Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 5.djvu/179

 9* S. V. MARCH 3, 1900.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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good, we used to say he was good as Motilla. San doval was an officer fit for any station ; he was a native of Medellin, and an hidalgo ; his father was an alcalde of a castle."

" We then set forward on the road to Mexico, which was crowded with multitudes of the natives, and arrived at the causeway of Iztapalapa which leads to that capital. When we beheld the number of populous towns on the water and firm ground and that broad causeway running straight and leveJ to the city, we could compare it to nothing but the enchanted scenes we had read of in Amadis of Gaul, from the great towers and temples and other edifices of lime and stone which seemed to rise out of the water. To many of us it appeared doubtful whether we were asleep or awake ; nor is the man- ner in which I express myself to be wondered at, for it must be considered, that never yet did man see, hear, or dream of anything equal to the spectacle which appeared to our eyes on this day. When we approached Iztapalapa we were re- ceived by several lords of that country, relations of Montezuma, who conducted us to our lodgings there, in palaces magnificently built of stone and the timber of which was cedar, with spacious courts, and apartments furnished with canopies of the finest cotton. After having contemplated these noble edifices we walked through the gardens, which were admirable to behold from the variety of beautiful and aromatic plants and the numerous alleys filled with fruit trees, roses, and various flowers. The whole was ornamented with works of art, painted and admirably plaistered and whitened, and it was rendered more delightful by numbers of beautiful birds. When I beheld the scenes that were around me, I thought within myself that this was the garden of the world. On the next day we set out accom- panied as in the former one, and proceeded by the grand causeway, which is eight yards wide and runs in a straight line to the city of Mexico. It was crowded with people, as were all the towers, temples, and causeways, attracted by curiosity to behold men and animals such as had never before been seen in these countries. We were occupied by different thoughts ; our number did not amount to four hundred and fifty. We had perfectly in our recollection the account we had received on our march that we were to be put to death on our arrival at the city which we now saw before us approachable only by bridges, the break- ing of one of which would effectually cut off our retreat."

Bernal Diaz goes on to tell how Monte- zuma came to meet them. He was carried in a magnificent litter which was supported by his principal nobility. When he quitted the litter mantles were spread upon the ground lest his feet should touch it. He walked under a canopy of the richest materials, orna- mented with green feathers, gold, and precious stones that hung in the manner of fringe. He was most richly dressed, and wore buskins of pure gold ornamented with jewels. Cortes dismounted from his horse and advanced towards him with much respect, and they mutually complimented each other. After- wards Montezuma gave orders to two of the princes to attend them to their quarters.

Bernal terminates this portion of his narra- tive very characteristically :

" Who could count the multitude of men, women, and children which thronged the streets, the canals, and terraces on the tops of the houses on that day ! The whole of what I saw on this occasion is so strongly imprinted on my memory, that it ap- pears to me as if it happened only yesterday : glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave us courage to venture upon such dangers and brought us safely through them ! And praised be He, that He has suffered me to live, to write this my true history, although not so fully and satisfactorily as the subject deserves."

Our historian Prescott is enthusiastic in praise of " Bernal Diaz, the untutored child of nature. The charm of his work is in the spirit of truth which pervades it." I have no knowledge where another copy of this trans- lation can be found. In my opinion it far exceeds the one by Lockhart. In searching after my copy, singular to say, I found it on the bookshelf next to 'Amadis of Gaul,' of whom he makes so appropriate a mention. HORACE F. CUTTER.

San Francisco.

WAS SHAKESPEARE MUSICAL 1 (9 th S. v. 22, 95.) Would you allow me to quote the note which has been criticized at such length in your columns ? It is on ' Richard II.,' V. v. 41 :

"Music is the one thing that can increase the pathetic effect of the scene. Shakespeare's use of music is a suggestive subject of study. As illus- trations note the scene of Lear's partial recovery (' King Lear,' IV. vii.) ; * Julius Ccesar,' IV. iii. 266, where ' the music and a song ' remove the impression of stir and unrest left by the dispute between Brutus and Cassius, and so stimulate the imagina- tion that it is ready to be moved by the manifesta- tion of the supernatural that follows ; and ' The Merchant of Venice,' III. ii. (the scene of Bassanio's choice of the casket), and Act V., where 'the touches of sweet harmony' stealing through the moonlit silence transport us from the hot, thronged law court and its tierce passions to a region of lyric romance in which the lovers are at home. On the stage, especially in pathetic scenes, a musical accompaniment almost always adds charm. Hence music is a great feature in modern representations of Shakespeare, and some beautiful numbers have been written by modern composers, e.g., for 4 Henry VIII.' No one can doubt that Shake- speare himself had a great love of music, and con- iderable knowledge too, though riot, I suppose, the scientific knowledge of it that Milton had.

Your correspondent appears to represent
 * ne as arguing that because music is an

3ffective element in scenes such as those referred to and is introduced by Shakespeare, and because the musical accompaniment is an mportant feature in a Shakespearian revival at the Lyceum or Her Majesty's, therefore Shakespeare himself must have had a con- siderable knowledge of music. Whether this s a fair interpretation of my remarks I leave