Their thousand boats, and the ten thousand oars
From whose broad bowls the waters fall and flash,
And twice ten thousand feather'd helms, and shields,
Glittering with gold and scarlet plumery.
Onward they come with song and swelling horn;
While, louder than all voice and instrument,
The dash of their ten thousand oars, from shore
To shore and hill to hill, re-echoing rolls,
In undistinguishable peals of sound
And endless echo. On the other side
Advance the British barks; the freshening breeze
Fills the broad sail, around the rushing keel
The waters sing, while proudly they sail on
Lords of the water. Shine thou forth, O Sun!
Shine forth upon their hour of victory!

Their splinter'd vessels floating all around,
Their warriors struggling in the lake, with arms
Experienced in the battle vainly now.
Dismay'd they drop their bows, and cast away
Their unavailing spears, and take to flight,
Before the Masters of the Elements, .

Who rode the waters, and who made the winds
Wing them to vengeance! Forward now they bend,
And backward then, with strenuous strain of arm,
Press the broad paddle... Hope of victory
Was none, nor of defence, nor of revenge,
To sweeten death. Toward the shore they speed,
Toward the shore they lift their longing eyes:..
O fools, to meet on their own element
The Sons of Ocean!.. Could they but aland
Set foot, the strife were equal, or to die
Less dreadful. But, as if with wings of wind,
On fly the British barks! the favouring breeze
Blows strong;.. far, far behind their roaring keels
Lies the long line of foam; the helm directs
Their force; they move as with the limbs of life,
Obedient to the will that governs them.
Where'er they pass, the crashing shock is heard,
The dash of broken waters, and the cry
Of sinking multitudes. Here one plies fast
The practised limbs of youth, but o'er his head
The galley drives; one follows a canoe
With skill availing only to prolong
Suffering; another, as with wiser aim
He swims across, to meet his coming friends,

Stunn'd by the hasty and unheeding oar,
Sinks senseless to the depths. Lo! yonder boat
Graspt by the thronging strugglers; its light length
Yields to the overbearing weight, and all
Share the same ruin. Here another shows
Crueler contest, where the crew hack off
The hands that hang for life upon its side,
Lest altogether perish; then in vain

The voice of friend or kinsman prays for mercy,
Imperious self controuls all other thoughts;
And still they deal around unnatural wounds,
When the strong bark of Britain over all
Sails in the path of death... God of the Lake,
Tlaloc! and thou, O Aiauh, green-robed Queen!
How many a wretch, in dying agonies,
Invoked ye in the misery of that day!
Long after, on the tainted lake, the dead
Welter'd; there, perch'd upon his floating prey,
The vulture fed in daylight; and the wolves,
Assembled at their banquet round its banks,
Disturb'd the midnight with their howl of joy.

XXVI.

THE CLOSE OF THE CENTURY.

THERE was mourning in Patamba; the north wind
Blew o'er the lake, and drifted to the shore

The floating wreck and bodies of the dead.
Then on the shore the mother might be seen,
Seeking her child; the father to the tomb,
With limbs too weak for that unhappy weight,
Bearing the bloated body of his son;
The wife, who, in expectant agony,
Watch'd the black carcass on the coming wave.

On every brow terror was legible, Anguish in every eye. There was not one Who in the general ruin did not share Peculiar grief, and in his country's loss Lament some dear one dead. Along the lake The frequent funeral-piles, for many a day, With the noon-light their melancholy flames Dimly commingled; while the mourners stood, Watching the pile, to feed the lingering fire, As slowly it consumed the watery corpse.

