Yet he did not so far
trust his companion, as to neglect the precaution of sending a
confidential agent to represent his own services, when Hernando
Pizarro undertook his mission to the mother-country.
That cavalier, after touching at St. Domingo, had arrived without
accident at Seville, in January, 1534. Besides the royal fifth,
he took with him gold, to the value of half a million of pesos,
together with a large quantity of silver, the property of private
adventurers, some of whom, satisfied with their gains, had
returned to Spain in the same vessel with himself. The
custom-house was filled with solid ingots, and with vases of
different forms, imitations of animals, flowers, fountains, and
other objects, executed with more or less skill, and all of pure
gold, to the astonishment of the spectators, who flocked from the
neighbouring country to gaze on these marvellous productions of
Indian art. *23 Most of the manufactured articles were the
property of the Crown; and Hernando Pizarro, after a short stay
at Seville, selected some of the most gorgeous specimens, and
crossed the country to Calatayud, where the emperor was holding
the cortes of Aragon.
[Footnote 23: Herrera, Hist. General, dec. 5, ib. 6, cap. 13. -
Lista de todo lo que Hernando Pizarro trajo del Peru, ap. Mss. de
Munoz.]
Hernando was instantly admitted to the royal presence, and
obtained a gracious audience. He was more conversant with courts
than either of his brothers, and his manners, when in situations
that imposed a restraint on the natural arrogance of his temper,
were graceful and even attractive.
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