The Slave Sculptor — page 65: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

- THE THREE GREAT HEAPS, 6? deliverer for his freedom! Such was the effect of the astonishing bravado of Cortez. The nature of our narrative forbids us to enter into a detailed re- cital of the incidents of that momentous time. The record of facts all reads like a romance which would shame the efforts of any fic- tionist in contrast. We will, however, gratify the reader, whose at- tention must be greatly excited in these incidents, by quoting from our late lamented Pre<cotr, to whose elaborate and classic works on in these pages. He says: s ** These events were certainly some of the most extraordinary on the pages of history. That a small body of men, like the Spaniards, should have entered the palace of a mighty prince, have seized his person in the midst of his vassals, have borne him off a captive to their quarters — that they should have put to an ignominious death before his face his high , for executing, probably, his own com- a drivelling dotard in the decay of his fortunes, but to a proud mon- arch in the plenitude of his power, in the very heart of his cap- ital, by thousands and tens of thousands, who trembled Ssoe:they a - a namameuabadainell a edliie-aeee did not exhibit it publicly, but y submitted step host of his enemies. He set his foot on the neck of princes, and the tool in his i the pro Spaniards, to receive the customary tribute in the name of the Castil- i Crown: ‘To the amount thus collected, Montezuma added an immense treasure on his own SS ia been gather- ed into the Spanish quarters, it form ree great heaps.’’ Magnificent as it was, the Azteo monarch regretted that it was no larger, and remarked: ‘* Take it, Malinche’””— the name by which he always called Cortez, ‘and let it be recorded in your annals, that Montezuma sent this present to your master.’’ Thus passed the first six months of Cortez in the capital, during which time he had lorded it over the country with full sway. At comlcbooks.com