Note 774 — Chapter XXIV · FIGHT UPON THE TEMPLE SUMMIT. June, 1520.

He felt no eagerness to plead in behalf of those who had caused all his misfortunes, and he was only too conscious that his pusillanimity must have degraded him in the eyes of his subjects, while the elevation of his brother to the leadership must have diminished the influence which till then may have remained with him. He could hardly avoid a feeling of jealousy at the thought of this elevation; and if he, during an impulse of anger against Cortés, had counselled the proceedings of Cuitlahuatzin, he now felt probably both grieved and terrified at the storm he had raised. He also harbored a wholesome fear of Malinche, and the prospect of his speedy departure helped to stir anew the embers of hope. All might yet be well: the capital might be spared further desolation, and he again resume his former grandeur.