After Montezuma had entered the palace, he began to suspect treachery
might be concealed beneath all this form of a message from the princess;
and the light question put to him by the Peruvian, as to the supposition of

[figure description] Page 079.[end figure description]

having been sent for by the emperor, strengthened this idea. The part he
had taken in the fray occurred to him then for the first time, so much had
the thought of the princess filled his mind, and before he entered the wing
occupied by her, he fully believed he was about to be led before the emperor.
He made up his mind, therefore, to act with fearlessness, and to let his
courage and self-possession retrieve his error in putting himself, the leader
of the revolt, at such a crisis, in the power of his foe. As he entered the
apartment of the princess, therefore, his port was haughty, and his eye
flashed round defiance, as it seemed to seek out the person of the emperor;
but seeing instead the lovely form of the princess before him, his whole
bearing changed. The eye lost its fire and assumed a softer light; the lip
its curl of haughty defiance, and his whole stern aspect and lofty port were
converted into an air of devotion and gentleness; and he knelt reverently
before her. The princess marked the instantaneous change, and a blush of
gratified pleasure added to her loveliness. For a moment both were silent,—
he, awed, as it were, with her wondrous beauty, and with the dignity of her
presence, — she, bewildered with her own feelings. At length she summoned
calmness, and said, in as cold a tone as she could assume, though her
voice trembled,

`Thou art called Montezuma, the son of Mahco, the net-maker.

`I am the low-born slave thou hast named, lovely Princess Eylla,' he
answered, with bitterness.

The princess marked his manner, and instinctively interpreted the feeling
from which it sprung.

`Methinks,' she continued, in a voice that she meant should partake of
indifference in its tones, `methinks thou wert the cause of certain tumults in
the streets to-day.'

`Noble princess,' said Montezuma, lifting his face to hers, and addressing
her in a firm and respectful tone, but in which she detected something of
sadness, `inasmuch as you judge me to have done wrong, I do confess my error.'

`Nay — but didst thou not do wrong?' she said, gazing with admiration
upon his fine, manly countenance, and again experiencing the same thrilling
emotions in her bosom that the first sight of him from the chariot had
caused.

`Pardon me, Princess Eylla,' he answered, firmly; `but neither I nor
they who died to protect my poor life have done wrong against the tyrant.'

`Tyrant!' she cried, starting nearly to her feet.

`Forgive me, princess. I had forgotten, looking on thy gentle face, thou
wert his daughter. But if I offend thee,' he added, with tenderness, `thou
hast only to order me to the block. Death from thy hands were far better
than life with thy father's foot upon my neck.'

`You are over-hasty, Montezuma,' said the princess, with a slight reproof.
`I would ask of thee how, so young and of thy degree, thou hast now gained
such influence over the hearts of men as I have this day witnessed? Who
would die thus for the emperor? None.'

`The emperor, when he needs men's lives, takes them. Many men have
died for the tyrant Ulyd; but not of their own will.'

`Ha! this to the daughter?'

`It should have been said to the sire.'

`Thy spirit is too quick. It becomes not thy station. If my father has
injured thee, let me atone,' she said, in a touching tone of voice. `What can
I do for thee? I can and do sympathize with thee.'

[figure description] Page 080.[end figure description]

`Nay, speak not to me so gently, — I cannot bear it,' said the young man,
with emotion.

The princess was moved, and looked on him with the deepest interest, as
he buried his face in his hands, for the moment wholly overcome by the few
kind words of sympathy she had uttered. The whole plan of conspiracy
against her rushed like an overwhelming flood upon his mind. Suddenly he
fell at her feet and cried,

`Your gentle sympathy, noble princess, has saved your father's empire, —
perhaps his life.'

`Speak quickly — what mean you?' she cried, with the intensest alarm.

`I will confess all to thee, and avert the calamity, if possible, and
then die, happy in the consciousness of not having struck the blow that would
have made you wretched.'

`Speak, I implore thee!'

Montezuma glanced at the Peruvian, who remained near the door.

