Was with sore sickness stricken; and the stroke
Came like the act and arm of very God,
So suddenly, and in that point of time.

A gallant man was he, who in his stead,
That day commanded Aztlan: his long hair,
Tufted with many a cotton lock, proclaim'd
Of princely prowess many a feat achieved
In many a field of fame. Oft had he led
The Aztecas, with happy fortune, forth;
Yet could not now Yuhidthiton inspire

His host with hope: he, not the less, that day,
True to his old renown, and in the hour
Of rout and ruin with collected mind,
Sounded his signals shrill, and in the voice
Of loud reproach and anger, and brave shame,
Call'd on the people. . . But when nought avail'd,
Seizing the standard from the timid hand
Which held it in dismay, alone he turn'd,
For honourable death resolved, and praise
That would not die. Thereat the braver chiefs
Rallied, anew their signals rung around,
And Aztlan, seeing how we spared her flight,
Took heart, and roll'd the tide of battle back.
But when Cadwallon from the chieftain's grasp
Had cut the standard-staff away, and stunn'd
And stretch'd him at his mercy on the field,
Then fled the enemy in utter rout,
Broken and quell'd at heart. One chief alone
Bestrode the body of Yuhidthiton;
Bareheaded did young Malinal bestride
His brother's body, wiping from his brow
With the shield-hand the blinding blood away,
And dealing franticly with broken sword
Obstinate wrath, the last resisting foe.
Him, in his own despite, we seized and saved.

Then in the moment of our victory, We purified our hands from blood, and knelt, And pour'd to heaven the grateful prayer of praise And raised the choral psalm. Triumphant thus To the hills we went our way; the mountaineers With joy, and dissonant song, and antic dance; The captives sullenly, deeming that they went To meet the certain death of sacrifice,

Yet stern and undismay'd. We bade them know
Ours was a law of mercy and of love;

We heal'd their wounds, and set the prisoners free.
Bear ye, quoth I, my bidding to your King;
Say to him, Did the stranger speak to thee
The words of truth, and hath he proved his power?
Thus saith the Lord of Ocean, in the name
Of God, Almighty, Universal God,

Thy Judge and mine, whose battles I have fought,
Whose bidding I obey, whose will I speak ;
Shed thou no more in impious sacrifice
The life of man; restore unto the grave
The dead Tepollomi; set this people free,
And peace shall be between us.

On the morrow Came messengers from Aztlan, in reply. Coanocotzin with sore malady

Hath, by the Gods, been stricken: will the Lord
Of Ocean visit his sick bed?.. He told

Of wrath, and as he said, the vengeance came :
Let him bring healing now, and 'stablish peace.

VIII.

THE PEACE.

AGAIN, and now with better hope, I sought
The city of the King! there went with me
Iolo, old Iolo, he who knows

The virtue of all herbs of mount or vale,
Or greenwood shade, or quiet brooklet's bed;
Whatever lore of science, or of song,

Sages and Bards of old have handed down.
Aztlan that day pour'd forth her swarming sons,
To wait my coming. Will he ask his God
To stay the hand of anger? was the cry,
The general cry,.. and will he save the King?
Coanocotzin too had nurst that thought,
And the strong hope upheld him; he put forth
His hand, and raised a quick and anxious eye,. .
Is it not peace and mercy?.. thou art come
To pardon and to save!

I answer'd him,
That power, O King of Aztlan, is not mine!
Such help as human cunning can bestow,
Such human help I bring; but health and life
Are in the hand of God, who at his will
Gives or withdraws; and what he wills is best.
Then old Iolo took his arm, and felt
The symptom, and he bade him have good hope,
For life was strong within him. So it proved:
The drugs of subtle virtue did their work;
They quell'd the venom of the malady,
And from the frame expell'd it, . . that a sleep,
Fell on the King, a sweet and natural sleep,
And from its healing he awoke refresh'd
Though weak, and joyful as a man who felt
The peril pass'd away.

