began to discover the ill-feeling
that was abroad against us. Not the slightest mark of respect was shown
us here, nor did any of the chiefs call upon us. It was on St. John's
day, in the month of June of the year 1520, we, for the second time,
entered the city of Mexico. No cazique, none of the principal officers,
none of our Mexican friends made their appearance, and the houses were
deserted. It was not until we had arrived in front of our quarters that
Motecusuma came out into the courtyard to welcome Cortes, and
congratulate him on his victory over Narvaez. Our general, however, was
flushed with the recent victory, and would not listen to him, so that
the monarch returned pensive and sad to his apartments.

We soldiers again took possession of our old quarters, and Narvaez's men
were provided with similar ones. Alvarado's men and ours, who had just
arrived, now began to relate what had taken place during this interval
of separation. The former related how they had been attacked by the
Mexicans, and the terrible resistance they had been forced to make. Then
we followed, and related how we had defeated Narvaez's troops, and taken
him prisoner.

The next thing Cortes did was to inquire into the real cause of the
insurrection of the Mexicans. Several soldiers, who were displeased
with Alvarado, affirmed that Motecusuma had evinced excessive grief on
account of these troubles, and they were quite confident that not a
single one of the men under Alvarado would have been spared alive if
Motecusuma had been in secret understanding with his subjects; on the
contrary, he continually strove to quiet them, and to put down the
insurrection. Alvarado, on his part, represented all this to our general
in a very different light. According to his assurances, the Mexicans had
risen up in arms to liberate their monarch, and to take revenge upon us,
by the express command of their god Huitzilopochtli, for our having
erected a cross and the image of the holy Virgin on his temple. Several
Mexicans, he added, had tried to remove the holy image from the altar on
which it is raised, but they had not been able to do so. Even the
inhabitants themselves had looked upon this circumstance as a great
wonder, and had mentioned it to Motecusuma, who then issued orders that
it should not be touched. It was, however, not true, continued Alvarado,
that Narvaez had sent word to the monarch he was coming to release him
from his confinement, and lead us