Abdalla the Moor and the Spanish knight. A romance of Mexico

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Chapter I

In the year of Grace fifteen hundred and twenty, upon a day in the month of May thereof, the sun rose over the islands of the new deep, and the mountains that divided it from an ocean yet unknown, and looked upon the havoc, which, in the name of God, a Christian people were working upon the loveliest of his regions. He had seen, in the revolution of a day, the strange* transformations which a few years had brought upon all the climes and races of his love. The standard of Portugal waved from the minarets of the east; a Portuguese admiral swept the Persian Gulf, and bombarded the walls of Or muz ; a Portuguese viceroy held his court on the shores of the Indian ocean; the princes of the eastern continent had exchanged their bracelets of gold for the iron fetters of the invader ; and among the odours of the Spice Islands, the fumes of frankincense ascended to the God of their new masters. Ho passed on his course : the breakers that dashed npon the sands of Africa were not whiter than the squadrons that rolled among thorn ; the chapel was built on the shore, and under the shadow of the crucifix was fastened the first rivet in the slavery of her miserable children. Then rose he over the blue Atlantic : the new continent emerged from the dusky deep ; the ships of discoverers were penetrating its estuaries and straits, from tha Isles of Fire even to the frozen promontories of Labrador ; and the roar of cannon went up to heaven, mingled with the groans and blood of naked savages. But peace had descended upon the islands of America ; the gentle tribes of these paradises of ocean wept in subjection over the graves of more than half their race ; hamlets and cities were springing np in their valleys and on their coasts; the culverin bellowed from the fortress, the bell pealed from the monastery ; and the civilisation and vices of Europe had supplanted the barbarism and innocence of the feeble native.

Still, as he careered to the west, new spectacles were displayed before him; the followers of Balboa had built a proud city on the shores, an 1 were launching their hasty harks on the surges of the New Oeean ; the hunter of the Fountain of Youth was perishing Under the arrows of the wild warriors of Florida, and the armed Spaniards were at last retreating before a Pagan multitude. One more tight of pomp and of grief awaited him : he rose on the mountains of Mexico ; the trumpet of the Spaniards echoed among the peaks ; he looked upon the^bay of Ulua, and, as his beams stole tremblingly over the swelling current, they fell upon the black hulls and furled canvass of a great fleet ridiug tranquilly at its moorings. The Ate of Mexico was in the scales of poured upon her shores. In truth, it was a goodly sight to look upon the armed vessels that thronged this nufreqnented biv ; for peacefully and majestically they slept on the tide, and as the morning hymn of the mariners swelled faiutlv on the air, one would have thought they' bore with them to the heathen the tidings of great joy, and the good, will and grace of their divine faith, instead of the earthly passions which were to cover the laud with lamentation and death.

With the morning sunbeam stole into the harbour one of those little caravels, wherein the men of those days dared the per Is of unknown deeps, and sought out new paths <o renown and fortune; and as she drew nigh to the reposing fleet, the hardy adventurers who thronged her deck gazed with new interest and admiration on the shores of that empire, the fame of whose wild graudeur and wealth had already driven from their minds the dreams of Golconda and the Moluccas. No fortress frowned on the low islands, no city glistened among the sand-hills on the shore : the surf rolled on the coast of ad uninhabited waste : the tents of the armourer and other artisans, the palm. thatched sheds of the sick, and some heaps of military stores, covered with sails and glimmering in the sun, were the only evidences of life on a beach which was, in after times, to became the 'site of a rich and bustling port. But beyond the low desert margin of the sea, and over the rank and lovely 'belt of verdure, which succeeded the glittering sand-hills, rose a rampart of mountains green with an eternal vegetation, over which again peered chain after chain, and crag after crag, with still the majestic Perote and the colossal Orir.abo frowning over all, until those who had dwelt among the Pyrenees, or looked upon the Alps* as some of that adventurous company had done, dreamed what wealth should be in a land, whoso first disclosure was so full of grandeur.

