Montezuma
M ONTEZUMA , who has been induced by the treachery of the Mexican High Priest to believe that the Spaniards are the heralds of the benignant God Quetzalcoatl, has surrendered himself to the custody of C ORTES and his associates. The following scene takes place in the Spanish quarters, from which Montezuma hears the shrieks of the Mexicans as they are murdered in the Temple by the Spaniards under A LVARADO . C ORTES , who has been absent from the city, returns during the scene .
Mon. Teçalco, wife! my eyes
Thirst for thy sight. 'Twas said within a week
We should rejoin; yet thrice the budding moon
Has ripened to full blossom in the heavens,
And still she comes not. Is this sorrow meant
To prove me more? So says the holy priest,
And that by my submission won, great Cortes
Seeks Quetzalcoatl's home beyond the seas
And bids him hasten. Come, propitious God,
Bless Mexico at last!
A cry! — the God
Already walks our streets. No, 'tis Despair,
Not Joy that shouts so shrill. Yon shafts of sound
Are barbed with pangs.
They pierce my heart, which streams
With more than blood; ho! there!
What mean those cries?
1st Sen. I know not.
Mon. Slave, thou palterest! Speak, or never
Speak more!
2d Sen. My lord!
Mon. It dies away
And the loud horror ebbs into a groan.
2d Sen. The Priest Xenitzin and a woman skilled
In drugs attend your Highness.
Mon. Bring them hither.
Enter X ENITZIN , and T EÇALCO , disguised as a woman of the humbler class. At a sign from M ONTEZUMA , Sentinels go out .
Now, Priest! those cries?
Xen. Came from the temple, sir; but yonder matron
Best knows the dismal tale.
Mon. Bid her approach.
Xen. Her voice will wake a storm. I'd have it so,
A crisis proves the worth of men like me.
Lady, you may approach.
Mon. Teçalco!
Te. Ay;
How fares my lord?
Mon. Those cries? my people?
Te. Sit
If thou wouldst hear the tale, and bid me sit
Lest my brain reel.
Mon. Now, now? —
Te. You know this day
A high day — our set yearly festival
In honour of the War-God. Mexico
Sent to his shrine her bravest and her best;
Hoar chiefs that like Time's landmarks skirt a sea
Of mirroring glory, — sons who feel their names
A heritage, — mothers who sweep the locks
From their boys' brows as from a page where Fame
Has sworn to write, — mothers, — I say! — bright boys,
And prattling sisters — Gods!
Mon . Go on!
Te. They poured
Into the Temple Court. An Empire's wealth
Flashed from their jewelled collars and pearled plumes
In the blue day! An Empire's wealth were poor
To ransom life back to one silent heat
Of all that host.
Mon. What sayst thou?
Te. They were slaughtered;
Unwarned, unarmed! Even as the music rose,
The Spaniards burst on them. Their coward knives
Lacked room for their fell use till from the mass
Two living banks were hewn adown which rushed
A torrent — blood!
Mon. Ah!
Te. Murder like the plague
Slew with a breath;
Lads who had watched their sires, so choked their sobs,
Were wrenched from love's fond gripe. Then parent hearts —
Dumb for themselves — rang to the faithless Gods,
Shrieks that were prayers, mixed, multitudinous!
Didst catch the child's small cry, a rill of sound
Amidst the deafening cataract? All is still;
They lie with upturned faces to the Heavens,
And stiffly wait for vengeance!
Mon. They shall have it.
Te. Who dares say that when Montezuma clasps
Hands with the assassins, when all Mexico —
Mon. Holds him a recreant.
Te. No, not all!
Mon. Wife, wife!
Te. A watch was set on me as on our daughter And Guatemozin.
Mon. They are safe?
Te. Yes, barred
Within their doors. In this disguise I gained
The temple. Wearing neither gold nor gems,
I 'scaped the plundering band of Alvarado.
Mon. Of Alvarado?
Te. Aye.
Mon. Cortes shall blight him
With his own lightnings.
