o had marched into the town to the
relief of Pedro de Alvarado, which made out the united forces of Narvaez
and Cortes, only 440 escaped, and even these were all wounded,--of this
great and important deed of arms he speaks as if it were a mere nothing.
He says as little of the subsequent conquest we made of the great city
of Mexico, or the manner in which we accomplished it, and omits to
mention the number of our killed and wounded; as if this undertaking had
merely been a jolly marriage-procession. But why should I continue to
enumerate all these particularities one by one, it is a mere waste of
ink and paper! I can only say that it is a great pity if Gomara pursues
the same course in all his works; for in the beautiful style in which he
writes, he ought to make truth perceptible, and distinguish himself
therein. But enough of Gomara; I have sufficiently proved, to the sorrow
of his readers, how far he has gone beside the truth. I will now return
to my history, and strive to act up to the advice of wise men, who say
that honesty and truth are the true ornaments to history. Indeed, my
rude style of writing would be insupportable without truth, and
therefore I was determined to put my trust in it, and continue my
narrative in the way I had begun, that it might go to the press, and
publish to the world the conquest of New Spain, as it really took place.
In this way his imperial majesty will also learn the great services
which we, the true conquistadores, have rendered to the crown; how small
our numbers were when we first arrived in this country, under the
command of our highly-favoured and faithful captain, Hernando Cortes;
what dangers we had to brave; and, lastly, how we conquered this
kingdom, which forms a great part of the New World, and for which reason
his majesty, our most christian king and master, has so often ordered
that we should be rewarded. However, I will not say anything further on
this head, though much might be said. In resuming my pen I will, like a
careful pilot who throws out the lead when he is in danger of shallows,
search after truth, where the historian Gomara flies away from it. I
will not, however, detain my readers by entering into minute
particulars, but always keep the whole in view, in order that the costs
of gathering the leasings may not amount to more than the value of the
full vintage. If other historians should further swell out my narrative,
and bestow on Cortes, our commander, and on