Thou didst not fear, young Tlalala! thy soul,
Unconquer'd and unconquerable, rose
Superior to its fortune. When the Chiefs
Hung their dejected heads, as men subdued
In spirit, then didst thou, Yuhidthiton,
Calm in the hour of evil, still maintain
Thy even courage. They from man to man
Go, with the mourners mourning, and by grief
Exciting rage, till, at the promised fight,
The hope of vengeance, a ferocious joy
Flash'd in the eyes which glisten'd still with tears
Of tender memory. To the brave they spake
Of Aztlan's strength, . . for Aztlan still was strong:..
The late defeat, . . not there by manly might,
By honourable valour, by the force

Of arms subdued, shame aggravated loss;
The White Men from the waters came, perchance
Sons of the Ocean, by their parent Gods
Aided, and conquerors not by human skill.
When man met man, when in the field of fight
The soldier on firm earth should plant his foot,
Then would the trial be, the struggle then,
The glory, the revenge.

Tezozomoc,
Alike unbroken by defeat, endured
The evil day; but in his sullen mind
Work'd thoughts of other vengeance.

He the King

Summon'd apart from all, with Tlalala,
And thus advised them: We have vainly tried
The war; these mighty Strangers will not yield
To mortal strength; yet shall they be cut off
So ye will heed my counsel, and to force
Add wisdom's aid. Put on a friendly front;
Send to their Prince the messenger of peace;
He will believe our words: he will forgive

Begin the Circle of the Years anew,
Again we march to war.

One day is past;
At earliest dawn

Another day comes on.
Then was there heard through all Patamba's streets
The warning voice.. Woe! woe! the Sun hath
reach'd

The limits of his course; he hath fulfill'd

When we may fire their dwellings in the night,
Or mingle poison in their cups of mirth.
The warrior, from whose force the Lion flies,
Falls by the Serpent's tooth.

Thou speakest well,
Tlalala answer'd; but my spirit ill
Can brook revenge delay'd.

The Priest then turn'd His small and glittering eye toward the King; But on the Monarch's mild and manly brow A meaning sate, which made that crafty eye Bend, quickly abash'd. While yet I was a child, Replied the King of Aztlan, on my heart My father laid two precepts. Boy, be brave! So, in the midnight battle, shalt thou meet, Fearless, the sudden foe. Boy, let thy lips Be clean from falsehood! in the mid-day sun, So never shalt thou need from mortal man To turn thy guilty face. Tezozomoc, Holy I keep the lessons of my sire.

But if the enemy, with their dreadful arms,
Again, said Tlalala,. . If again the Gods
Will our defeat, Yuhidthiton replied,
Vain is it for the feeble power of man
To strive against their will. I augure not
Of ill, young Tiger! but if ill betide,
The land is all before us. Let me hear
Of perfidy and serpent-wiles no more!

In the noon-day war, and in the face of Heaven,
I meet my foes. Let Aztlan follow me;
And if one man of all her multitudes
Shall better play the warrior in that hour,
Be his the sceptre ! But if the people fear
The perilous strife, and own themselves subdued,
Let us depart ! The universal Sun
Confines not to one land his partial beams;
Nor is man rooted, like a tree, whose seed
The winds on some ungenial soil have cast,
There where he cannot prosper.

The dark Priest
Conceal'd revengeful anger, and replied,
Let the King's will be done! An aweful day
Draws on; the Circle of the Years is full; '
We tremble for the event. The times are strange;
There are portentous changes in the world;
Perchance its end is come.

Be it thy care,
Priest of the Gods, to see the needful rites
Duly perform'd, Yuhidthiton replied.
On the third day, if yonder Lord of Light

1 Torquemada, 1. x. c. 33. The tradition of the Five Suns is related by Clavigero: the origin of the present by the

Four Suns have perish'd,.. fast, and weep, and pray,
Lest the fifth perish also. On the first
The floods arose; the waters of the heavens,
Bursting their everlasting boundaries,
Whelm'd in one deluge earth and sea and sky,
And quench'd its orb of fire. The second Sun
Then had its birth, and ran its round of years;
Till having reach'd its date, it fell from heaven,
And crush'd the race of men. Another life
The Gods assign'd to Nature; the third Sun
Form'd the celestial circle; then its flames
Burst forth, and overspread earth, sea, and sky,
Deluging the wide universe with fire,

Till all things were consumed, and its own flames
Fed on itself, and spent themselves, and all
Was vacancy and darkness. Yet again
The World had being, and another Sun
Roll'd round the path of Heaven. That perish'd too:
The mighty Whirlwinds rose, and far away
Scatter'd its dying flames. The fifth was born;
The fifth to-day completes its destined course,
Perchance to rise no more. O Aztlan, fast
And pray! the Cycle of the Years is full !