Of the four score individuals who crowded the decks of the little caravel, there was not one whoso countenance, at that spectacle, did not betray a touch of the enthusiasm— the mingled lust of glory and of lucre—which had already transformed so many ruffians into heroes. Among this motley throng might be seen all sorts of martial madmen, from the scarred veteran who had fought the Moots under the walls of Orao, to the runagate stripling who had hanselled his sword of lath on the curs of Seville ; from the hidalgo who remembered the prido of his ancestors, in the cloak of his grandsire, to the boor who dreamed of the crown of a Pagan emperor, in a leather shirt and oork shoes : hero was a brigand, who had cursed the Santa Herman* dad of all Castile, and now rejoiced over a land grey-haired extortioner, whom roguery had reduced to bankruptcy, bat who hoped to repair his fortune by following the pack of man -banters, and picking up the offals they despised, or cheating them of the prizes they had secured; here too was a holy secular, who came to exult over the confusion and destruction of all barbarians who should see nothing diviner in the crucifix than in their own idols. The greater number, however, was composed of debauched and decayed planters of the islands, who ceased to lament their narrow acres and decreasing iMmdmen, snatched away by the good fortune of some fellow-profligate, when they thought of territories for an estate, and whole tribes for a household. Indeed, in all the group, however elevated and ennobled, for the moment, by the excitement of the scene, and by the resolute impatience they displayed to rush upon adventures well known to be full of •offering and peril, there was but one whom a truly xtoble-hearted gentleman would have chosen to regard with respect or to approach with friendship.

This was a young cavalier, who, in propriety of nabiliments, iu excellence of person, and in noble* ness of carriage, differed greatly* from them all ; and, to say the truth, he himself seemed highly conscious of the difference, since he regarded all his fellow- ▼oyagers, saving only his own particular and armed attendants, with the disdaiu befitting so distinguished a personage. His frame, tall and moderately athletic, was arrayed in hose and doublet of a dusky brown cloth, slashed with purple: his cap and cloak were of black velvet, and in the band of one, and on the shoulder of the other, were symbols of nis faith and his profession—the first being a plain crucifix of silver, and the second a cross of white oloth of eight points, inserted in the mantle. In addition to these badges of devotion, he wore a cross of gold, pointed like the former, and suspended to Iris neck by a chain of such length and massiveness, as to imbue his companions with high notions of his rank and affluence.

The only point in which he exhibited any feeling in common with his companions, was in admiration of the noble prospect that stretched before him, and -which was every moment disclosing itself with newer and greater beauty, as the wind wafted his little vessel nearer to it His cheek flushed, his eye kindled, and smiting his hands together in his ardour, lie dropped so much of his dignity as to address many of his observations to the obsequious but not ungentle master.

" By St. John ! senor capitan," he cried, with rapture, " this is a most noble land to be wasted upon savages."

" True, Senor Bon Amador,'* replied the thrice-honoured master ; " a noble land, a rich land, a most glorious land; and, I warrant me, man has never before looked on its equal."

41 For my part,'* said the youth, proudly, " I have seen some lands that, in the estimation of those who know better, may be pronounced divine ; among Which I may mention the Greek islands, the keys of the Nile, the banks of the Hellespont, and the hills of Palestine— not to speak of Italy, and many divisions of our own country : yet, to be honest, I must allow I have never yet looked upon a land which, at the first sight, impressed me with such strange ideas of magnificence."

"What, then, will be your admiration, noble cavalier," said the captain, " when you have passed ■this sandy shore and yonder rugged hills, and find yourself among the golden valleys they encompass ? for all those who have returned from the interior

THE NOVEL NEWSPAPER.

thus speak of thetn, and declare upon the gospels and their honour, no man can conceive properly of paradise, until he has looked upon the valleys of Mexico."

"I long to be among them," said the youth; " and the sooner I am mounted on my good steed, Forgoso (whom God restore to his legs and spirit, for this cursed ship has cramped both), I say, the sooner I am mounted upon my good horse, and scattering this heathen sand from under his hoofs, the better will it be for myself, as well as for him. Harkee, good captain ; I know not by what sort of miracle I shall surmount yonder tall and majestic pinnacles ; but it will be some consolation, while stumbling among them, to be able at least to pronounce their names. What call you yon mountain to the north, with the huge coffer-like crag on its summit?"

" Your favour has even hit the name, in finding a similitude for the crag," said the captain. "The Indians call it by a name which signifies the Square Mountain ; but poor mariners like myself, who can scarce pronounce their prayers, much less the uncouth and horrible articulations of these barbarians, are content to call it the Coffer Mountain. It lies hard by the route to the great city, and is said to be such a desolate fire-blasted spot as will sicken a man with horror.'*

44 And yon kingly monster," continued the cavalier, " that raises his snowy cone up to heaven, and mixes his smoke with the morning clouds— that proudest of all — what call you him ?"

