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gods, who had thus deceived the Mexicans, had decreed finally to withdraw their protection from them, joined his standard; and so striking was the levity of this simple people, moved by every slight impression, that in a short time after such a defection of his confederates, Cortez saw himself at the head of a hundred and fifty thousand Indians. Notwithstanding this immense force, Cortez proceeded against the city with the greatest caution; nor could he make any impression, till the stores which Guatimozin had laid up were exhausted by the multitudes which had crowded into the capital to defend their sovereign and the temples of their gods. Then people of all ranks felt the utmost distresses of famine. But under the pressure of so many and such various evils, the spirit of Guatimozin remained firm and unsubdued. He rejected with scorn every overture of peace from Cortez; and disdaining the idea of submitting to the oppressors of his country, determined not to survive its ruin. At the earnest solicitation of several of his chiefs he attempted to escape, but was taken by the Spaniards. When brought before Cortez he appeared with a dignified countenance" I have done," said he, "what became a monarch. I have defended my people to the last extremity. Nothing now remains but to die. Take this dagger," laying his hand on one which Cortez wore, "plant it in my breast, and put an end to a life which can no longer be useful to my country."

14. As soon as the capture of the emperor was known, the resistance of the Mexicans ceased, and Cortez took possession of the small part of the city that was not destroyed. The Spaniards, as may be expected, were elated with joy, by the completion of their difficult conquest, and the expectation of sharing immense spoils. But in the latter respect they were miserably disappointed. Guatimozin, foreseeing his impending fate, had caused all the riches amassed by his ancestors to be thrown into the lake, and, instead of becoming masters of the treasures of Montezuma, and the spoils of the temples, the conquerors could collect only a small Booty, amidst the ruins of a general desolation. The Spa

What induced the allies of Cortez to return to him?-How many Indians had he in his last attack on Mexico?-What disappointment did the Spaniards experience on the conquest of Mexico?

niards exclaimed loudly against their general, whom they suspected of appropriating the greatest part of the spoils to his own use, as well as against Guatimozin, whom they accused of obstinately concealing his treasures. In order to allay this ferment, Cortez consented to a deed that sullied all the glory of his former actions. He suffered the royal captive, with his principal minister, to be put to the rack, in order to oblige him to discover the place where his riches were concealed. The unhappy monarch bore his sufferings with all the firmness of a hero, till Cortez, ashamed of so horrid a scene, rescued the royal victim from the hands of his torturers. The unfortuuate Guatimozin, however, was only reserved for further indignities. Some time afterwards, suspected by Cortez of forming a scheme to throw off the Spanish yoke, he and two other persons of the greatest eminence in the empire were condemned to be hanged.

15. The fate of the capital, as both parties had foreseen, decided that of the empire. The provinces submitted, one after another, to the conquerors. It was not without difficul ty, however, that they were reduced to the form of a Spanish colony. And, to the everlasting infamy of the conquerors, they affected to consider every effort of the Mexicans to assert their own independence, as the rebellion of vassals against their sovereign, or the mutiny of slaves against their master. Under the sanction of those ill-founded maxims, they reduced the common people in the provinces to the most humiliating of all conditions, that of personal servitude. Their chiefs were punished with greater severity, and put to death by the most excruciating tortures. In almost every district of the Mexican empire, the progress of the Spanish arms is marked with blood, and with deeds so atrocious as disgrace the enterprising valour that conducted them to sucIn the country of Panuco, sixty caziques, and four hundred nobles, were burnt at one time; and to complete the horror of the scene, the children and relatives of the wretched victims were assembled, and compelled to be spectators of their dying agonies.

cess.

To what disgraceful act did Cortez submit to satisfy them ?—What became of Guatimozin?

VICTORY.

WAFT not to me the blast of fame,
That swells the trump of victory;
For to my ear it gives the name
Of slaughter and of misery.

Boast not so much of honor's sword;
Wave not so high the victor's plume;
They point me to the bosom gor'd-
They point me to the blood-stained tomb.

The boastful shout, the revel loud,
That strive to drown the voice of pain;
What are they, but the fickle crowd,
Rejoicing o'er their brethren slain?

And ah! through glory's fading blaze,
I see the cottage taper, pale,
Which sheds its faint and feeble rays,
Where unprotected orphans wail—

Where the sad widow weeping stands,
As if her day of hope was done—
Where the wild mother clasps her hands,
And asks the victor for her son-

Where the lone maid, in secret, sighs
O'er the lost solace of her heart,
As prostrate, in despair, she lies,
And feels her tortur'd life depart!-

Where, midst that desolated land,
The sire, lamenting o'er his son,
Extends his weak and powerless hand,
And finds its only prop is gone.

See, how the bands of war and wo
Have rifled sweet domestic bliss;
And tell me, if your laurels grow,
And flourish in a soil like this!