on
good terms with his officers, among whom gold well applied would work
wonders. In his letters to Narvaez, Cortes adjured him by their former
friendship, not to give encouragement to the Mexicans to rise and destroy
us, seeing that they were ready to have recourse to any extremity to
liberate Montezuma, whose dispositions were much altered for the worse
since the arrival of this new armament, and the opening a correspondence
between him and Narvaez. He was convinced, he said, that the expressions
which Narvaez had been reported to use, could never have come from so wise
a man, but must have been fabricated by such wretches as the buffoon
Cervantes; and he concluded by offering an unlimited submission to the
authority of Narvaez. Cortes wrote also to the secretary Andres de Duero,
and Lucas Vasques the oydor, taking care to accompany his letters with
valuable presents of gold. On receiving the letter from Cortes, Narvaez
turned it into ridicule, handing it about among his officers, speaking of
us all as traitors whom he would put to death without mercy. He declared
he would cut off and eat the ears of Cortes, and a great deal of such
braggart nonsense, and of course made no answer to the letters. Just at
this time Father Olmedo arrived, bringing with him the private letters and
presents. He went in the first place to wait upon Narvaez, intending to
assure him that Cortes would be proud to serve under his command; but
Narvaez would not listen to him, and did nothing but abuse both Cortes and
him. He accordingly desisted from that part of his commission which
related to an agreement with Narvaez, and applied himself to the
distribution of presents among the officers with so much judgment and
success, that he soon won over all the principal officers to our party.
If the oydor Vasques was originally disposed to favour Cortes, he was
entirely so on seeing the magnificent presents which were now distributed
with so much liberality; which formed a striking contrast with the avarice
of Narvaez, who used to enjoin his major domo to take heed that not a
mantle were missing, as he had marked down every article committed to his
charge. This penuriousness set all his officers against him, which he
attributed to the intrigues of Vasques; and as there was a difference
between them, because Narvaez neglected to inform him respecting every
thing sent in by order of Montezuma, of which he ought to have been
informed as oydor, an irreconci