Note 11 — Chapter VII

Bernal Diaz declares that there was no such readiness of agreement between Cortes and Montezuma. His story is, that when Cortes consented to leave the city, desiring, as a condition, that the King should use his influence in inducing his people to lay down their arms, Montezuma instantly refused—bursting into tears, and uttering many reproaches against the Spanish commander. Father Olmedo and Christoval de Olid then tried to persuade the King, but he answered that his remonstrances would produce no effect upon his people: they had chosen another King, and would not allow a single Spaniard to leave the city alive. At length, however, after great difficulty, he was prevailed on to address the Mexicans.