" Spaniards have named him Orizaba," said the master; " but these godless pagans, who cover every human object with some diabolical superstition, call that peak the Starry Mountain ; because the light of his conflagration, seen afar by night, shines like to a planet, and is thought by them to be one of their gods, descending to keep watch over their empire."

" A most heathenish and damning belief/' said the youth, with a devout indignation ; " and I do not marvel that heaven has given over to bondage and destruction a race stained with such beastly idolatry. But nevertheless, senor capitan, and notwithstanding that it is befouled with such impious heresies, I must say, that I have looked upon Mount Olympus, a mountain in Greece, whereon, they say, dwelt the accursed old heathen gods (whom Heaven confound), before the time that our blessed Saviour hurled them into the pit; and yet that Olympus is but a hang-dog Turk's head with a turban, compared to this most royal Orizaba, that raiseth up his front like an old patriarch, and smokes with the glory of his Maker."

" And yet they say," continued the captain, " that there is a mountain of fire even taller and nobler than this, and that hard by the great city. But your worship will see this for yourself, with many other wonders, when your worship fights the savages in the interior."

14 If it please Heaven," said the cavalier, " I will see this mountain, and those other wonders, whereof you speak ; but. as to fighting the savages, I must give you to know, that I cannot perceive how a man who has used his sword upon raging Mussulmans, with a sultan at their head, can condescend to draw it upon poor, trembling barbarians, who fight with flints and fish-bones, and run away, a thousand of them together, from six not over-valiant Christians."

44 Your favour," said the captain* " has heard of the miserable poltroonery of the island Indians, who, trulh to say, are neither Turks nor Moors of

At>VAJUL»A, XX1H

Barbary; bat, Senor Dan Amador de Leste, yon will find these dogs of Mexico to be another sort of people, who live in stone cities instead of bowers of palm-leaves; have crowned emperors in place of leathered caciques; are marshalled into armies, with drums, banners, and generals, like Christian warriors ; and, finally, go into battle with a most resolute and commendable good will. They will pierce a cuirass with their copper lances, crush an iron helmet with their hardened war-club* , and, as has twice or thrice happened with the men of Hernan Cortes, they will, with their battle-axes of flint, smite through the neck of a horse, as one would pierce a yam with his dagger. Truly, Senor Caballero, these Mexicans axe a warlike people.'*

" What you tell me," said Don Amador, " I hare heard in the islands; as well as that these same mountain Indians roast their prisoners with pepper and green maize, and think the dish both savoury and wholesome ; all which matters, excepting only the last, which is reasonable enough of such children of the devil, I do most firmly disbelieve : for how, were they not cowardly caitiffs, could this rebellious cavalier, the valiant Hernan Cortes, with six hundred mutiueers, have forced his way even to the great city Teaochtitlan, and into the palace of the emperor ? By my faith," and here the Senor Don Amador twisted his finger into his right mustachie with exceeding great complacency, " these same Mexicans may be brave enemies to the cavaliers of the plantations, who have studied the art of war among the tribes of Saato Domingo and Cuba ; but to a soldier who, as I said before, "has fought the Turks, and that too at the siege of Rhodes, they must be even such chicken-hearted slaves as it would be shame and disgrace to draw sword upon."

The master of the caravel regarded Don Amador with admiration for a momeut, and then said, with much emphasis — *' May I die the death of a mule, if I am not of your way of thinking, most noble Don Amador. To tell you the truth, these scurvy Mexicans, of whose ferocity and courage so much is said by those most interested to have them thought so, are even just such poor, spiritless, contemptible creatures as the Arrowauks of the isles, only that there are more of them ; and, to be honest, I«know nothing that should tempt a soldier and hidalgo to make war on them, except their gold, of which the worst that can be said is, first, that there is not much of it, and secondly, that there are too many hands to share it. There is neither honour nor wealth to be had in Tenochtilan. But if a true soldier and a right noble gentleman, as the world esteems Don Amador de Leste, should seek a path worthy of himself, he has but to say the word, and there is one to be found from which he may return with more gold than has yet been gathered by any fortunate adventurer, and mere renown than has been won by any other man in the new world : ay, by St. James, and diadems may be found there, provided one have the heart to contest for them with men who fight like the wolves of Catalonia, and die with their brows to the battle."

