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equipment, was more bent on it than ever, and held the oydor and his 

 authorities in defiance. When the oydor therefore faw that his en- 

 deavours to prevent the armament from faihng were in vain, he thought 

 it mofl prudent under all the circumftances to embark with it, in order 

 to mediate, and prevent any injury to the public fervice, or, if neceffary,^ 

 by virtue of his office as oydor, to take poffeflion of the country, in 

 the name of his Majefty the Emperor. 



The fleet fitted out by Velafquez and under the command of 

 Narvaez, arrived at the port of St. Juan de Ulua without any accident, 

 except the lofs of one fmall vefTel. The whole compofed a formidable 

 and refpe<5lable force, confidering that it was entirely created in the 

 Ifland of Cuba, On its arrival, the foldiers who had been fent in quefl 

 of the mines in that country, as has been before related, went on board, 

 and it is faid that on fo doing, they returned thanks to God for their 

 delivery from the command of Cortes, and the dangers of the city of 

 Mexico. Narvaez finding them fo open, ordered that they fhould be 

 plentifully fupplied with wine, to render them more communicative, in 

 which he efFed:ually fucceeded. Cervantes the jefler, under colour of 

 facetioufnefs, expofed to him all the difcontents of our people relative 

 to the partition of the treafure, and alfo the quantity that was obtained j 

 giving Narvaez in many points, much more intelligence than he wifhed 

 to hear. They alfo informed him of the bad flate of the garrifon com- 

 manded by Sandoval in Villa Rica. The news of the arrival of the fleet 

 was foon communicated to Montezuma, who kept his knowledge of it 

 from Cortes, and at the fame time ordered liberal gifts to be prefented to 

 Narvaez, whereby a private correfpondence was opened between them, 

 to the difadvantage of the former, of whom Narvaez told the king every 

 thing that was bad, faying we were all outcafts and robbers, and that 

 the Emperor hearing of our bad conduct, and of our having detained 

 the great Montezuma in cuflody, had fent that force to liberate him, 

 and punifli us, by putting us all to death. This intelligence gave the 

 king great fatisfad:ion, for from the account of their force which was 

 accurately reprefented to him in painting, he thought us loft. He fent 



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