccle¬ 
 siastics, who were numerous among the captives, 
 were placed apart, in order that the investiga¬ 
 tion of the charges against them might be made 
 separately. The capture took place on the 21st 
 of March, 1811; some of the prisoners who 
 before the insurrection had served in the regular 
 army, and who consequently were specially sub¬ 
 ject to the rigour of military law, were sum- 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 383 
 
 marily tried on the spot and shot. This first 
 execution accomplished, all those who were not 
 in orders were sent on to Chihuahua, where they 
 arrived on the 23rd of April. On the 6th of 
 May, a court-martial charged to decide on 
 the fate of this first class of prisoners was 
 formed ; the sentence was immediate, and the 
 condemned were shot in batches from the 
 10th of May. Of Hidalgo, the treatment was 
 different: the bishop of the diocese in which he 
 was arrested, that of Durango, nominated an 
 ecclesiastical commissioner on the 14th of May. 
 But the latter did not consider himself war¬ 
 ranted in pronouncing the degradation of the 
 prisoner, and to make him do so a special man¬ 
 date from the bishop was necessary. The de¬ 
 gradation, pronounced on the 27th of July, was 
 solemnly proceeded to, in presence of the people, 
 in the church of the monastery of Saint Francis, 
 at Chihuahua. Thus deprived of the ecclesiasti¬ 
 cal character, Hidalgo was immediately given up 
 to the secular arm, with a recommendation to 
 clemency, which was only a vain formality. 
 Three days after he was shot. 
 
 There remained five other ecclesiastics. 
 Taken almost all like Hidalgo, at the well of 
 Bujan, they were tried by a court-martial with- 
 
384 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 out any degradation being pronounced, and were 
 condemned to death. But before the sentence 
 could be executed, it was necessary that eccle¬ 
 siastical authority should degrade them. The 
 bishop, however, refused to do so. The military 
 authorities were firm; despatches were ex¬ 
 changed, and at last, the general who com¬ 
 manded in the district took on himself the exe¬ 
 cution of the sentence, in spite of all opposition, 
 and it was carried into effect on the 17th of 
 July, 1812. The document in which he gave 
 his orders to the commanding officers was thus 
 conceived—“ The Clerk of the Court will read 
 their sentence to the condemned ecclesiastics 
 who are in your custody. Within twenty-four 
 hours you will carry this sentence into execu¬ 
 tion : you will have them shot from behind, and 
 will take care not to hit them in the head; you 
 will also previously take off their ecclesiastical 
 garments, and after they are shot will put them 
 on again. In that state you will have the 
 bodies, escorted by all your detachment, con¬ 
 veyed to the sanctuary of Guadalupe, where you 
 will deliver them to the parish priest in order 
 that he may bury them; and you will report the 
 ceremony to me.” “ This order,” says M. 
 Alaman, u was literally obeyed; the tonsure and 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 385 
 
 the habit of these priests were respected, but 
 they themselves were put to death.” 
 
 The Inquisition, without which it appeared to 
 the Court of Spain that mankind could not live, 
 was imported into the colonial possessions, and 
 consequently its weight was felt in Mexico. 
 The Mexican Inquisition had in its jurisdiction 
 the Government of Guatemala, the West India 
 Islands, and even the Philippines. It was a 
 dependency on the Supreme Tribunal of the 
 Inquisition at Madrid. It exercised its func¬ 
 tions with that gloomy distrustful spirit which 
 was its characteristic. And yet on this point 
 also the royal authority, represented by the 
 viceroys, had found means to make reserves, and 
 to restrict the ecclesiastical power. Count de 
 Revilla Gigedo obtained a decree, that the 
 Mexican Inquisition, before publishing any edict 
 or order, should be bound to communicate it to 
 the viceroy. This was placing the power of the 
 Inquisition in complete subjection to that of the 
 viceroy, and it was so understood. The Inqui¬ 
 sition was obliged to submit, but we may sup¬ 
 pose that it only waited for an opportunity of 
 regaining its primitive attributes. And we shall 
 see, in fact, that it became the gaoler of the 
 vol. i. 25 
 
386 
 
 MEXICO, 
 
 Viceroy Iturrigaray at the beginning of' the 
 insurrection. 
 
 At first, and down to about the end of the 
 eighteenth century, the Inquisition had no need 
 to display much activity in Mexico; it hunted 
 down some Portuguese Jews who had entered the 
 country and endeavoured to make fortunes; it 
 prosecuted some monks who cast aside the gown; 
 it sought out and discovered some cases of 
 bigamy; it inspected the printed works which 
 commerce imported, and examined the very few 
 manuscripts which the Mexicans got printed at 
 home. It, however, had much more to do after the 
 United States had conquered their independence. 
 A movement then took place in public opinion, 
 and as the principal object of the Inquisition is to 
 petrify public intelligence, the calling of Inqui¬ 
 sitor became somewhat laborious:—there w T ere 
 persons suspected of incredulity to prosecute; 
 there w r ere a greater quantity of books to exa¬ 
 mine, because the Mexicans procured many more 
 from Europe, especially French ones. The tri¬ 
 bunal of the Inquisition had thus at times more 
 than a thousand causes to examine and judge. 
 The Inquisition in consequence demanded an 
 increase of its budget. M. Alaman mentions the 
 despatch of the Viceroy, which transmitted this 
 
ANCIENT AND MODERN. 
 
 387 
 
 deniand to the Court of Spain. Amongst the 
 persons who were denounced to the Holy Office, 
 and against whom the latter proceeded, was a 
 priest of great learning, and who is most 
 honourably remembered in Mexico—Abad y 
 Queipo. He, however, found grace before the 
 suspicious tribunal; he was, in fact, so orthodox 
 that he was afterwards promoted to an episcopal 
 gee. A renowned professor of mathematics, who 
 rendered great services in public instruction, 
 M. Rojas, was less fortunate than the priest 
 Abad y Queipo. He was condemned and con¬ 
 fined in prison, but he had the good luck to 
 escape. He went? to New Orleans, and there he 
 troubled the inquisitors by sending into New 
 Spain energetic appeals to his countrymen to 
 imitate the late continental colonies of England 
 in America. 
 

 ■