`Tzitzis, wait in the anteroom!' commanded the princess; and the next
moment she was left alone with the young conspirator. Montezuma was for
a few minutes silent, and paced the room several times, as if forgetful of her
presence. At length he stopped before her and said:

`Gentle Princess Eylla, your image has ever been present to me in this
matter, and bidding me spare the empire for thy sake. I had well nigh
listened to it, and lived on a slave. To-night you have conquered. It may
be too late to avert the blow, but I shall feel happy in having confessed to
you my part in it.'

`I do pray you to speak, and let me learn the worst,' she intreated.

`Listen, princess, and forgive, for we have borne much from thy house.
Thou knowest the wrongs, — yet do the twentieth part of them come not to
thy ears, — that we endure from the nobles, and, pardon me, from the
emperor.'

`I do; and my heart hath bled for the innocent.'

`There is not a Mexitilian slave of thy empire, that knows not thy sympathy.
But, even thy gentleness could little avail us. We have endured
until endurance is no longer a virtue, even in bondmen.'

`What new oppression hath fallen upon thee?'

`None other than is common to our condition, and to each passing day. I
have long felt keenly the degradation of my race. Thou knowest, noble
princess, that we once were a free and happy people; that we are now slaves
to conquerors, and these are your father's house.'

`I know all this; but methinks this government should be regarded as
thine own — 't is of many centuries standing.'

`Time can never sanction wrong. If your emperors had given us a
portion of civil liberty, we should have been content, perhaps, to have endured
their rule. But they have kept us in bondage. We hold no rights,
not even that of our lives. The insolence of the nobles, and the blood-thirsty
tyranny of the emperor, have at length roused the people to resistance.
'

`To revolt?'

`At this moment, princess, there are thirty thousand men disciplined and
marshalled, under daring leaders, who wait but a signal from me, to rise and
overturn the present dynasty.'

`Traitorous slave!' cried the princess. `Ho! thou shalt die for it! Ho!'

And she was hastening towards the door to give the alarm, and call upon

[figure description] Page 081.[end figure description]

the palace guards to seize him, when, with gentle firmness, he caught her
hand, and restrained her.

`Be angry with me, but hear me,' he said. `I swear to thee, princess,
one word from thee will have power to allay this rebellion,' he said, boldly.

`Name it,' she said, suffering him to detain her.

`It is a promise.'

`Name it!'

`That you will not wed thy cousin, the Prince Palipan, but reign alone.'

`Ha! Is this the promise thou wouldst have, sir rebel?' said the princess,
between pleasure and surprise.

`It is. The people, then, will hope to obtain from thy clemency what
now they would have at the steel's point. And he loves thee not.'

`Thou art bold, sir.'

`It is thy goodness and my country's fate that makes me so.'

`What wouldst thou have beside my father's head?' she asked, sternly.

`No. I have told thee, lady, the elements of rebellion are in motion.
Within two hours, the signal of revolt is to light the summit of the Temple
of War, and before dawn half the city on the other side of the canal, with
gates, armor, and military towers, will be in our hands.'

`Thou dost both terrify and fill me with resentment. What dost thou
here, rebel, in the presence of thy princess? Wilt thou make me the first
victim of thy rebellion?' And she stood before him with a proud and kindling
eye.

`Nay, princess, I am here by thy command. I have heard thee speak,
and thy voice has melted my soul. From the rebel chief, — who, two hours
hence, was to shake the throne of the empire with the vast flood I was to let
loose against it, — I am thy slave, obedient to thy slightest wish.'

He bent his knee before her, and seemed to await her commands. The
princess walked the chamber rapidly, and was for some time silent. She
then stopped and spoke. Her anger was gone, and grief, rather than displeasure,
marked the intonations of her voice.

`I know, young man, thou and thy race have borne much. I have trembled
at the contemplation of this very result. I had a prophetic intimation,
that one day the injustice of the nobles and — and — I will be frank — and
of my poor, misguided father, would fall back upon their own heads. This
hour has now come. You are the instrument chosen by the gods to guide
the event. I should be false to my own feelings, — to my own heart, — did
I say I could do less than admire the noble spirit that burns in your bosom.
I should feel like you were I in your condition. Though born a princess, I
can feel with my subjects. But,' — and now her voice became firm and
solemn, — `this evil must be stayed. `'T is not too late. Thou wilt, oh! thou
wilt avert the destiny that hangs over my father's head!'