Te. Cortes! — Why these murderers
Hurled Quetzalcoatl's statue from its shrine
But yesterday, and, as the shattered form
Bestrewed the ground, cried — 'Tis the will of Cortes!
Mon. No, no — thou stabb'st me! — no, not Cortes false, —
Not false to Quetzalcoatl!
Te. Thou shalt prove it!
He is returned on sudden.
Mon. None shall 'scape
Till I have strict account. This ring, Teçalco,
To Guatemozin! If he be not free,
To Watoatoli! Let the people rise
In arms and meet me! Bid our chiefs break down
All bridges to the mainland; then set fire
To Cortes' ships! The city's a tribunal,
And I — the judge!
Te. I go, dear lord!
Mon. Speed, speed!
I'll know the worst! — Voices! — 'Tis Cortes comes
And the fiend Alvarado! — The High Priest too,
As if in council with them! Ah, unseen,
I'll prove the chief, and if that face he wears
Do glass his heart!
Enter C ORTES , A LVARADO , S ANDOVAL , O YOYOTZIN , and X ENITZIN .
Cor. No more, — you have done ill!
Alv. You were my tutor!
Cor. Crowds swarm the streets. If they revolt, you, Priest,
Must forge new oracles and plainly show them
Their Gods are with us. So shall fear unnerve them.
Oyo. No, here I halt; though hating Montezuma,
I'm of the Mexicans. Yon murderer's hands
Reek with their blood.
Alv. Dog!
Cor. If you heap the fire
You madly kindled, fire that may consume us,
I'll name your deed and have its forfeit! — Peace!
Xen. I do not love my brother; but he is mine.
That blow reached me! Nay, be not troubled, Chief!
My brother will forget this, — soon as I.
Cor. No wavering, Priest! — Obey; or Montezuma
Shall learn your treason, straight. Tabasco's crown
Or a base death? — which do you choose?
Oyo. The crown.
Xen. Weak will! who sways to each side, fails to both;
Give place to me.
Cor. A guard of musqueteers
Must to the ante-room. See that our cannon
Sweep the front entrance, — you, good Sandoval!
Should these fierce millions overpower our band,
We've still our ships! Your errand, Priest — Remember!
You've lost a name; redeem it! Hold the gates!
Now to find Montezuma!
Mon. Find him here!
Cor. My friend!
Mon. Another name!
Cor. Prince!
Mon. No; an hour since,
Dupe was the fitting name; 'tis now avenger!
Cor. How like a felon's droops my eye before him! —
What has chanced? — Speak!
Mon. From out this brooding air the Gods shall speak!
They bend above thee now; they grasp their bolts!
Cor. Why do they pause?
Mon. Astounded at thy guilt,
Thou Arch-sin of the world, near whom all crime
Whitens and dwarfs!
Cor. How?
Mon. Friend of Mexico!
Gashed corses pave her streets, and the sick sun
Abhors his daily watch! Friend of our Gods!
Their limbless statues thank thee! Friend of Peace,
Herald of Quetzalcoatl! human blood
Smears the glib Temple-floors which blush with horror!
Perjurer, beware you slip not!
Cor. Have a care;
My guard's at hand!
Mon. Fool, when I lost my faith
In thee, I lost my fear! I've borne for right
The name of coward; shall I dread thy guard?
Cor. What's that?
Mon. Ha!
Cor. Speak! What mean those sounds?
Mon. Guess! Canst thou?
Cor. The people rise!
Mon. Ay, like a deluge! The wild waste of war
Foams onward. Strain thine eyes and catch new crests
That are the vans of seas. They meet, they roll,
They dash against thy base! Hark, hark!
Cor. The Saints
Befriend us! We're a handful and must fly.
Ho, Sandoval! Cut through them to the bridges!
Mon. They're broken down!
Cor. Then to the ships.
Mon. Look, look!
Cor. That fire?
Mon. Comes from thy burning ships!
Thou'rt on an island-rock; there cling and famish,
Or leap into the gulf! It soars, it soars!
Cor. Appease the people. Save us, and we'll quit The land for ever!
Mon. Alvarado's head!
Cor. Then be their blood upon thee.