Thus through Patamba did the ominous voice Exhort the people. Fervent vows all day Were made, with loud lament; in every fane, In every dwelling-place of man, were prayers, The supplications of the affrighted heart, Earnestly offered up with tears and groans. So pass'd the forenoon; and when now the Sun Sloped from his southern height the downward way Of Heaven, again the ominous warner cried, Woe! woe! the Cycle of the Years is full ! Quench every fire! Extinguish every light! And every fire was quench'd, and every light Extinguish'd at the voice.

Meantime the Priests Began the rites. They gash'd themselves, and plunged Into the sacred pond of Ezapan,

Till the clear water, on whose bed of sand
The sunbeams sparkled late, opaque with blood,
On its black surface mirror'd all things round.
The children of the temple, in long search,
Had gather'd for the service of this day

All venomous things that fly, or wind their path
With sinuous trail, or crawl on reptile feet.
These in one cauldron, o'er the sacred fire
They scorch, till of the loathsome living tribes,
Who, writhing in their burning agonies,
Fix on each other ill-directed wounds,
Ashes alone are left. In infants' blood
They mix the infernal unction, and the Priests

same author, and by Torquemada, 1. vi. c. 42. ; the whole of the ceremonies is accurately stated.

On his bare breast, the cedar boughs are laid;
On his bare breast, dry sedge and odorous gums
Laid ready to receive the sacred spark,
And blaze, to herald the ascending Sun,
Upon his living altar. Round the wretch
The inhuman ministers of rites accurst
Stand, and expect the signal when to strike
The seed of fire. Their Chief, Tezozomoc,
Apart from all, upon the pinnacle

Of that high mountain, eastward turns his eyes;
For now the hour draws nigh, and speedily
He looks to see the first faint dawn of day
Break through the orient sky.

Impatiently

The multitude await the happy sign.
Long hath the midnight pass'd, and every hour,
Yea, every moment, to their torturing fears
Seem'd lengthen'd out, insufferably long
Silent they stood, and breathless in suspense.
The breeze had fallen: no stirring breath of wind
Rustled the reeds. Oppressive, motionless,
It was a labour and a pain to breathe

The close, hot, heavy air... Hark! from the woods
The howl of their wild tenants! and the birds,..
The day-birds, in blind darkness fluttering,
Fearful to rest, uttering portentous cries!
Anon, the sound of distant thunders came :

They peal beneath their feet. Earth shakes and

Lies watching in alarm, with steady eye, The midnight radiance.

But the storm hath ceased'; The earth is still; .. and lo! while yet the dawn Is struggling through the eastern cloud, the barks Of Madoc on the lake!

What man is he

On yonder crag, all dripping from the flood
Who hath escaped its force? He lies along,
Now near exhaust with self-preserving toil,
And still his eye dwells on the spreading waves,
Where late the multitudes of Aztlan stood,
Collected in their strength. It is the King
Of Aztlan, who, extended on the rock,
Looks vainly for his people. He beholds
The barks of Madock plying to preserve
The strugglers;.. but how few! upon the crags
Which verge the northern shore, upon the heights
Eastward, how few have refuged! Then the King
Almost repented him of life preserved,

And wished the waves had whelmed him, or the sword
Fallen on him, ere this ill, this wretchedness,
This desolation. Spirit-troubled thus,

He call'd to mind how, from the first, his heart
Inclined to peace, and how reluctantly,
Obedient to the Pabas and their Gods,
Had he to this unhappy war been driven.
All now was ended: it remain'd to yield,
To obey the inevitable will of Heaven,
From Aztlan to depart. As thus he mused,
A Bird, upon a bough which overhung
The rock, as though in echo to his thought,
Cried out,.. Depart! depart! for so the note,
Articulately in his native tongue,

On the upmost pinnacle he stands, and sees
The lava floods beneath him: and his hour

Is come. The fiery shower, descending, heaps
Red ashes round; they fall like drifted snows,
And bury and consume the accursed Priest.