She clasped her hands together and implored him, with the silent eloquence
of her tearful eyes. Montezuma was deeply affected. He pressed the
princess's hand to his lips, and said fervently,

`I do call the gods to witness that, if in the power of mortal man to stay
this revolt, it shall be done. I did purpose this, from the moment the sympathy
of thy tone fell upon my heart. But, noble and dear princess, the
people are in arms for privileges. My voice alone will not stay them.
Let me bear to them the promise that what they seek they shall have,
the day you ascend the throne.'

`What do they ask?'

[figure description] Page 082.[end figure description]

`Liberty of lives and property. To be freemen, and not slaves.'

`How can I rule a nation of freemen?'

`By justice, gentleness, and mercy.'

`I do promise. Fly, and save the empire! Oh!' she cried, with eloquent
distress, `avert this stroke, and I will bless thee!'

`It may be too late to suppress the revolt in every quarter, but I will try,
or lose my life in the attempt.'

`Nay, — I beseech you, risk not your own life rashly,' she cried, earnestly.

`Dost thou care, then, princess, for the life of one so humble as I?' he
asked, deeply moved.

`Thou art no longer humble. Thou art a leader of a nation seeking its
freedom. The gods have ennobled thee.' And the eye and manner of the
princess bore testimony to the existence of the feeling in her breast, to which
she gave utterance.

`Alas! alas! what wrong have I been wilfully plotting against you?' he
said, bitterly. `Oh, that I had met thee yesterday — had but known that so
bright and glorious a spirit dwelt beside the throne of a tyrant. I do feel
I have been warring against heaven.'

`'T is not too late to retrieve thy error, noble youth!' said the princess,
unconsciously laying her hand upon his arm under the influence of the tender
and pleased emotions his impassioned words had awakened. `I will at once
send news to the emperor of this fearful storm ready to burst upon his head,
and have him march troops at once to all parts that are immediately
menaced. This will intimidate the insurgents, and perhaps prevent the revolt.
What sayest thou?'

Montezuma turned away and walked across the apartment, and stood by
the window, in deep and anxious thought. Conflicting feelings struggled for
the mastery in his bosom. At one instant, his country's degradation held
the upper place in his mind; the next, the beauty, gentleness and sympathy
of the princess, governed him. He felt that this moment was the crisis of
his life. It was either his country or the princess. There was no medium.
He balanced his honor against his — love. Yes! the heart of Montezuma,
of the serf and bondman! of the net-maker's son, was enslaved by the
charms of the princess. He felt it, but dared not confess it to himself. But
he felt that for her he was ready to make any sacrifice. `Shall I sacrifice
my country?' was the naked question his honor put to him. `No,' was the
faltering response. `Shall I sacrifice the princess?' `Never!' came strongly
from the depth of his heart. He stood a moment like a statue, with his
eyes fixed upon the floor, and her suggestion remained unanswered. `Shall
I be a traitor to my friends and country?' His conscience thundered in his
ears, `shall I be branded with infamy for my daring ambition, in presuming
to lift my thoughts to the princess? Am I mad? Let me remember that I
am Montezuma, the net-maker — a serf — a slave — a low-born bondman!
What have I to do to let a princess, who would scorn and laugh at my feelings,
did she know them, weigh against the love of the thousand hearts that
are now beating with warm affection for me! Shall I be false for a phantom?
Shall I be a traitor, because yonder fair star smiles upon me? Shall
I dare woo it? Fool, fool! 'T is a temptation of the evil spirit! I will
be true to my country, and strike the first blow for her liberty.'

`Montezuma!' spoke a sweet reproving voice near him, and he felt a soft
hand gently placed within his own.

