, could not resist laughing at the observation of the monarch.
And why, it will be asked, did we find that expression so amusing?
Because Alvarado, notwithstanding the handsome and refined man he was,
could not resist the temptation of scoring falsely, and had been
discovered. However, all the gain was divided among those present; for
what Cortes won he presented to the monarch's nephew and his servants;
Motecusuma dividing his gains among those who happened to be on duty at
the time.[70] And not a day passed that he did not present Velasquez de
Leon, who was very kind to him, and was captain of the guard, and those
who were on duty, with valuable gold trinkets and manufactured stuffs.

One night a sailor, named Truxillo, stood sentinel in the monarch's
apartment. This fellow was very stout and strongly-built; he happened
to forget himself, for a moment, in a way which, out of respect for the
reader, I will not describe more minutely here. Motecusuma, who was a
monarch of refined manners, happened to hear it at the moment, and
considered himself grossly insulted. He inquired of his page Orteguilla
who the low-bred fellow was? Orteguilla replied that the man was a
sailor, and that such persons were little acquainted with good manners.
It was upon this occasion also that Orteguilla explained to him the rank
of every individual soldier, who were cavaliers and who were not, and
many other things the monarch wished to know. Motecusuma, however, had
not forgotten the insult which the sailor had offered to his person, for
daylight had scarcely broken forth when he sent for him, and reproached
him for his disrespectful behaviour, and advised him to mend his manners
for the future; but sweetened down this lecture by presenting him with
some gold trinkets, worth about five pesos. This kind treatment,
however, had little effect on the rough sailor, who repeated his filthy
conduct the following night, in the hopes of getting a second present
when morning came. Motecusuma, however, disdained speaking to him any
more, but complained to the captain of the guard, and desired that the
fellow might be severely reprimanded and never allowed again to stand
sentinel there.

Something similar happened to a soldier named Lopez, who was an
excellent crossbow-man, and had a fine figure, though otherwise a man of
little understanding. As he was one night on duty in the monarch's
apartment, and the corporal came to make the rounds, he remarked to