Which, mingling, from such noble veins hath flowed,
Increase of valour drink, and added force.
Ocellopan received the bloody vase,
And drank, and gave in silence to his friend
The consecrated draught; then Tlalala
Drained off the offering. Braver blood than this
My lips can never taste! quoth he; but soon
Grant me, Mexitli, a more grateful cup, ..
Are all the rites performed?
Answered the Priest. Go! and the guardian God
Of Atzlan be your guide!
Lo! as Tezozomoc was passing by
The eternal fire, the eternal fire shot up
A long blue flame. He started; he exclaimed,
The God! the God! Tezcalipoca's Priest
Echoed the welcome cry, The God! the God!
For lo! his footsteps mark the maize-strewn floor!
A mighty shout from all the multitude
Of Aztlan rose; they cast into the fire
The victims, whose last shrieks of agony
Mingled unheeded with the cries of joy.
Then lou er from the spiral sea-shell's depth
Swelled the full roar, and from the hollow wood
Pealed deeper thunders. Round the choral band,
The circling nobles, gay with gorgeous plumes,
And gems which sparkled to the midnight fire,
Moved in the solemn dance; each in his hand,
In measured movements, lifts the feathery shield,
And shakes a rattling ball to measured sounds.
With quicker steps, the inferior chiefs without,
Equal in number, but in just array,
The spreading radii of the mystic wheel,
Revolve; and, outermost, the youths roll round,
In motions rapid as their quickened blood.
So thus, with song and harmony, the night
Past on in Atzlan, and all hearts rejoiced.
MEANTIME from Aztlan, on their enterprize,
Shedder of Blood and Tyger of the War,
Ocellopan and Tlalala set forth.
With chosen followers, through the silent night,
Silent they travelled on.
After a way
Circuitous and far through lonely tracks,
They reached the mountains, and amid the shade
Of thickets covering the uncultured slope,
Their patient ambush placed. The Chiefs alone
Held on, till winding in ascent they reached
The heights which o'er the Briton's mountain hold
Impended; there they stood, and by the moon,
Who yet, with undiminished lustre, hung
High in the dark blue firmament, from thence
Explored the steep descent. Precipitous
The rock beneath them lay, a sudden cliff
Bare and unbroken; in its midway holes,
Where never hand could reach, nor eye intrude,
The eagle built her eyrie. Farther on,
Its interrupted crags and ancient woods
Offered a difficult way. From crag to crag,
By rocky shelf, by trunk, or root, or bough,
A painful toil and perilous, they past.
And now,
stretched out amid the matted shrubs,
Which, at the entrance of the valley, clothed
The rugged bank, they crouched.
By this the stars Grew dim; the glow-worm hath put out her lamp; The owls have ceased their night-song. On the top Of yon magnolia the loud turkey's voice Is heralding the dawn; from tree to tree Extends the wakening watch-note, far and wide, Till the whole woodlands echo with the cry. Now breaks the morning; but as yet no foot Hath marked the dews, nor sound of man is heard. Then first Ocellopan beheld, where near,
Beneath the shelter of a half-roofed hut,
A sleeping Stranger lay. He pointed him
To Tlalala. The Tyger looked around:
None else was nigh... Shall I descend, he said,
And strike him? here is none to see the deed.
We offered to the Gods our mingled blood
Last night; and now, I deem it, they present
An offering which shall more propitiate them,
And omen sure success. I will go down
And kill!
He said, and, gliding like a snake,
Where Caradoc lay sleeping made his way.
Sweetly slept he, and pleasant were his dreams
Of Britain, and the blue-eyed maid he loved.
The Azteca stood over him; he knew
His victim, and the power of vengeance gave
Malignant joy. Once hast thou 'scaped my arm :
But what shall save thee now? the Tyger thought,
Exulting; and he raised his spear to strike.
That instant, o'er the Briton's unseen harp
The gale of morning past, and swept its strings
Into so sweet a harmony, that sure
It seemed no earthly tone.
Suspends his stroke; he looks astonished round;
No human hand is near; .. and hark! again
The aerial music swells and dies away.
Then first the heart of Tlalala felt fear :
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