ed of the Aztecs
showed itself in their words and mien.

Contrary to the advice of their new allies, the Spaniards decided to
journey on to Mexico through Cholula, the land of the great pyramid.
Embassies had arrived, both from Montezuma and from the Cholulans, the
latter inviting the Spaniards to go that way; and the great Aztec
monarch, swayed now by the shadow of oncoming destiny, offering the
Spaniards a welcome to his capital. "Trust not the Tlascalans, those
barbarous foes," was the burden of his message, "but come through
friendly Cholula"--words which the Tlascalans heard with sneers and
counter-advice. The purpose of the Tlascalans was not a disinterested
one. An attack upon Montezuma was their desire, and preliminary to this
they hoped to embroil the Spaniards with the perfidious Cholulans.
Another embassy--and this was an important event--had waited upon
Cortes. It was from the Ixtlilxochitl, one of the rival claimants for
the throne of Texcoco, which, it will be remembered, was a powerful and
advanced community in confederation with the Aztecs; and Cortes was not
slow to fan the flame of disaffection which this indicated, by an
encouraging message to the young prince.

[Illustration: THE LAND OF THE CONQUEST: A VALLEY IN THE STATE OF VERA
CRUZ, ON THE LINE OF THE MEXICAN RAILWAY.]

A farewell was taken of the staunch Tlascalans, the invariable Mass was
celebrated by Father Olmedo, and, accompanied by a large body of
Tlascalan warriors, the Spaniards set out for Cholula. What befel in
this beautiful and populous place--which, Bernal Diaz wrote, reminded
him, from its numerous towers, of Valladolid--was of terrible and
ruthless import. Cholula, with its great _teocalli_, was the Mecca of
Anahuac, and was veritably a land flowing with milk and honey.
Well-built houses, numerous _teocallis_, or pyramidal temples,
well-dressed people with embroidered cloaks, and numbers of
censer-swinging priests formed the _ensemble_ which greeted the
Spaniards' eyes, whilst the intense cultivation of the ground and the
fields of _maguey_, _maiz_, and other products, irrigated by canals
from the mountain streams, formed the environment of this advanced
community. "Not a palm's-breadth of land that is not cultivated," wrote
Cortes in his despatches to Castile, "and the city, as we approached,
was more beautiful than the cities of Spain." Beautiful and gay
doubtless Cholula was when the Spaniards entered; drenched with the
blo