The Tempest is abroad. Fierce from the North A wind uptears the lake, whose lowest depths Rock, while convulsions shake the solid earth. Where is Patamba? where the multitudes Who throng'd her level shores? The mighty Lake Hath burst its bounds, and yon wide valley roars, A troubled sea, before the rolling storm.

XXVII.

THE MIGRATION OF THE AZTECAS.

THE storm hath ceased; but still the lava-tides
Roll down the mountain-side in streams of fire;
Down to the lake they roll, and yet roll on,
All burning, through the waters. Heaven above
Glows round the burning mount, and fiery clouds
Scour through the black and starless firmament.
Far off, the Eagle, in her mountain-nest,

1 My excuse for this insignificant agency, as I fear it will be thought, must be, that the fact itself is historically true; by means of this omen the Aztecas were induced to quit their country, after a series of calamities. The leader who had address enough to influence them was Huitziton, a name

The hour, the horrors round him, had impress'd
Feelings and fears well fitted to receive

All superstition; and the voice which cried,
Depart depart! seem'd like the voice of fate.
He thought, perhaps Coanocotzin's soul,
Descending from his blissful halls in the hour
Of evil thus to comfort and advise,
Hover'd above him.

Lo toward the rock,
Oaring with feeble arms his difficult way,
A warrior struggles; he hath reach'd the rock,
Hath graspt it, but his strength, exhausted, fails
To lift him from the depth. The King descends
Timely in aid; he holds the feeble one
By his long locks, and on the safety-place
Lands him. He, panting, from his clotted hair
Shook the thick waters, from his forehead wiped
The blinding drops; on his preserver's face
Then look'd, and knew the King. Then Tlalala
Fell on his neck, and groan'd. They laid them down
In silence, for their hearts were full of woe.

The sun came forth, it shone upon the rock; They felt the kindly beams; their strengthen'd blood Flow'd with a freer action. They arose,

which I have altered to Yuhidthiton for the sake of euphony; the note of the bird is expressed in Spanish and Italian thus, | tihui; the cry of the peewhit cannot be better expressed.. Torquemada, 1. ii. c. 1. Clavigero.

Their prospect.

And look'd around, if aught of hope might meet
On the lake the galleys plied
Their toil successfully, ever to the shore
Bearing their rescued charge: the castern heights,
Rightward and leftward of the fiery mount,

Were throng'd with fugitives, whose growing crowds
Speckled the ascent. Then Tlalala took hope,
And his young heart, reviving, re-assumed
Its wonted vigour. Let us to the heights,
He cried; . . all is not lost, Yuhidthiton!
When they behold thy countenance, the sight
Will cheer them in their woe, and they will bless
The Gods of Aztlan.

To the heights they went;
And when the remnant of the people saw
Yuhidthiton preserved, such comfort then
They felt, as utter wretchedness can feel,
That only gives grief utterance, only speaks
In groans and recollections of the past.
He look'd around; a multitude was there,..
But where the strength of Aztlan? where her hosts?
Her marshall'd myriads where, whom yester Sun
Had seen in arms array'd, in spirit high,
Mighty in youth and courage?.. What were these,
This remnant of the people? Women most,
Who from Patamba when the shock began
Ran with their infants; widow'd now, yet each
Among the few who from the lake escaped,
Wandering with eager eyes and wretched hope.
The King beheld and groan'd; against a tree
He leant, and bow'd his head, subdued of soul.