Ere long we spake
Of concord, and how best to knit the bonds
Of lasting friendship. When we won this land,
Coanocotzin said, these fertile vales
Were not, as now, with fruitful groves embower'd,
Nor rich with towns and populous villages,
Abounding, as thou seest, with life and joy;
Our fathers found bleak heath, and desert moor,
Wild woodland, and savannahs wide and waste,
Rude country of rude dwellers. From our arms
They to the mountain fastnesses retired,
And long with obstinate and harassing war
Provoked us, hoping not for victory,

Yet mad for vengeance till Tepollomi
Fell by my father's hand; and with their King,
The strength and flower of all their youth cut off,
All in one desolating day, they took
The yoke upon their necks. What wouldest thou
That to these Hoamen I should now concede?
Lord of the Ocean, speak!

Let them be free!
Quoth I. I come not from my native isle
To wage the war of conquest, and cast out
Your people from the land which time and toil
Have rightly made their own. The land is wide:
There is enough for all. So they be freed
From that accursed tribute, and ye shed
The life of man no more in sacrifice,
In the most holy name of God I say,
Let there be peace between us !

Thou hast won
Their liberty, the King replied: henceforth,
Free as they are, if they provoke the war,
Reluctantly will Aztlan raise her arm.
Be thou the peace-preserver. To what else
Thou say'st, instructed by calamity,
I lend a humble ear; but to destroy
The worship of my fathers, or abate

Or change one point, lies not within the reach
And scope of kingly power. Speak thou hereon
With those whom we hold holy, with the sons
Of the Temple, they who commune with the Gods;
Awe them, for they awe me. So we resolved
That when the bones of King Tepollomi
Had had their funeral honours, they and I
Should by the green-lake side, before the King,
And in the presence of the people, hold
A solemn talk.

Then to the mountain-huts,
The bearer of good tidings, I return'd
Leading the honourable train who bore

The relics of the King; not parch'd and black,
As I had seen the unnatural corpse stand up,
In ghastly mockery of the attitude

And act of life,.. his bones had now been blanch'd
With decent reverence. Soon the mountaineers
Saw the white deer-skin shroud'; the rumour spread;
They gather'd round, and follow'd in our train.
Before Erillyab's hut the bearers laid
Their burden down. She, calm of countenance,
And with dry eye, albeit her hand the while
Shook like an agueish limb, unroll'd the shroud.
The multitude stood gazing silently,

The young and old alike all awed and hush'd

Under the holy feeling,.. and the hush Was aweful; that huge multitude so still,

That we could hear distinct the mountain-stream Roll down its rocky channel far away

And this was all; sole ceremony this,

The sight of death and silence,.. till at length,
In the ready grave his bones were laid to rest.
'Twas in her hut and home, yea, underneath
The marriage bed, the bed of widowhood,
Her husband's grave wis dug 2; on softest fur
The bones were laid 3, with fur were covered o'er,
Then heap'd with bark and boughs, and, last of all,
Earth was to earth trod down.

And now the day
Appointed for our talk of peace was come.
On the green margin of the lake we met,
Elders, and Priests, and Chiefs; the multitude
Around the Circle of the Council stood.
Then, in the midst, Coanocotzin rose,
And thus the King began: Pabas and Chiefs
Of Aztlan, hither ye are come to learn
The law of peace. The Lord of Ocean saith,
The Tribes whom he hath gathered underneath
The wings of his protection, shall be free;
And in the name of his great God he saith,
That ye shall never shed in sacrifice
The blood of man. Are ye content? that so
We may together here, in happy hour,
Bury the sword.

Hereat a Paba rose,

And answer'd for his brethren: . . He hath won
The Hoamen's freedom, that their blood no more
Shall on our altars flow; for this the Lord
Of Ocean fought, and Aztlan yielded it

1 "The Indians use the same ceremonies to the bones of their dead, as if they were covered with their former skin, flesh, and ligaments. It is but a few days since I saw some return with the bones of nine of their people, who had been two months before killed by the enemy. They were tied in white deer-skins separately, and when carried by the door of one of the houses of their family, they were laid down opposite to it, till the female relations convened, with flowing hair, and wept over them about half an hour. Then they carried them home to their friendly magazines of mortality, wept over them again, and then buried them with the usual solemnities. The chieftains carried twelve short sticks, tied together in the form of a quadrangle, so that each square consisted of three. The sticks were only peeled, without any painting; but there were swan feathers tied to each corner. They called that frame the White Circle, and placed it over the door while the women were weeping over the bones." -Adair.

