to her. Yet she commanded the
council of the Indies to promote his interests in every possible manner.
An agreement was also signed between him and the crown, namely, that he
should equip a couple of vessels, at his own expense for a certain
number of years, for the discovery of new islands and countries in the
South Sea, with the condition, however, that he should have a certain
share of the profits arising therefrom.

About this time also the comendador-mayor of the order of Alcantara, Don
Pedro de la Cueva, was staying at the imperial court. This was the same
gentleman who was some time previously commanded by his majesty to
repair with a considerable body of troops to New Spain, there to make an
inquiry into the conduct of Cortes, with full power, if he found him
guilty, to cut off his head. At present, however, he gave every proof of
sincere joy at the distinguished title and the many favours which had
been conferred upon him by the emperor, and he now daily courted the
company of the marquis Don Hernando Cortes. He likewise told Cortes that
he might congratulate himself on having come to Spain; for he assured
him that if even he had not found him guilty of any offence, he would
still have had to pay all the expenses of the armament, which would have
amounted to above 300,000 pesos.

Besides all I have above related, many other things were written to us
by persons who were present in Spain at the time, and by Cortes himself,
but I will not go into them here; and though the latter expatiated a
good deal on the many favours which had been bestowed upon him at
court, yet he never mentioned a word why he was not appointed governor
of New Spain.

A few days after he had been created marquis, Cortes despatched the
cavalier Juan de Herrada to Rome in his name to kiss the feet of his
holiness pope Clement, and beg his acceptance of a valuable present in
jewels and gold trinkets. He ordered Herrada to take along with him two
Indian buffoons, and likewise wrote a lengthened epistle to his
holiness, in which he gave him a full account of the countries he had
discovered and subdued; of the great services he had above all rendered
to God, and then to his majesty; of the idol worship practised among the
Indians, and what a great number of the latter had already been
converted to Christianity. What he further told his holiness I cannot
say; but we learnt from Herrada, when he afterwards returned to New
Spain, that Cortes had