on particular occasions, when, indeed, no expense was spared.
He was always affable to us officers and his companions in arms,
particularly to those who joined him in the first instance at Cuba. He
was a good Latin scholar, and whenever he was in conversation with men
of learning he always spoke that language; indeed, I have heard say, he
was a bachelor of laws. He was also fond of poetry, and composed several
pretty pieces himself, and wrote good prose. His manner of speaking was
calm and his sentences were well chosen, and his manner of arguing was
remarkably convincing. When he rose in the morning he prayed from his
breviary, and he attended mass every day with fervent devotion. For his
tutelar saint he had chosen the blessed Virgin Mary, whom, indeed, every
faithful Christian ought to look up to as his protectress and holy
guardian. He also held in particular veneration St. Peter, St. Jacob,
and St. John the Baptist, and was liberal in bestowing alms. His oath
was, Upon my conscience! And whenever he was annoyed with any of us
soldiers who were upon more intimate terms with him, he used to say, May
the plague take you! When he was in a passion, a vein in his forehead
and neck distended considerably; and when excessively annoyed with any
one, he flung down his cloak: yet he never made use of any low or
unbecoming expression to his officers or soldiers. He bore everything
with great patience, and though sometimes the soldiers were very
inconsiderate in their behaviour, yet Cortes never forgot himself in
wrathful expressions towards them, and all he said was, Hold your
tongue! or, In the name of God, be gone, and for the future be more
guarded in your language, for you might have to pay dearly in repeating
such conduct. If he had once made up his mind to anything, he was not to
be dissuaded from it, particularly in matters relating to war; and we
might argue with him as we liked on the inconsiderateness of any command
he might issue, it was all to no purpose,--we were obliged to act up to
it, whatever the cost might be. This was frequently the case on our
expeditions to the large townships which lay on the lake of Mexico, and
in our attacks upon those mountains which are now known by the name of
the Marquis mountains. On the latter occasion it was in vain for us to
represent to him that it would be impossible to storm the rocky heights
against the huge masses of stone which were rolled down upon us; that
all our courage