[figure description] Page 083.[end figure description]

The blood rushed from his heart, and the strong man trembled like a leaf.
He buried his face in the drapery of the window, and his chest heaved
strongly and violently. That single word, like the charm of some skillful
sorceress, had revolutionized his whole feelings. The princess had read
rightly his thoughts, and she had obeyed the impulse of feelings she could
not herself control, in approaching him. Her heart, she felt, had become his;
and she felt that it was in vain longer to attempt to disguise from herself its
condition. She knew, too, with all a woman's skill in reading the heart of
man, that the youth loved her. She knew that love, the deepest and most
worshipping, unknown to himself, governed every motion, every movement
of his eye, every expression of his countenance. She therefore obeyed unhesitatingly
the promptings of her own heart — for love knows no reasoning
but its own impulses.

`Montezuma,' she repeated a second time, in tones that went to his heart.
They were irresistible.

He fell down at her feet and cried, with the strongest emotion,

`Princess, I can but confess my daring passion, and prepare my mind for
death.'

`Thou art forgiven, Montezuma,' she said, in a voice that made his heart
leap with life. He lifted his bowed head and she met his glance of wondering
delight, with a smile that told him he was loved.

`Do I dream? or hath my mad ambition turned my brain?' he said,
pressing to his lips the hand she resigned to him.

`Nay, fair youth,' she said smiling, `if thou dost know not whether thou
art sleeping or waking — 'T were best —'

`Pardon me — forgive me — this bliss is too exquisite to be real.'

`Montezuma,' she said, with a sweet dignity that became her. `I discovered
thy love, closely, as you sought to hide it from yourself, beneath reverence
and duty — but I had not detected it unless I had first felt a kindred
interest in you.'

`In me, lady?'

`To-day,' she continued, with ingenuous frankness, `when I beheld thee in
the conflict, in the street. Thy manly resistance to oppression, and thy
proud spirit, kindled my own, which scarcely less than thine, spurns wrong
and tyranny. I met thy grateful glance for my intercession, and, brave
Montezuma, I felt from that moment, Heaven had formed us for each other.'

`Sweet Princess Eylla,' said Montezuma, with modest dignity. `I am
unworthy.'

`Nay — thou art worthy,' she said, proudly and touchingly, `or the emperor's
daughter would not have felt an interest in thee. When I look upon
thee,' she said, surveying his noble person, `and remember thy courage and
spirit, I do feel that it is not the princess that hath stooped to thy rank, but
that the gods have elevated thee to hers. From this moment, let there be
confidence between us. Those whose hearts are united by the will of the
gods, should be but one in feeling. Whatever we may appear to each other
in outward bearing before the world, Montezuma, from this moment we ourselves
know no inequality. Forget thy birth and condition, for from this
hour, my love ennobles thee.'

Montezuma listened to the spirited address of the lovely princess, and
caught the spirit of her independent mind. Well worthy had nature made
him, in face and form, to win a princess's regard, and richly had she filled the
noble casket with the jewels of all that is bright and elevated in the human

[figure description] Page 084.[end figure description]

character. No sooner did Montezuma find that his love, — for such it was he
now felt, that had from the first inflamed his regard for the princess, — was so
singularly reciprocated, than his soul,—like the young eagle, which, nurtured
by a water-fowl, all at once feeling his power and strength, suddenly expands
his pinions and soars to his native skies, to burnish his wings in the sun, — rose
with the first feeling of its original powers, to the native dignity of its true
station. He was changed by her love, as if a spell had passed over his spirit.
He rose freely to her regal height, and stood beside her — her equal. He forgot
that he was a slave — he only remembered that her love had made him
a prince. She saw the instant change that followed her words, and felt that
she had not indeed descended from her station, but had placed her love on
one most worthy to receive it.

`Princess,' he said, with a tone and manner singularly becoming the moral
elevation to which love had raised him, while the deepest and most reverential
love beamed in his eyes, `I knew not what bliss was in store for me.
From this moment, my heart and life are yours. It shall be my study to
make myself worthy of your regard. From this hour, I do identify myself
with thy truest happiness — and should death tomorrow be the penalty of
my ambitious love, I shall welcome it with joy, with the recollection that I
have been loved by thee.'

