Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1894-08-08

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A man sat upon q broidcrcd cushion In
hdltng the fumes of the tobacco.
ed till the emperor made o sign with the
gilded bowl of his pipe, when they rose to
their feet again and stood with folded
hands and eyes fixed abjectlv rlon the
floor. Presently Montezuma made anoth-
er signal, and thzoe aged men, whom !
understood to be ambassadors, advanced
and asked some prayer Of him. He an
swered them with nod Pf the head, and
they retreated from his presence, making
obeisance and stepping backward till they
mingled with the crowd. Then the elnpcr-
or spoke word to ono of the counselors,
who bowed and came slowly down the
hall, looking TO the right and to the left.
Presently his eye fell upon Guatemoc, and
indeed ho was easy to see, for he stood
head taller than any there.
Hail, prince" he said. 1.-The royal
Montezuma desires to speak with you, and
with the Teule, your companion"
"Do as I do, Teule," said Guntemoc,
and led the way up the chamber till VIC
reached tho place where the wooden screen
had been, which, as we passed it, was
drawn behind us, shutting us off from
the hail.
Here we stood awhile, with folded hands
and downcast eyes, till signal was made
to us to advance.
Your report, nephew" said Montezu'
ma in low voice Of command.
IT went to the city Of Tabasco, 0 glo'
rious Montczuma. found the Teule and
brought him thither; also caused the
high priest to be sacrificed according to the
royal command, and now hand back the
imperial signet," nnd he gave tho ring to
q counselor.
''Why did you delay SO long upon the
road, nephewf"
Because of the chances of the journey.
While saving my life, royal Montezuma,
the Teule, my prisoner, was bitten by o
puma Its skin is brought to you as an
Offering"
Now Montezuma looked at me for the
first time, then opened picture scroll
that one Of the counselors handed to him
and read in it, glancing at me from time
to time.
1.-THE description is good, he said al
length, "in all save one thing-it does not
say that this prisoner Is tho handsomest
man in Anahuac. Say, Teule, why have
your countrymen landed on my dominions
and slain my pcoples"
IT know nothing of it, o king" an
swered as well as might, with the helI
of Guatcmoc, land they are not my coun
trymen."
1.-THE report says that you confess to hay
ing the blood Of these Teules in your veins
and that you came to these shores, or neal
them, In one of their great canoes"
"That is SO, o king, yet am not Of theil
people, and came to the shore floating OF
o barrel"
IT hold that you lie, answered Monte
yuma, frowning, for the sharks and croo
odiles would devour one who swan thus u
Then he added anxiously, "Say, are you
Of the descendants of Quetzal?"
IT do not know, O king. I am Of G
white race, and our forefather was named
Adam"
"Perchance that 10 another name TO,
Quetzal," he said. 1T has long beer
prophesied that his children would return
and now 1t seems that the hour Of thei1
coming is at hand" And he sighed heav
lily, then added: "Go now. Tomorrow you
shall tell me Of these Teules, and the coun
oil Of the priests shall decide your fate"
Now, when I heard the names of the
priests, I trembled in all my bones and
cried, clasping my hands in supplication:
"Slay me If you will o king, but be-
seech you deliver me not again into the
hands of tho priests.
1--WE are oil in the hands Of the priests
who are the mouth Of God" he answered
ooldly. "Besides 1 hold that you have Lied
to me. "
Then went. foreboding evil, and Qua.
temoc also looked downcast. Bitterly did
I curse the hour when I had said that
was Of the Spanish blood and yet no Span
lard. Had I known even what knew
that day, torture would not have wrunl
those words from mo. But now 1t was
too late.
Now Guatemoc led me to certain apart
ments Of this palace Of Chapoltepec, where
his wife the royal Princess Tecuichpo
was awaiting him, very lovely lady, and
with her other ludies among them the
Princess Otomic, Montczuma' daughter
and some mobiles. Here rich repast was
served to us, and was seated next to the
Princess Otomie, who spoke to me most
grac!ously, asking HE Inany things con,
corning my land and the people of the
Teulcs. 1t was from her that learned
first that the emperor was much disturbed
at heart because of these Teulcs, or Span
isrds, for he was supcrstitious and held
them to be the children Of tho god Quot
zal, who, according TO ancient prophecy,
would come to take tho land. Indeed &C
gracious was she, and SO royalty lovely,
tha5 for the first time felt my heart stir.
red by any other woman than my betroth.
ed whom had left far away in England,
and whom, us 1 thought should never
see again. And, us learned in after days,
mine was not the only heart that was stir.
rcd that night.
Near to rs sat another royal lady, Pa.
pantzin, the sister Of Montczuma, but she
was neither young nor lovely, and yet
most sweet faced and sad, MS though with
the prcsago of death. Indeed she died not
many weeks after, but could not rest quiet
In her grave, us shall bu told
When tho feast was done and we had
drunk OF the cOcou or chocolate and smok.
ed tobacco In pipes, strange but most
soothing custom that l learned in Tnbasco,
and of which have never been uble to
break myself though the weed is still
hard to come by hero in England, was
led to my sleeping place, IL small chamber,
panclcd with cedar boartls. For awhile
could not sleep, Tor was overcome by the
memory of all tho strange sights that
had seen In this wonderful now land,
which was so civilized and yet 30 barbs.
rOuS.
Then my thoughts flow to tho vision of
tllat most lovely maid tho Princess Oto.
mic, who. MS believed had looked ON me
so kindly, and I found that vision sweet,
for was young, and the English Lilly, my
own love, WIS fnr away and lost to mo for
over. Was it then wonderful that should
find this Indian poppY fairi Indeed where