beautiful. Some were distinguished for their easy refinement of manners,
which charmed, no less than it astonished, the Castilian knights, who
had been accustomed to suppose that nothing so beautiful, or refined,
could be found without the borders of Spain.

By special command of the Emperor, all his nobles were present at this
festival, so that Guatimozin, contrary to his own will and purpose, was
brought into contact with Cortez, and his steel-clad cavaliers.
Tecuichpo also was there, in all her maiden loveliness, outshining all
the stars of that splendid galaxy. And yet she was as a star in
eclipse, for her soul was oppressed with those mysterious shadows that
hung over her destiny and that of her father, as connected with the
coming of these white men. Karee was there in attendance upon her
mistress, as she still delighted to call her; but her attention was more
absorbed by the strangers than by Tecuichpo. She watched every movement,
and scanned every countenance with a scrutiny that did not escape their
observation, in order to read, as well as she could, the character of
each. Her scrutiny satisfied herself, and she whispered in the ear of
the Princess, that "if these were gods, they came from the dark, and not
from the sunny side of heaven."

It was a rare spectacle, which this royal banquet presented. The
contrast between the steel-clad cavaliers of Castile, whose burnished
armor blazed and glittered in the brilliant torch-light, and rung under
their heavy martial tramp upon the marble floor, and the comparatively
fairy figures of the gaudily apparelled Aztecs, was as strong as could
possibly be presented in a scene like this. The costumes and customs of
each were matter of wonder and admiration to the other. The Aztec
trembled at the mysterious power, the incomprehensible weapons, of the
white man. The Castilian, if he did not tremble, fully appreciated the
danger of a little band, separated and scattered among a festive throng
of warlike men, amid the interminable labyrinths of the imperial palace,
and under the eye of a monarch whose word was absolute law to all the
myriads of his people.

But, whatever was passing in the inner man, the Aztec and the Castilian,
alike, appeared perfectly at ease, each abandoning himself to the
festivities of the occasion, as if each, unannoyed by the presence of a
stranger, were revelling in the security of his own castle, and
celebrating some time-honored festival of his o