cost, was
nearly impossible. When it was discovered that the bridges, over which
they had so recently passed, were removed, the utmost consternation
prevailed. The heavy cannon were all on board the brigantines, so that
they were unable, as in former times, to mow down the solid ranks of
their foes, and break a way for their retreat. Their cavalry was of
little service, for they could not leap the wide chasms made by the
removal of the bridges. Cut off in front by the solid masses of warriors
that blocked up every avenue, and in the rear by these yawning chasms,
and hemmed in on each side by the massive stone walls of the buildings,
they could neither protect themselves, nor effectually annoy their
enemy. They were in imminent danger of perishing ignobly in the ditch,
without even striking a blow in their own defence.

Fortunately for the invaders, their sagacious and ever-wakeful general
had anticipated the possibility of such a scene as this, and had taken
some measures to forestall it. His officers, however, were too
high-spirited and self-confident to condescend to the cowardly drudgery
of carrying out his precautionary measures. They thought only of
victory, and the spoils of the glorious city, which they now regarded as
their own.

In this fearful dilemma, the genius of Cortez did not desert him. When
the first shout of battle reached his ears, as he was advancing
cautiously along the avenue, he instantly conjectured the cause.
Ordering his own column to halt, and selecting a chosen band of his best
cavalry, he wheeled about, dashed furiously down the avenue, and put to
flight the unarmed Aztecs, who were doing the work of destruction for
him, and had then almost succeeded in tearing away the foundations of
the great bridge. Making his way through the deserted streets, with the
speed of the wind, he came round into the other avenue, where one
division of his army was hemmed in, in the manner above described.
Charging impetuously upon the gathering crowds of Aztecs, he succeeded
in forcing his way up to the chasm, where he stood face to face with his
own troops on the other side. Here, in the midst of a pitiless tempest
of stones, and darts and arrows, he maintained his stand, while his men,
with incredible labor, attempted to fill up the chasm.

The work was at length accomplished, though not without the most serious
loss to Cortez. Some of his bravest officers fell in that merciless
contest with foes who would