CHAPTER CLXX.

As this Ribera was a man who possessed considerable eloquence, and as he had been private secretary to Cortes, his aspersions were generally credited in Spain, by the bishop of Burgos in particular; and he created the more evil, as at that time Narvaez, Christobal de Tapia, and the agents of Velasquez had renewed their charges against Cortes, complaining to his majesty that he could not depend upon the honesty of the decision to which the commissioners had come, as Cortes had bribed them all with valuable presents. All this created a most unfavorable change in Cortes' affairs, and he fell so greatly into his majesty's displeasure that matters, in all likelihood, would have terminated most unfavorably for him if the duke of Bejar, who was greatly attached to Cortes, had not employed his utmost endeavours for him and become his bail until he should be summoned to take his trial in due form. The duke's reason for espousing Cortes' cause so warmly was, because the preliminaries of a marriage had been settled between the latter and a niece of the duke. This lady's name was Juana de Zunniga, daughter to the earl of Aguilar Don Carlos de Arellano, and she had also a brother who was a great favorite with the emperor. As about this time also the 80,000 pesos, with the other valuable presents arrived in Spain, accompanied by letters from Cortes, in which he expressed to his majesty his thanks for the great honours which his majesty had bestowed upon him, and for the just sentence he had pronounced in his favour; the inquiries which were going to be instituted against him were dropped, and the storm which was gathering over him blew over. But now again the proud inscription which he had placed on the silver field-piece created a great deal of ill-feeling towards him, and several of the dukes, marquisses and earls, who had likewise rendered great services to our emperor, considered it amazingly presumptuous that Cortes should attempt, by this inscription, to raise his merits so far above all others. Even his greatest patrons, the admiral of Castile, the duke of Bejar, and the earl of Aguilar, greatly disapproved of this self-praise.⁴⁴ But why, I ask, should they term this presumptuous in our general? Can any one