on all. And see! I am no prisoner. Go your way; I am free. By divine command I must remain the guest of the Spaniards yet a little longer, and you must not molest them, for soon they will return whence they came. Alas, my people, my country, my crown!”7
With a heavy sigh, and midst copious tears, his head fell on his breast. The monarch’s strength had indeed departed. The people knew that he spoke falsely, that he was little better than imbecile, unfit to be their sovereign. Oh, if he but had the good fortune to die while helping them to grind to powder these hated enemies! Only a little while ago his words would have been received as the utterances of a deity. Now the scales had fallen from their eyes, and they saw him as he was. They could bear no more. Jeers and groans reached him from every direction. “Coward! chicken! Woman to the Spaniards, fit only for the gown and the spindle! Murderer of your nobles!” Such were the cries which now reached his ears as he stood stupefied with agony. Presently came a shower of arrows and stones, and before the Spanish guard could interpose their shields several missiles struck him, one on the left temple, which caused him to fall senseless into the arms of the by-standers.8
Startled by the crime they had committed, awe fell upon the multitude as the stricken sovereign was led away. Taking advantage of this feeling Cortés beckoned the chiefs to a parley with a view to explain what Montezuma had intended to convey. He had always wished them well, he said, and felt grieved to wage war for what had occurred during his absence. He desired peace, yet the desire was not prompted by fear, but by consideration for their safety and that of the city. The chiefs replied that the Spaniards must leave the country to the natives, and depart at once. That was exactly what they wished to do, replied Cortés, but they would not be driven away. If the Mexicans desired them to go, they must abandon the siege, tear down the barricade, and retire to their homes; they must likewise restore the bridges and supply provisions. To this the chiefs declined to listen, declaring that they would not lay down their