308 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



" who fo greedily covet gold and pleafures ? And what 

 " ought we not to dread from them in a country fo poor 

 " as this is, where we are even destitute of fait ? He 

 " wrongs the honour of the nation who thinks it can 

 " be overcome by a handful of adventurers. If they 

 " are mortal, the arms of the Tlafcalans will tell it to 

 Q! all the regions round ; if they are immortal, there 

 45 will always be time to appeafe their anger by homage, 

 " and to implore their mercy by repentance. Let their 

 " demand, therefore, be rejected ; and if they dare to 

 " enter by force, let our arms repel their temerity." — 

 This contrariety of fentiment in two perfons of fo great 

 refpecl: divided the minds of the other fenators. Thofe 

 who were the friends of commerce, and attached to a life 

 of peace, adhered to the opinion of Maxicatzin, while 

 thofe who were of a military difpofition embraced the 

 propofal of XicotencatL Temiloltecatl, one of the fena- 

 tors, fuggefted a middle courfe, which would reconcile 

 the two parties. He propofed that a civil and friendly 

 anfwer fhould be fent to the chief of thofe ftrangers, 

 granting them permiffion to enter ; but at the fame time 

 that orders fhould be given to Xicotencatl r , the fon of the 

 old Xicotencatl, to go out with the troops of the Otomies 

 belonging to the republic, to oppofe their paffage, and to 

 try their ftrength.- — " If we remain vi&ors," faid Temi- 

 loltecatl, " we will do our arms immortal honour \ if 

 " we are vanquiflied, we will accufe the Otomies, and 

 " charge them with having undertaken the war without 

 " our orders (y)* 99 Such refources and expedients, 

 though frequent, efpecially among cultivated nations, 



are 



(y) We have mentioned formerly, that many Otomies had taken refuge in 

 Tlafcala, from the tyranny of the Mexicans, and had ferved the republic faith- 

 fully. 