See those engines,
The iron throats of death! Appease them!
Mon. Off!
Cor. Fire! — Cannon!
Mon. My brave people! See'tis I,
'Tis Montezuma!
" M ONTEZUMA , " an unpublished Tragedy .
Mon. Teçalco, wife! my eyes
Thirst for thy sight. 'Twas said within a week
We should rejoin; yet thrice the budding moon
Has ripened to full blossom in the heavens,
And still she comes not. Is this sorrow meant
To prove me more? So says the holy priest,
And that by my submission won, great Cortes
Seeks Quetzalcoatl's home beyond the seas
And bids him hasten. Come, propitious God,
Bless Mexico at last!
A cry! — the God
Already walks our streets. No, 'tis Despair,
Not Joy that shouts so shrill. Yon shafts of sound
Are barbed with pangs.
They pierce my heart, which streams
With more than blood; ho! there!
What mean those cries?
1st Sen. I know not.
Mon. Slave, thou palterest! Speak, or never
Speak more!
2d Sen. My lord!
Mon. It dies away
And the loud horror ebbs into a groan.
2d Sen. The Priest Xenitzin and a woman skilled
In drugs attend your Highness.
Mon. Bring them hither.
Enter X ENITZIN , and T EÇALCO , disguised as a woman of the humbler class. At a sign from M ONTEZUMA , Sentinels go out .
Now, Priest! those cries?
Xen. Came from the temple, sir; but yonder matron
Best knows the dismal tale.
Mon. Bid her approach.
Xen. Her voice will wake a storm. I'd have it so,
A crisis proves the worth of men like me.
Lady, you may approach.
Mon. Teçalco!
Te. Ay;
How fares my lord?
Mon. Those cries? my people?
Te. Sit
If thou wouldst hear the tale, and bid me sit
Lest my brain reel.
Mon. Now, now? —
Te. You know this day
A high day — our set yearly festival
In honour of the War-God. Mexico
Sent to his shrine her bravest and her best;
Hoar chiefs that like Time's landmarks skirt a sea
Of mirroring glory, — sons who feel their names
A heritage, — mothers who sweep the locks
From their boys' brows as from a page where Fame
Has sworn to write, — mothers, — I say! — bright boys,
And prattling sisters — Gods!
Mon . Go on!
Te. They poured
Into the Temple Court. An Empire's wealth
Flashed from their jewelled collars and pearled plumes
In the blue day! An Empire's wealth were poor
To ransom life back to one silent heat
Of all that host.
Mon. What sayst thou?
Te. They were slaughtered;
Unwarned, unarmed! Even as the music rose,
The Spaniards burst on them. Their coward knives
Lacked room for their fell use till from the mass
Two living banks were hewn adown which rushed
A torrent — blood!
Mon. Ah!
Te. Murder like the plague
Slew with a breath;
Lads who had watched their sires, so choked their sobs,
Were wrenched from love's fond gripe. Then parent hearts —
Dumb for themselves — rang to the faithless Gods,
Shrieks that were prayers, mixed, multitudinous!
Didst catch the child's small cry, a rill of sound
Amidst the deafening cataract? All is still;
They lie with upturned faces to the Heavens,
And stiffly wait for vengeance!
Mon. They shall have it.
Te. Who dares say that when Montezuma clasps
Hands with the assassins, when all Mexico —
Mon. Holds him a recreant.
Te. No, not all!
Mon. Wife, wife!
Te. A watch was set on me as on our daughter And Guatemozin.
Mon. They are safe?
Te. Yes, barred
Within their doors. In this disguise I gained
The temple. Wearing neither gold nor gems,
I 'scaped the plundering band of Alvarado.
Mon. Of Alvarado?
Te. Aye.
Mon. Cortes shall blight him
With his own lightnings.
Te. Cortes! — Why these murderers
Hurled Quetzalcoatl's statue from its shrine
But yesterday, and, as the shattered form
Bestrewed the ground, cried — 'Tis the will of Cortes!
Mon. No, no — thou stabb'st me! — no, not Cortes false, —
Not false to Quetzalcoatl!