2 "The Mosqueto Indians, when they die, are buried in their houses, and the very spot they lay over when alive, and have their hatchet, harpoon lances, with mushelaw, and other necessaries, buried with them; but if the defunct leaves behind him a gun, some friend preserves that from the earth, that would soon damnify the powder, and so render it unserviceable in that strange journey. His boat, or dorea, they cut in pieces, and lay over his grave, with all the rest of his household goods, if he hath any more. If the deceased lea e behind him no children, brothers, or parents, the cousins, or other his relations, cut up, or destroy his plantations, lest any living should, as they esteem it, roh the dead."- The Mosqueto Indian and his Golden River, by M. W Lintot and Osborn's Collection.

3" When the body is in the grave, they take care to cover

it in such a manner, that the earth does not touch it. It lies as in a little cave, lined with skins, much neater, and better adorned, than their cabins."- Charlevoix.

Adair was present at one of their funerals. "They laid the corpse in his tomb in a sitting posture, with his feet towards the east, his head anointed with bear's oil, and his face painted red; but not streaked with black, because that is a constant emblem of war and death. He was drest in his finest apparel, having his gun and pouch, and trusty hiccory bow, with a young panther's skin full of arrows, alongside of him, and every other useful thing he had been possessed of, that when he rises again they may serve him in that track of land which pleased him best before he went to take his long sleep. His tomb was firm and clean inside; they covered it with thick logs so as to bear several tiers of cypress bark, and such a quantity of clay, as would confine the putrid smell, and be on a level with the rest of the floor. They often sleep over these tombs; which with the loud wailing of the women at the dusk of the evening, and dawn of the day, on benches close by the tombs, must awake the memory of their relations very often; and if they were killed by an enemy, it helps to irritate, and set on such revengeful tempers to retaliate blood for blood."

4 Papa is the word which Bernal Diaz uses when he speaks of the Mexican priests; and in this he is followed by Purchas. The appellation in Torquemada is Quaquil. I am not certain that Bernal Díaz did not mean to call them Popes, and that Purchas has not mistaken his meaning. An easy alteration made it more suitable for English verse, than the more accurate word would have been.

I perceive by Herrera (3. 2. 15.) that the word is Mexican, and that the Devil was the author of it, in imitation of the Church.

Cynetha then arose, between his son
And me supported, rose the blind old man,
Ye wrong us, men of Aztlan, if ye deem
We bid ye wrong the Gods; accurst were he
Who would obey such bidding, . . more accurst
The wretch who should enjoin impiety.

It is the will of God which we make known,
Your God and ours. Know ye not Him who laid
The deep foundations of the earth, and built
The arch of heaven, and kindled yonder sun,
And breathed into the woods and waves and sky
The power of life?

We know Him, they replied,
The great For-Ever One, the God of Gods,
Ipalnemoani, He by whom we live!!
And we too, quoth Ayayaca, we know
And worship the Great Spirit, who in clouds
And storms, in mountain caves, and by the fall
Of waters, in the woodland solitude,
And in the night and silence of the sky,
Doth make his being felt. We also know,
And fear, and worship the Beloved One.

Our God, replied Cynetha, is the same, The Universal Father. He to the first Made his will known; but when men multiplied, The Evil Spirits darken'd them, and sin And misery came into the world, and men

"The Mexicans had some idea, though a very imperfect one, of a supreme, absolute, and independent being. They represented him in no external form, because they believed him to be invisible; and they named him only by the common appellation of God, or in their language Teotl; a word resembling still more in its meaning than its pronunciation, the Oos of the Greeks. But they applied to him certain epithets, which were highly expressive of the grandeur and power which they conceived him to possess; Ipalnemoani, 'He by whom we live:' and Tloque Nahuaque, He who has all in himself."" - Clavigero.

Torquemada has a very characteristic remark upon these appellations: Although," says he, “these blinded men went astray in the knowledge of God, and adored the Devil in his stead, they did not err in the names which they gave him, those being truly and properly his own: the Devil using this cunning with them, that they should apply to him these, which, by nature and divine right, are God's; his most holy Majesty permitting this on account of the enormity and shamefulness of their depraved customs, and the multitude of their iniquities." — L. vi. c. 8.

