del Peru, ap Barcia, tom. III. p. 197.]
It is difficult to account for this wavering conduct of
Atahuallpa, so different from the bold and decided character
which history ascribes to him. There is no doubt that he made his
visit to the white men in perfect good faith; though Pizarro was
probably right in conjecturing that this amiable disposition
stood on a very precarious footing. There is as little reason to
suppose that he distrusted the sincerity of the strangers; or he
would not thus unnecessarily have proposed to visit them unarmed.
His original purpose of coming with all his force was doubtless
to display his royal state, and perhaps, also, to show greater
respect for the Spaniards; but when he consented to accept their
hospitality, and pass the night in their quarters, he was willing
to dispense with a great part of his armed soldiery, and visit
them in a manner that implied entire confidence in their good
faith. He was too absolute in his own empire easily to suspect;
and he probably could not comprehend the audacity with which a
few men, like those now assembled in Caxamalca, meditated an
assault on a powerful monarch in the midst of his victorious
army. He did not know the character of the Spaniard.
It was not long before sunset, when the van of the royal
procession entered the gates of the city. First came some
hundreds of the menials, employed to clear the path from every
obstacle, and singing songs of triumph as they came, "which, in
our ears," says one of the Conquerors, "sounded like the songs of
hell"! *10 Then followed other bodies of different ranks, and
dressed in different liveries.
Pages:
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462