ts took place, and Cortez assured
the prince of the friendliness of his intentions, and of the
respect he entertained for the emperor. Cacama then withdrew, and
returned at once to Mexico, while the army resumed its march.

Roger did not make any attempt to approach the prince, after his
interview with Cortez. He knew that he would have received, from
Cuitcatl, the news that he had surmounted the dangers of his
journey and joined the Spaniards at Tlascala, and thought that it
would be better to defer presenting himself to the prince until he
could do so more privately at Tezcuco. He considered it possible
that Montezuma might have blamed Cacama for his escape; and that,
if he were to greet him, it would be reported to the emperor, who
might regard it as a proof that there had been a secret
understanding between them, and that Cacama had aided his flight.

Crossing the causeway that divided the Lake of Chalco from that of
Xochical, the army marched to Iztapalapan, a large town with a
royal residence, governed by the emperor's brother Cuitlahua. The
prince had assembled a number of the great nobles, and Cortez was
received with great state and ceremony; and after the usual
presentation of gifts, a banquet was served to the Spaniards in one
of the great halls of the palace.

After this Cortez was conducted over the gardens, which were the
finest in Mexico. They contained all the vegetable productions of
the empire, with magnificent aviaries, and a fish pond built of
stone, nearly a mile in circumference.

At daybreak next morning, that of November 8th, 1519, the Spaniards
were mustered and again set forward. The four hundred white troops
led the way. They were followed by the baggage, after which came
what was numerically the main portion of the army, six thousand
five hundred Tlascalan soldiers. Keeping on by the shore of the
lake, and crossing the narrow strip of hand dividing the Lake of
Xochical from that of Tezcuco, they arrived at the head of the
great causeway running across the lake to the island on which the
capital was built. The causeway was a massive construction, built
of large stones laid in cement, and was wide enough to permit of
ten horsemen riding abreast.

The shores of the lake on either side were closely dotted with
towns and villages, and the lake itself was well-nigh covered with
the canoes and rafts of the natives. The Spaniards saw, too, with
surprise and admiration, floating gardens--some o