and of the Christian religion. In pursuit of
these ends upon some slight pretext Cortes seized the person of
Montezuma, the great emperor, and imprisoned him in one of his own
palaces whence, however, he was still allowed to direct the government
and issue his commands.

Meanwhile reports of Cortes' doings and success had reached Velasquez
the Governor of Cuba, who determined to despatch an expedition to
conquer or capture him as a traitor. Accordingly eighteen vessels
containing nearly a thousand white men were placed under the command
of Panfilo de Narvaez, and reached Vera Cruz in April, 1520. When
Cortes heard of the arrival of this armament and its object which was
to punish him for his supposed rebellion, he marched from Mexico,
leaving the little garrison and the person of Montezuma in charge of
his comrade Alvarado. Although he had with him but two hundred and
fifty men in all, he did not hesitate to hazard a night attack upon
Narvaez who was strongly encamped at Cempoalla. It was completely
successful; Narvaez was wounded, captured, and sent in chains to Vera
Cruz, while the army that had come to conquer him swore allegiance to
Cortes as Captain-General and marched with him back to Mexico. Here
great events were in progress. Moved to the deed by fear or by the
discovery of some real or fancied plot against the Spaniards,
Alvarado, the deputy of Cortes, had fallen upon the unarmed Aztec
nobles while they were celebrating a feast in the courtyard of the
great temple, and butchered some six hundred of them with every
circumstance of brutality. Then at last the patient Aztecs rose and
until the womanly Montezuma begged them to desist, attacked the palace
where the Spaniards were quartered, with fury. At the intervention of
their monarch the attack was turned to a blockade and Cortes arrived
from his victory over Narvaez to find his companions in desperate
straits. Reinforced by fresh soldiers the Spaniards carried on the war
with activity. They assaulted and captured the great pyramid, putting
to the sword the priests of human sacrifice and burning the
blood-stained temples of the gods. Also they made several sallies into
the city and repelled onslaughts upon the palace. It was in the course
of one of these attacks that Montezuma received the wound that brought
about his death. Mounting the central tower of the palace he implored
his subjects to cease from attacking his friends the Spaniards,
whereupon in their f