ay by day more necessary to Cortes, and who was, indeed,
generally admired for her courage and the cheerfulness with which she
endured all the hardships of the camp and raised the drooping spirits of
the soldiers, while by every means in her power she alleviated the
miseries of her own countrymen. This time, the ambassadors of Cortes
received a respectful hearing from the deeply dejected council of
Tlascala, for whom nothing remained but to submit. Four principal
caciques were chosen to offer to the Spaniards a free passage through
the country, and a friendly reception in the capital. Their friendship
was accepted, with many excuses for the past, and the chiefs were
further ordered to touch at the camp of Xicotencatl, the Tlascalan
general, and require him to cease hostilities and furnish the white men
with a plentiful supply of provisions.

[Illustration]

While the Tlascalan envoys were still in the camp came a fresh embassy
from Montezuma. Tidings had been sent to him of each step in the
progress of the Spaniards, and it was with great satisfaction that he
had heard of their taking the road to Tlascala, trusting that if they
were mortal men they would find their graves there. Great was his
dismay, therefore, when courier after courier brought him news of their
successes, and how the most redoubtable warriors had been scattered by
this handful of strangers. His superstitious fears returned with greater
force than ever, and in his alarm and uncertainty he despatched five
great nobles of his court, attended by two hundred slaves, to bear to
Cortes a gift consisting of three thousand ounces of gold and several
hundred robes of cotton and feather-work. As they laid it at his feet
they said that they had come to offer Montezuma's congratulations upon
his victories, and to express his regret that he could not receive them
in his capital, where the numerous population was so unruly that he
could not be answerable for their safety. The merest hint of the
emperor's wishes would have been enough to influence any of the natives,
but they made very little impression upon Cortes; and, seeing this, the
envoys proceeded, in their master's name, to offer tribute to the
Spanish sovereign, provided the general would give up the idea of
visiting the capital. This was a fatal mistake, and a most strange one
for such a brave and powerful monarch to make, for it amounted to an
admission that he was unable to protect his treasures. Cortes