mercifully assisted us with his heavenly arm, and lent us strength
in the moment of need, it would not have been possible for us to have
achieved what we did!

After a long deliberation thus, the route over Cholulla was fixed upon,
and Cortes sent to acquaint the inhabitants with our intentions, more
particularly as, notwithstanding they dwelt so near, they had despatched
no ambassadors to us, nor shown any of those attentions which were due
to us who came in the name of our great monarch, who, he added, had the
good of the people of Cholulla at heart. He at the same time desired
that all the caziques and papas of the town should repair to our
quarters, and swear allegiance to our sovereign and master, otherwise he
should look upon them as our enemies.

While Cortes was despatching this message, and making other
arrangements, it was announced to him that four ambassadors had arrived
with presents in gold from the powerful Motecusuma, who, indeed, never
despatched any messengers from his court if not provided with presents
by him. He would have considered it an insult offered to us if he had
not done so. I will relate in the following chapter what message these
ambassadors brought.

[30] In all the conferences which Cortes had with the Tlascallan chiefs,
they showed an excessive hatred to the Mexicans, from which the
Spaniards derived great advantages: Gomara, however, would make it
appear that the Mexicans could at any time have given the Tlascallans a
total overthrow if they had felt so inclined, but that they considered
it better policy to attack them from time to time, when they wanted
victims for their sacrifices; and then also the younger warriors of
Mexico could have frequent opportunities of learning the art of war near
to the metropolis, without marching to the distant boundaries of the
empire for that purpose. This supposition of Gomara, however, is not
founded on anything like fact. (p. 188.)

CHAPTER LXXX.

_How the great Motecusuma despatched four ambassadors to us, all men
in high authority, with presents in gold and cotton stuffs, and what
they said to our captains._

When Cortes admitted the four ambassadors into his presence they paid
him and we other warriors, who stood around his person, the most
profound respect, and placed before him the presents, consisting of
valuable gold trinkets of various workmanship, worth about 10,000 pesos;
and in ten packages of cotton stuffs, mos