2" About thirty miles below the falls of St. Anthony, is a remarkable cave, of an amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakon-teebe; that is, the dwelling of the Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about ten feet wide; the arch within is near fifteen feet high, and about thirty feet broad. The bottom of it consists of fine clean sand. About twenty feet from the entrance begins a lake, the water of which is transparent, and extends to an unsearchable distance; for the darkness of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it. I threw a small pebble towards the interior parts of it, with my

Forsook the way of truth, and gave to stocks
And stones the incommunicable name.
Yet with one chosen, one peculiar Race,
The knowledge of their Father and their God
Remain'd, from sire to son transmitted down.
While the bewilder'd Nations of the earth
Wander'd in fogs, and were in darkness lost,
The light abode with them; and when at times
They sinn'd and went astray, the Lord hath put
A voice into the mouths of holy men,
Raising up witnesses unto himself,

That so the saving knowledge of his name
Might never fail; nor the glad promise, given
To our first parent, that at length his sons,
From error, sin, and wretchedness redeem'd,
Should form one happy family of love.
Nor ever hath that light, howe'er bedimm'd,
Wholly been quench'd; still in the heart of man
A feeling and an instinct it exists,
His very nature's stamp and privilege,
Yea, of his life the life. I tell ye not,
O Aztecas! of things unknown before;
I do but waken up a living sense

That sleeps within ye! Do ye love the Gods
Who call for blood? Doth the poor sacrifice
Go with a willing step, to lay his life
Upon their altars?.. Good must come of good,
Evil of evil; if the fruit be death,

The poison springeth from the sap and root,
And the whole tree is deadly; if the rites
Be evil, they who claim them are not good,
Not to be worshipp'd then; for to obey
The evil will is evil. Aztecas!
From the For-Ever, the Beloved One,
The Universal Only God I speak,

Your God and mine, our Father and our Judge.

utmost strength; I could hear that it fell into the water, and, notwithstanding it was of so small a size, it caused an astonishing and horrible noise, that reverberated through all those gloomy regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics, which appeared very ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss. They were cut in a rude manner upon the inside of the walls, which were composed of a stone so extremely soft, that it might easily be penetrated with a knife: a stone every where to be found near the Mississippi. The cave is only accessible by ascending a narrow steep passage that lies near the brink of the river.". Carver. "The Prince had no sooner gained the point that overlooks this wonderful cascade (the falls of St. Anthony) than he began with an audible voice to address the Great Spirit, one of whose places of residence he supposed this to be. He told him he had come a long way to pay his adorations to him, and now would make him the best offerings in his power. He accordingly first threw his pipe into the stream; then the roll that contained his tobacco; after these, the bracelets he wore on his arms and wrists; next, an ornament that encircled his neck, composed of beads and wires; and at last, the earrings from his ears; in short, he presented to his God every part of his dress that was valuable; during this he frequently smote his breast with great violence, threw his arms about, and appeared to be much agitated.

"All this while he continued his adorations, and at length concluded them with fervent petitions that the Great Spirit would constantly afford us his protection on our travels, giving us a bright sun, a blue sky, and clear untroubled waters; nor would he leave the place till we had smoked together with my pipe in honour of the Great Spirit." — Carver.

Hear ye his law,.. hear ye the perfect law
Of love," Do ye to others, as ye would

That they should do to you!" He bids us meet
To praise his name, in thankfulness and joy;

He bids us, in our sorrow, pray to him,
The Comforter. Love him, for he is good!
Fear him, for he is just! Obey his will,
For who can bear his anger!

While he spake,

They stood with open mouth, and motionless sight,
Watching his countenance, as though the voice
Were of a God; for sure it seem'd that less
Than inspiration could not have infused
That eloquent passion in a blind man's face.

There is a passage in Bede which well illustrates the dif ferent feelings whereby barbarians are induced to accept a new religion.

