The Northern galaxy, and Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1843-1844, 1844-01-31
MISCELLANEOUS.
3sresrott's Conquest of @frtro.
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH MoNTEzUMA.

through the neart OF the city. Amidst a
crowd of Indian mobiles, preceded by three
officers of state, bearing golden wands,
they saw the royal paIanquin blazing with
FURNISHED gold. 1t was borne on the
shoulders of mobiles, and over it a canopy
ofgaudy feather-work, powdered with Jew
els, and fringed with silver, was supported
by four attendants of the same rank
They were barefooted and walked with a
slow measured pace, and with their eyes
bent on the ground. When the train had
come within convenient distance, it hal
ted, and Montezuma, descending from his
litter, came forward leaning on the arms
of the lords of Tezcuco and Iztapalapan,
his nephew and brother, both of whom, as
we have seen, had already been made
known to the Spaniards. As the monarch
passed under the canopy, the obsequious
attendants strewed the ground with cotton
tapestry, that his imperial feet might not
be contaminated by the rude soil. His
subjects of high and low degree, who lined
the sides of the causeway, bent forward
with their eyes fastened on the ground as
he passed, and some of the humber class
Frustrated themselves before him. Such
was the homage paid to the Indian despot,
! showing that the slavish forms of Oriental
adulation were to be found among the
rude inhabitants of the Western world.
Montezuma wore the girdle and ample
great cloak, tilmatE. of his nation. 1t
was made of the finest cotton, with the
embroidered ends gathered in a knot
round his neck. His feet were defended
by sandals having soles of gold, and the
leathern thongs which bound them to his
ankles were embossed with the same met
al Both the cloak and sandals were sprin-
kled with pearls and precious stones,
among which the emerald and the ckGlchi-
UW-a green stone of higher estimation
than any other among the Aztees-were
conspicuous On his head he wore no
other ornament than a pdnache of plumes
of the royal green which foated down his
back, the badge of military, rather than of
regal, rank.
He was at this time about forty years of
age. His person was tall and thin, but
not ill-made. His hair, which was black
and straight, was not very long, to wear it
short was unbecoming persons of rank.-i
His beard was thin; his complexion some
what paler than is often found in his dus-
ky, or rather copper colored race. His
features, though serious in their express
ion, did not wear the look of melancholy,
indeed of detection, which characterizes
his portrait, and which may well have set
tied on them at later period He moved
with dignity, and his whole demeanor,
tempered by an expression of benignity
not to have been anticipated from the re-
ports circulated of his character, was wor-
thy of great prince. Such IS the por-
trait left to us of the celebrated Indian en-
peror, in this his first interview with the
white men.
The army halted as he drew near. Cor
ties, dismounting, threw his reins to page
and, supported by few of the principal
cavaliers, advanced to meet him. The
interview must have been one of uncom-
mon interest to both. In Montezuma,
Cortes beheld the lord Of the broad realms
he had traversed, whose magnihcence and
power had been the burden of every
tongue. In the Spaniard, on the other
hand, the Aztec prince saw the strange
being whose history seemed TO be SO mys-
teriously connected with his own; the
predicted one of his oracles; whose
achievements proclaimed him something
more than human. But, whatever may
have been the monarchs feelings, he so far
suppressed them that he received his guest
with princely courtesy, and to express his
satisfaction at personally seeing him in his
capitol Cortes responded by the most
profound expressions of respect, while he
made ample acknowledgements for the sub
stantial proofs which the emperor had giy-
en- the Spaniards of his munificence. He
then hung round Montezuma's neck
sparkling chain of colored crystal, accom-
panying this with movement as if to en-
brace him, when he was restrained by the
two Aztec lords, shocked at the menaced
proclamation of the sacred person Of their
master After the interchange of these
civilties, Montezuma appointed his BROTH
er to conduct the Spaniards to their resi-
dence in the capitol, and again entering
his litter was borne off amidst PROSTATE
crowds in the same state in which he had
come. The Spaniards quickly followed.
and with colors flying and music playing
soon made their entrance into the southern
quarter of Tenochtilan.
Here. again. they found fresh cause for
admiration in the grandeur Of the city,and
the superior style of its architecture. The
dwellings of the poorer class were, indeed.
chiefly of reeds and mud. But the great
avenue through which they were now
marching was lined with the houses of
the mobiles, who were encouraged by the
emperor to make the capital their resi-
dence. They were built of a red porous
stone drawn from quarries in the neigh
bOrhood, and, though they rarely rose to
second story, often covered a large
space Of ground. The fiat roofs, dsoteas,
were protected by stone parapets, SO that
every house was fortress. Sometimes
these roofs resembled parterres of flowers