son is now ready to burst on your guilty heads."

The astonished chiefs confessed every thing which was laid to their charge,
but endeavoured to excuse themselves, by laying the whole blame on the
orders they had received from Montezuma. "Wretches," said Cortes, "this
falsehood is an aggravation of your offence, and such complicated crimes
can never be permitted to pass unpunished." He then ordered a musket to be
fired, as a signal to commence the slaughter, for which we all stood
prepared. We immediately fell furiously on the multitudes who were
inclosed within the walls of our quarters, and executed their merited
punishment in such a manner as will be long remembered by the remaining
natives of Cholula. A vast number of them were put to death on the spot,
and many of them were afterwards burned alive. In less than two hours, our
Tlascalan allies arrived in the city, having been previously instructed in
our plan, and made a terrible slaughter in the streets of the city; and
when the Cholulans ceased to make resistance, they ravaged the city,
plundering it of every thing valuable they could lay hold of, and making
slaves of all the inhabitants who fell in their way. On the day following,
when intelligence reached Tlascala of the transactions at Cholula, great
numbers crowded to the devoted city, which they plundered without mercy.
It now became necessary to restrain the fury of the Tlascalans, and Cortes
gave orders to their chiefs to withdraw their troops from the city, with
which they immediately complied.

Quiet being in some measure restored, some chiefs and priests who presided
over a distant quarter of the city, which they pretended had not been
engaged in the conspiracy, waited in an humble manner on Cortes, and
prayed a remission of the punishment which had already fallen so heavily
on their townsmen. The two before mentioned priests, and the old woman
from whom Donna Marina had procured such material information, came
forward likewise, and joined in the same petition, and Cortes determined
to shew clemency to the rest of the city, yet seemed still in great rage.
He called the Mexican ambassadors into his presence, in whose presence he
declared that the whole inhabitants of the city and dependancy of Cholula
had richly merited to be utterly extirpated for their treachery; but that
out of respect to the great Montezuma, whose vassals they were, he
consented to pardon them. He then ordered the Tlascalans to liberat