"Edwin of Northumbria had summoned his chiefs and counsellors to advise with him concerning his intended conversion. The first person who delivered his opinion was Coifi, the Chief Priest of the Idols. For this which is preached to us,' said he, do you, O King, see to it, what it may be. I will freely confess to you what I have learnt, that the religion which we have held till now has no virtue in it. No one of your subjects has devoted himself to the worship of our Gods more earnestly than I, and yet many there are who have received greater bounties and greater favours from your hand, and have prospered better in all their undertakings and desires. Now, if our Gods could have done any thing, they would rather have assisted me than them.' To this another of the nobles added, The present life of man upon earth, when compared with the future, has appeared to me, O King, like as when you and your Chiefs and servants have been seated at your supper, in winter time, the hearth blazing in the centre, and the viands smoking, while without it is storm, or rain, or snow, and a sparrow flies through the hall, entering at one door and passing out at another; while he is within, in that little minute he does not feel the weather. but after that instant of calm, he returns again to winter as from winter he came, and is gone. Such and so transitory is the life of man, and of what follows it or what preceded it we are altogether ignorant. Wherefore, if this new doctrine should bring any thing more certain, it well deserves to be followed.'". Lib. ii. c. 13.

And when he ceased, all eyes at once were turn'd Upon the Pabas, waiting their reply,

If that to that acknowledged argument

Reply could be devised. But they themselves,
Stricken by the truth, were silent; and they look'd
Toward their chief and mouth-piece, the High Priest
Tezozomoc; he too was pale and mute,

And when he gather'd up his strength to speak,
Speech fail'd him, his lip falter'd, and his eye
Fell utterly abash'd, and put to shame.
But in the Chiefs, and in the multitude,
And in the King of Aztlan, better thoughts
Were working; for the Spirit of the Lord
That day was moving in the heart of man.1

many enemies round about us, that I think of nothing but death; and if I am to die, I shall die, and I will die like a man. But if He will have me to live, I shall live. Though I had ever so many enemies He can destroy them all. "Q. How do you know that ?

"A. From what I have seen. When our enemies came against us before, then the Beloved Clouds came for us; and often much rain and sometimes hail has come upon them, and that in a very hot day. And I saw when many French and Choctaws and other nations came against one of our towns, and the ground made a noise under them, and the Beloved Ones in the air behind them, and they were afraid, and went away, and left their meat and their drink, and their guns. I tell no lie, all these saw it too.

"Q. Have you heard such noises at other times?
"A. Yes, often; before and after almost every battle.
"Q. What sort of noises were they?

"A. Like the noise of drums and guns and shouting.

Q. Have you heard any such lately?

"A. Yes; four days after our last battle with the French. "Q. Then you heard nothing before it?

"A. The night before I dreamed I heard many drums up there, and many trumpets there, and much stamping of feet and shouting. Till then I thought we should all die; but then I thought the beloved ones were come to help us. And the next day I heard above a hundred guns go off before the fight began, and I said, When the Sun is there the Beloved Ones will help us, and we shall conquer our enemies; and we did so.

་

"Q. Do you often think and talk of the Beloved Ones? "A. We think of them always wherever we are. We talk of them and to them, at home and abroad, in peace and in war, before and after we fight, and indeed whenever and wherever we meet together.

"Q. Where do you think your souls go after death?

"A. We believe the souls of red men walk up and down near the place where they died, or where their bodies lie, for we have often heard cries and noises near the place where any prisoners had been burnt.

"Q. Where do the souls of white men go after death? "A. We cannot tell; we have not seen.

"Q. Our belief is, that the souls of bad men only walk up and down; but the souls of good men go up.

"A. I believe so too; but I told you the talk of the nation.

"Mr. Andrews. They said at the burying they knew what you was doing. You was speaking to the Beloved Ones above to take up the soul of the young woman.

"Q. We have a book that tells us many things of the Beloved Ones above; would you be glad to know them? "A. We have no time now but to fight. If we should ever be at peace, we should be glad to know.

"Q. Do you expect ever to know what the white men know?

“Mr. Andrews. They told Mr. O. they believe the time will come when the red and white men will be one.

Coanocotzin rose: Pabas, and Chiefs,
And men of Aztlan, ye have heard a talk
Of peace and love, and there is no reply.

Are ye content with what the Wise Man saith?
And will ye worship God in that good way
Which God himself ordains?
If it be so,

Together here will we in happy hour
Bury the sword.

Tezozomoc replied,

This thing is new, and in the land till now
Unheard.. what marvel, therefore, if we find
No ready answer? Let our Lord the King
Do that which seemeth best.

