'he is of Your Catholic Majesty the
{223} very humble servant and vassal, who kisses your very royal feet
and hands--the Marquis del Valle.'

"In addition to these vexations he had a domestic trouble which
doubtless caused him much mortification. His daughter, Donna Maria,
was engaged to one of the greatest nobles in Spain; but ultimately the
young man refused to fulfil the engagement. Some say that this caused
the death of Cortes. But this is not so. He was broken, alike in
health and in spirits, by reason of the many reverses he had met with
in these his latter days.

"We live, to a great measure, upon success; and there is no knowing the
agony that an unvarying course of ill-success causes to a sanguine and
powerful mind which feels that, if only such and such small obstacles
were removed out of its way, it could again shine forth with all its
pristine force and brightness.

"To meet this rejected daughter, who was coming from New Spain, Cortes
went to Seville. There he was taken ill, and, being molested by the
importunity of many persons who came to see him on business, he retired
to a small village, about half a league from Seville, called Castillaje
de la Cuesta. He also sought retirement for the purpose, as Bernal
Diaz says, of making his will and preparing his soul for death. 'And
when he had settled his worldly affairs, our Lord Jesus Christ was
pleased to take him from his troublesome world.' He died on the 2nd of
December, 1547, being then sixty-two years of age."

His bones were interred in Mexico. During the civil wars of the last
century, his bones were taken away and hidden. It is reported that
only the other day the place of his sepulchre had been discovered.
Some monument to his memory should be erected to {224} match the statue
of Guatemoc, which is one of the principal adornments of Mexico.

As is well said by William H. Johnson: "To the honor of Spain be it
said, her rule in Mexico was firm and kind. The Indians became
thoroughly incorporated into the national life, enjoying the
opportunities of advancement as Spaniards. In the present Republic of
Mexico the greatest name has been that of Benito Juarez, the president
who upheld the national cause during the French-Austrian usurpation.
He was of pure Aztec blood. Porfirio Diaz, the gallant soldier who led
the army of the Republic during the same trying period, and who, as its
president, is a model of a strong and wise ruler, is also,