Page:Letters of Cortes to Emperor Charles V - Vol 1.djvu/231

Rh not, to leave me. This was often required of me, but I would encourage them, telling them to look to it that they were the vassals of Your Highness, and that Spaniards were never found lacking anywhere, and that we were in a position to win the greatest kingdoms and dominions in the world for Your Majesty. I told them, moreover, that we were only doing what we were obliged to do as Christians, by fighting against the enemies of our faith, and that we would gain the glory of the other world, while in this we would obtain the highest praise and honour, such as till our time no generation had won; and that they must perceive that we had God on our side, for Whom nothing was impossible, as they might recognise in the victories which we had obtained, where so many of our enemy had been slaughtered, but none of us. I told them other things of the same kind which seemed fitting, and with these, and the royal favour of Your Highness, they recovered their spirits, and I won them to my purpose, and to do as I wished, which was to complete the undertaking I had begun.

The following day, Sicutengal, Captain General of this province, came to see me at ten o'clock, with about fifty of its chiefs, praying me on his part, and on that of Magiscatzin, who was  Peace Con- cluded at Tlascala the principal person in all this province, and on behalf of many other lords, that I would admit them to the royal service of Your Majesty and to my friendship, and would pardon them the past errors, because they had not understood who we were. He said that they had exerted all their forces, not only by day, but also by night, to escape being subjected to anyone, since at no time had this province ever been so, nor had they ever had, nor did they have, any master; on the contrary, they had always lived free and independent,