Yuhidthiton,

Chief of the Chiefs of Aztlan, next arose.
Of all her numerous sons, could Aztlan boast
No mightier arm in battle, nor whose voice
To more attentive silence hush'd the hall

Of council. When the Wise Man spake, quoth he,
I ask'd of mine own heart if it were so,
And, as he said, the living instinct there
Answer'd, and own'd the truth. In happy hour,
O King of Aztlan, did the Ocean Lord
Through the great waters hither wend his way;
For sure he is the friend of God and man.

With that an uproar of assent arose
From the whole people, a tumultuous shout
Of universal joy and glad acclaim.
But when Coanocotzin raised his hand,
That he might speak, the clamour and the buz
Ceased, and the multitude, in tiptoe hope,
Attent and still, await the final voice.
Then said the Sovereign, Hear, O Aztecas,
Your own united will! From this day forth
No life upon the altar shall be shed,

No blood shall flow in sacrifice; the rites
Shall all be pure, such as the blind Old Man,
Whom God hath taught, will teach. This ye have will'd;
And therefore it shall be!

The King hath said!
Like thunder the collected voice replied:
Let it be so !

Lord of the Ocean, then
Pursued the King of Aztlan, we will now
Lay the war-weapon in the grave, and join
In right-hand friendship. By our custom, blood
Should sanctify and bind the solemn act;
But by what oath and ceremony thou
Shalt proffer, by the same will Aztlan swear.
Nor oath, nor ceremony, I replied,

O King, is needful. To his own good word
The good and honourable man will act,
Oaths will not curb the wicked. Here we stand
In the broad day-light; the For-Ever One,
The Every-Where beholds us. In his sight
We join our hands in peace: if e'er again
Should these right hands be raised in enmity,
Upon the offender will his judgement fall.

"Q. What do the French teach you?

"A. The French Black Kings (the Priests) never go out. We see you go about: we like that; that is good.

"Q. How came your nation by the knowledge they have? "A. As soon as ever the ground was sound and fit to stand upon, it came to us, and has been with us ever since. But

The grave was dug; Coanocotzin laid His weapon in the earth; Erillyab's son, Young Amalahta, for the Hoamen, laid His hatchet there; and there I laid the sword.

Here let me end. What follow'd was the work Of peace, no theme for story; how we fix'd Our sojourn in the hills, and sow'd our fields, And, day by day, saw all things prospering. Thence have I come, Goervyl, to announce The tidings of my happy enterprize; There I return, to take thee to our home. I love my native land; with as true love As ever yet did warm a British heart, Love I the green fields of the beautiful Isle, My father's heritage! But far away, Where nature's booner hand has blest the earth, My lot hath been assign'd; beyond the seas Madoc hath found his home; beyond the seas A country for his children hath he chosen, A land wherein their portion may be peace.

IX. EMMA.

BUT while Aberfraw echoed to the sounds
Of merriment and music, Madoc's heart
Mourn'd for his brethren. Therefore, when no ear
Was nigh, he sought the King, and said to him,
To-morrow, for Mathraval I set forth;
Longer I must not linger here, to pass
The easy hours in feast and revelry,
Forgetful of my people far away.

I go to tell the tidings of success,

And seek new comrades. What if it should chance That, for this enterprize, our brethren,

Foregoing all their hopes and fortunes here,

| Would join my banner?.. Let me send abroad
Their summons, O my brother! so secure,
You may forgive the past, and once again
Will peace and concord bless our father's house.

Hereafter will be time enow for this, The King replied; thy easy nature sees not, How, if the traitors for thy banner send Their bidding round, in open war against me Their own would soon be spread. I charge thee, Madoc, Neither to see nor aid these fugitives,

The shame of Owen's blood.

Sullen he spake,

And turn'd away; nor farther commune now
Did Madoc seek, nor had he more endured;
For bitter thoughts were rising in his heart,
And anguish, kindling anger. In such mood
He to his sister's chamber took his way.
She sate with Emma, with the gentle Queen;
For Emma had already learnt to love
The gentle maid.

Goervyl saw what thoughts

we are young men, our old men know more; but all of them do not know. There are but a few whom the Beloved One chooses from a child, and is in them, and takes care of them, and teaches them. They know these things, and our old men practise, therefore they know: but I do not practise, therefore I know little."-Wesley's Journal, No. I. 39.