" Now, by St. John of Jerusalem I" said Amador, kindling with enthusiasm, " that is a path which, as I am a true Christian and Castilian, I should be rejoiced to tread. For the gold of which you speak, it might come if it would, for gold is a good thing, even to one who is neither needy nor covetous ; but I should be an idle hand to gather it. As for the diadems, I have my doubts whether a man, not born by the grace of God to inherit them, has any right to wear them, uuless, indeed, he should marry a king's daughter : but here the kings are all infidels, and, I vow to Heaven, I would sooner burn at a stake, along with a Christian beggar, than sell my soul to perdition in the arms of any infidel princess whatever. But for the renown of subduing a nation •f such valiant Pagans as those you speak of, and of converting them to the true faith, that is even such, a thought as makes my blood tingle within me ; and were I in all particulars the master of my own actions, I should say to you— Right worthy and courageous captain (for truly those honourable scan on your front and temple, and from your way of thinking, I esteem you such a man), point me out that path, and, with the blessing of Heaven, I will see to what honour it may lead me.*

" Your favour," said the captain, " has heard of the great island, Florida, and of the renowned Senor Don Ponce de Leon, its discoverer ?''

" I have heard ef such names, both of isle and of man, I think," said Don Amador ; " but, to say truth, senor commandante, you have here, in this new world, such a multitude of wonderful territories, and of heroic men, that, were I to give a month's labour to the study, I think I should not muster the names of all of them. Truly, in Rhodes, where the poor knights of the Hospital stood at bay before Solymon El Magnijico, and did such deeds as the world had not heard of since the days of Leonidas aud his brave knights of Sparta— I say, even in Rhodes, where all men thought of their honour and religion, and never a moment of their blood, we heard not of so many heroes as have risen up here in this corner of the earth, in a few years chasing of the wild Indians."

" The Senor Ponce de Leon,** said the captain, without regarding the sneer of the proud soldier, " the Senor Ponce de Leon, Adelantado of. Bimini and of Florida, in search of the miraculous Fountain of Youth, which, the Indians say, lies somewhere to the north, landed eight years ago, with the crews of three ships, allof them bigger aud better than this little rotten SangredeCristro, whereof I myself commanded one. Of the extraordinary beauty and fertility of the land of Florida, thus discovered. I will say nothing. Your favour will delight more to hear me speak of its inhabitants. These were men of a noble stature, and full of such resolution, that we were no sooner ashore than they fell upon us ; and I must say, we found we were now at variance with a people in nowise resembling those naked idiots of Cuba, or those cowardly hinds of Mexico. They cared not a jot for swordsman, arcubalister, or musketeer. To our rapiers they opposed their stone battle-axes, which gushed through the brain more like a thunderbolt than a Christian espada ; no crossbowman could drive an arrow with more mortal aim and Airy than could these wild archers with their horn bows (for know, senor, they have, in that country of Florida, some prodigious animal, which yields them abundant material for their weapons) ; and, what filled us with much surprise, and no little fear, instead of betaking themselves to their heels at the sound of our firelocks, as we looked for them to do, no sooner' had they heard the roar of these arms, than they fetched many most loud and frightful yells, to express their contempt of our warlike din, and rushed upon us with such renewed and increasing violence, that, to be honest, as a Christian of my years should be , we were fain to betake ourselves to our ships with' what speed and good fortune we could. And now, senor, you will be ashamed to hear that our courage was so much modified by this repulse, and our fears of engaging further with such desperaltrr, j*uv£.l# wjsrf arArrsu.

does so urgent and potent, that we straightway set sail, and, in the vain search for the enchanted fountain, quite forgot the nobler objects of the voyage."

u What you have said," qouth Don Amador, *' convinces me that these savages of Florida are a warlike people, and worthy the wrath of a brave soldier ; but you have said nothing of the ores and diadems, whereof, I think, you first spake, and which, heaven save the mark ! by some strange mutation of mind, have made a deeper impression on my imagination than such trifles should."

" "We learned of some wounded captives we carried to the ships,'* continued the master, " as well at least as we could understand by their signs, that there was a vast country to the north-west, where dwelt nations of fire- worshippers, governed by kings, very xieh and powerful, on the banks of a great river ; and from some things we gathered, it was thought by many that the miraculous fountain was in that land, and not in the island Bimini ; and this think I niyself, for, senor, I have seen a man who, with others, had slaked his thirst in every spring that gushes from that island, and, by my faith, he died of an apoplexy the day after his arrival in the Habana. Wherefore, it is clear, that marvellous fountain must be in the country of the fire-worshippers. But, notwithstanding all these things, senor, our GOmmander, Don Ponce, would resolve upon nought but to return to the Bahamas, where our ships were divided, each in search of the island called TSimini. It was my fortune to be dispatched westward ; and here, what with the aid of a tempest that blew from the east, and some little hankering of mine own appetite after that land of the fire-worshippers, I found myself many a league beyond where any Christian had ever navigated before, where a fresh and turbid current rolled through the deep, bearing the trunks of countless great trees, many of them scorched with firp; whereupon I knew that I was near to the object of my desires, which, however, the fears and the discontent of my crew prevented my reaching. I was even compelled to obey them, and conduct them to Cuba."