Meantime, amid the crowd, doth Tlalala
Seek for his wife and boy. In vain he seeks
Ilanquel there; in vain for her he asks;
A troubled look, a melancholy eye,

A silent motion of the hopeless head,
These answer him. But Tlalala represt
His anguish, and he call'd upon the King;..
Yuhidthiton! thou seest thy people left;

Their fate must be determined; they are here
Houseless and wanting food.

The King look'd up,..
It is determined, Tlalala! the Gods
Have crush'd us. Who can stand against their wrath?

Have we not life and strength? the Tiger cried. Disperse these women to the towns which stand Beyond the ruinous waters; against them

The White Men will not war. Ourselves are few,
Too few to root the invaders from our land,
Or meet them with the hope of equal fight;
Yet may we shelter in the woods, and share
The Lion's liberty; and man by man
Destroy them, till they shall not dare to walk
Beyond their city walls, to sow their fields,
Or bring the harvest in. We may steal forth
In the dark midnight, go and burn and kill,
Till all their dreams shall be of fire and death,
Their sleep be fear and misery.

Then the King
Stretch'd forth his hand, and pointed to the lake
Where Madoc's galleys still to those who clung
To the tree-tops for life, or faintly still
Were floating on the waters, gave their aid. . .
O think not, Tlalala, that ever more

Will I against those noble enemies

Raise my right hand in war, lest righteous Heaven
Should blast the impious hand and thankless heart!
The Gods are leagued with them; the Elements
Banded against us! For our overthrow
Were yonder mountain-springs of fire ordain'd;
For our destruction the earth-thunders loosed,
And the everlasting boundaries of the lake
Gave way, that these destroying floods might roll
Over the brave of Aztlan !.. We must leave
The country which our fathers won in arms:
We must depart.

The word yet vibrated

Fresh on their hearing, when the Bird above,
Flapping his heavy wings, repeats the sound,
Depart depart!..Ye hear! the King exclaim'd;
It is an omen sent to me from Heaven;

I heard it late in solitude, the voice
Of fate... It is Coanocotzin's soul,

Who counsels our departure... And the Bird
Still flew around, and in his wheeling flight
Pronounced the articulate note. The people heard
In faith, and Tlalala made no reply;

But dark his brow, and gloomy was his frown.

Then spake the King, and called a messenger, And bade him speed to Aztlan... Seek the Lord Of Ocean; tell him that Yuhidthiton

Yields to the will of Heaven, and leaves the land
His fathers won in war. Only one boon
In memory of our former friendship, ask,
The Ashes of my Fathers, . . if indeed
The conqueror have not cast them to the winds.

The herald went his way circuitous,
Along the mountains, . . for the flooded vale
Barr'd the near passage: but before his feet
Could traverse half their track, the fugitives
Beheld canoes from Aztlan, to the foot

Of that protecting eminence, whereon

They had their stand, draw nigh. The doubtful sight
Disturb'd them, lest perchance with hostile strength
They came upon their weakness.
Wrongful fear,..
For now Cadwallon, from his bark unarm'd,
Set foot ashore, and for Yuhidthiton
Enquired, if yet he lived? The King receives
His former friend... From Madoc come I here,
The Briton said: Raiment and food he sends,
And peace; so shall this visitation prove
A blessing, if it knit the bonds of peace,
And make us as one people.

Tlalala!

Hearest thou him? Yuhidthiton exclaim'd.
Do thou thy pleasure, King! the Tiger cried:
My path is plain... Thereat Yuhidthiton,
Answering, replied, Thus humbled as thou seest,
Beneath the visitation of the Gods,

We bow before their will! To them we yield;
To you their favourites, we resign the land,
Our fathers conquer'd. Never more may Fate
In your days or your children's, to the end
Of time afflict it thus !

He said, and call'd
The Heralds of his pleasure... Go ye forth
Throughout the land: North, south, and east, and

west,

Proclaim the ruin. Say to all who bear