`Nay, Montezuma,' said the princess with tenderness, `there will, I trust,
be a better crowning to our love than death. Save to thyself and me, 't is
secret and sacred. It should be thus, until the hour arrive when I shall call
thee to my side. Let us in the meanwhile be happy in our mutual regard.
From this hour I live only for thee! Thou hast won a true woman's heart,'
she said, smiling upon him, `and thou wilt find love makes even a maiden
bold, where her heart is given.

Montezuma, encouraged by her smile, and emboldened by his accepted love,
pressed her unresistingly to his manly heart. For a moment both were silent
under the weight of the feelings that naturally rushed upon their minds at
such a moment. For an instant the princess' head dropped upon his shoulder,
and tears of feeling started to her eyes. The thought that her woman's
heart had found a refuge from the persecuting love of the prince, nearly
overcame her. The lover pressed a light kiss upon her pure forehead, and
truly felt himself above all men favored of the gods. Here was indeed a
singular and most extraordinary spectacle to human eyes — a princess and a
peasant, vowing to each other, love unchanging, love undying, love eternal!
Here were two noble and congenial spirits that nature and fortune had sundered
widely, brought together by the magical power of love. Well hath
Maria del Occidente sung —


`Nature never formed a soul
Without its own peculiar mate.'

The princess was the first to speak.

`We have forgotten, in ourselves, noble Montezuma, the dark cloud ready
to burst upon the empire,' she said, releasing herself blushingly from the
support of his arm, and speaking with the spirit that became the startling
theme.

`It shall be stayed,' he said resolutely.

`How?' she demanded eagerly.

`By my own influence, and the use of thy name.'

`Dost thou mean my promise to grant them all they desire?'

[figure description] Page 085.[end figure description]

`I fear nothing else will save the empire,' he said, decidedly.

`Use it, then. Go! Shall not the emperor be told that he may strengthen
the threatened posts?'

`It were best not. The troops, once in motion, would not rest until their
thirsty swords were slaked in blood. Leave it to me, dearest Princess Eylla,
nor be alarmed at any signal lights or uproar you may hear in the city.
Some lives will doubtless have to be sacrificed, but it shall be quelled.'

`I do fear they will hold thee as a traitor, with the first word you utter,
and sacrifice you to their vengeance,' she said, with anxious alarm.

`Fear not, dearest princess. I know the temper of my countrymen well.
I pray thee be at peace, and trust all to me,' he said, preparing to go.

`The gods aid thee! I will indeed redress their wrongs when I have the
throne! Oh that I could speak to them in person. My presence — my
voice! it might allay the upheaving of this human sea!'

`Nay — believe me, princess, thy name alone shall appease it. Farewell.
'

`Come hither, if thy life is spared, as soon as you can assure me the empire
is safe. Alas, what evil hath my father's severe rule brought upon his
own head! Take this signet. It will secure your readmission to the palace.
Fly, now, ere it be already too late. 'T is within an hour of midnight. Oh
that Heaven would return thee safely. My place will be at yonder altar, till
thou come back and tell me the throne of my father's house is saved. Tzitzis!
'

The Peruvian entered and knelt before her mistress.

`Rise, and reconduct this youth to the water. See thou address him not;
and hasten thy return.'

Montezuma respectfully pressed to his lips the hand the princess extended
towards him, and instantly left the apartment with his guide. The princess
flew to a little altar near the window, and cast herself on her knees before it,
and for sometime, gave indulgence to the rush of strange and new thoughts
that agitated her bosom, rather than to devotion. How much had transpired
since she knelt before that altar in the morning! How wonderful the revolution
in her feelings. How sudden, bold, and effectual, had been Love's
victory. A glance, interchanged with a peasant, had kindled admiration
into tender interest. A few moments' interview had ripened interest into love,
and her heart was no longer her own! How wonderful the power and dominion
of love! No rank is too high for his daring aim; no degree too low,
to which he will not stoop to launch his arrow.