he dignity of those who should attend upon the
person of majesty, to require of his nobles, the officers of his court
and household, those humiliating attentions which were exacted by
Montezuma. He saw that the only effect of such exactions was to weaken
and effeminate the character of some of his greatest chieftains,
reducing them from proud and powerful friends to fawning cringing
slaves. They were no longer shrouded in the sombre _nequen_, as they
entered the royal presence, nor did they go barefoot, with their eyes
cast down to the earth, when they bore the monarch in his luxurious
palanquin. Arrayed in all their costly finery, with golden or silver
sandals, and with a bold, manly, cheerful bearing, as if they gloried in
the precious treasure which it was their privilege, more than their
duty, to protect and to care for, the imperial palanquin seemed rather
their trophy than their burden, which they were far more ready to bear,
than their master was to occupy. He was too active and stirring a
spirit, to submit often to such a luxurious conveyance. He was ever in
the midst of his chiefs, consulting and acting for the public good. He
freely discussed with them the great measures of defence, which he put
in progress, and evinced the remarkable and rare good sense, to adopt
wise and politic suggestions, however humble the source from which they
emanated, and to change his opinion at once when it was shown to be
wrong. He superintended, in person, the repairing and enlarging of the
fortifications, and the improvement of the tactics and discipline of the
army. By a frugal expenditure of the vast revenues of the crown, and a
careful preservation of the treasures left by his predecessors, he
accumulated an amount more than equal to the exigencies of a long and
wasting struggle with all the combined foes of the realm.

Meanwhile, the gay saloons of the palace of Montezuma were gayer than
they had ever been. For a brief season, the clouds that had so long hung
over the fate of the lovely Tecuichpo seemed to be dissipated. The skies
were all bright above her, and every thing around her wore a cheerful
and promising aspect. Attracted by her resplendent beauty, the
unaffected ease and graciousness of her manners, and the queenly
magnificence of her court, the youth, beauty, wit, talent and chivalry
of the nation, gathered about her, and made her life a perpetual
gala-day, rivalling in brilliancy and effect the best days of the ga