" Senor capitan," said Amador, who had listened

to the master's narrative with great attention, " I

give you praise for your bold and most commendable

daring in having sailed so far, and I condole with

you for your misfortune in being compelled to abide

the government of a crew of such runagate and false

companions, whom I marvel exceedingly you did

not hang, e\ery man of 'em, to some convenient

corner of your ship, as was the due of such disloyal

i knaves; but yet, credit me, I see not what this

1 turbid and fresh flood, and what these floating trees

( had to do with the gold and the diadems, of which

you were speaking."

" Senor," said the captain, earnestly, " I have navigated the deep for, perhaps, more years than your favour has lived ; and it was my fortune to be with the Admiral — — — "

*' With Colon," cried the youth.

u With his excellency, the admiral, Don Cristobal Colon, the discoverer of this new world," replied the master, proudly, "in his own good ship, when we sailed into the Serpent's Mouth, which, we knew not then, laved the shores of the great continent; and I remember that when the admiral had beheld the trees floating in the current, and had tasted of the fresh water of that boiling gulf, he told us that these came from a great river rolling through a mighty continent. And, in after times, the words of the admiral were proved to be just; for there his captain, the young Pinzon, found the great river Oronoko."

" There is no man," said Don Amador, " who more reverences the memory of the admiral than I; and I feel the more regard for yourself, thatyouhave sailed with him on his discoveries. Moreover, I beg your pardon, insomuch as I have been slow to unravel your meaning. But now, I perceive, you think you had reached that river of the infidel fire-worshippers, whom God confound with fire and flame ! as doubtless he will. And hath no man again sought the mouth of that river ? I marvel you did not yourself make a second attempt.1'

" I could not prevail upon any cavaliers, rich enough for the Undertaking,'' said the master, " to league with me in it. Men like not the spirit of the northern savages ; and, in truth, there were a thousand other lands where the barbarians could be subdued with less peril, and, as they thought, with a better hope of gain. And yet, by our lady, that river bore with it the evidences of the wealth on its banks; for what were those scorched trees but the relics of the fires with which the kings of the land were smelting their ores ? and what quantity of gold must there not have been where such prodigious furnaces were kindled."

" By the mass !" said Amador, with ardour, " you speak the truth ; it is even a most wenderfnl land ; and if a few thousand pesoes would float an expedition, by my faith, I think I couTd find them."

'• A few thousand pesoes, and the countenance of such a leader as Don Amador de Leste, a knight of the holv and valiant order San Juan — "

" A knight by right, but not by vow," said Don Amador, hastily : M I give you to understand, senor capitan, that 1 am not a sworn brother of that most ancient, honourable, and knightly order, but an humble volunteer, attached, for certain reasons of my own, to them, and privileged by the consent of his most eminent highness, the grand roaster, to wear these badges, wherein I am arrayed, in acknowledgment that I did some service not unworthy knighthood in the trenches of Rhodes."

" Your favour will not lead the less worthily for that," said the'eaptain ; " I know an hundred cavaliers who would throw their ducats, as well as their arms, into the adventure prescribed by the Senor Don Amador; and a thousand crossbows, with three or four score arquebusiers, would flock to the standard as soon as we had preached through the islands a ciusade to the fire-worshippers, and a pilgrimage to the Waters of Life."

" And is it truly believed," said Amador, eagerly, " that such waters are to be found in these heathen lands?"

" Who can doubt it?'' said the captain; " the Indians of the Bahamas have spoken of them for y ears ; no Spaniard hath ever thought of questioning their existence ; and at this moment, so great is the certainty of finding them, that my old leader, Don Ponce, is collecting round him men for a second expedition, w ith which he will depart I know not how soon. But I know Don Ponce ; the draught of youth is not. for him; he will seek the fountain on his great island of Florida, and find it not : it will bubble only to the lips of those who seek it near the great river of the great continent."