Te. Thou shalt prove it!
He is returned on sudden.
Mon. None shall 'scape
Till I have strict account. This ring, Teçalco,
To Guatemozin! If he be not free,
To Watoatoli! Let the people rise
In arms and meet me! Bid our chiefs break down
All bridges to the mainland; then set fire
To Cortes' ships! The city's a tribunal,
And I — the judge!
Te. I go, dear lord!
Mon. Speed, speed!
I'll know the worst! — Voices! — 'Tis Cortes comes
And the fiend Alvarado! — The High Priest too,
As if in council with them! Ah, unseen,
I'll prove the chief, and if that face he wears
Do glass his heart!
Enter C ORTES , A LVARADO , S ANDOVAL , O YOYOTZIN , and X ENITZIN .
Cor. No more, — you have done ill!
Alv. You were my tutor!
Cor. Crowds swarm the streets. If they revolt, you, Priest,
Must forge new oracles and plainly show them
Their Gods are with us. So shall fear unnerve them.
Oyo. No, here I halt; though hating Montezuma,
I'm of the Mexicans. Yon murderer's hands
Reek with their blood.
Alv. Dog!
Cor. If you heap the fire
You madly kindled, fire that may consume us,
I'll name your deed and have its forfeit! — Peace!
Xen. I do not love my brother; but he is mine.
That blow reached me! Nay, be not troubled, Chief!
My brother will forget this, — soon as I.
Cor. No wavering, Priest! — Obey; or Montezuma
Shall learn your treason, straight. Tabasco's crown
Or a base death? — which do you choose?
Oyo. The crown.
Xen. Weak will! who sways to each side, fails to both;
Give place to me.
Cor. A guard of musqueteers
Must to the ante-room. See that our cannon
Sweep the front entrance, — you, good Sandoval!
Should these fierce millions overpower our band,
We've still our ships! Your errand, Priest — Remember!
You've lost a name; redeem it! Hold the gates!
Now to find Montezuma!
Mon. Find him here!
Cor. My friend!
Mon. Another name!
Cor. Prince!
Mon. No; an hour since,
Dupe was the fitting name; 'tis now avenger!
Cor. How like a felon's droops my eye before him! —
What has chanced? — Speak!
Mon. From out this brooding air the Gods shall speak!
They bend above thee now; they grasp their bolts!
Cor. Why do they pause?
Mon. Astounded at thy guilt,
Thou Arch-sin of the world, near whom all crime
Whitens and dwarfs!
Cor. How?
Mon. Friend of Mexico!
Gashed corses pave her streets, and the sick sun
Abhors his daily watch! Friend of our Gods!
Their limbless statues thank thee! Friend of Peace,
Herald of Quetzalcoatl! human blood
Smears the glib Temple-floors which blush with horror!
Perjurer, beware you slip not!
Cor. Have a care;
My guard's at hand!
Mon. Fool, when I lost my faith
In thee, I lost my fear! I've borne for right
The name of coward; shall I dread thy guard?
Cor. What's that?
Mon. Ha!
Cor. Speak! What mean those sounds?
Mon. Guess! Canst thou?
Cor. The people rise!
Mon. Ay, like a deluge! The wild waste of war
Foams onward. Strain thine eyes and catch new crests
That are the vans of seas. They meet, they roll,
They dash against thy base! Hark, hark!
Cor. The Saints
Befriend us! We're a handful and must fly.
Ho, Sandoval! Cut through them to the bridges!
Mon. They're broken down!
Cor. Then to the ships.
Mon. Look, look!
Cor. That fire?
Mon. Comes from thy burning ships!
Thou'rt on an island-rock; there cling and famish,
Or leap into the gulf! It soars, it soars!
Cor. Appease the people. Save us, and we'll quit The land for ever!
Mon. Alvarado's head!
Cor. Then be their blood upon thee.
See those engines,
The iron throats of death! Appease them!
Mon. Off!
Cor. Fire! — Cannon!
Mon. My brave people! See'tis I,
'Tis Montezuma!
" M ONTEZUMA , " an unpublished Tragedy .
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